In Re Ball

449 N.E.2d 490, 5 Ohio App. 3d 56, 5 Ohio B. 152, 1982 WL 6325, 1982 Ohio App. LEXIS 11036
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 26, 1982
DocketL-81-354
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 449 N.E.2d 490 (In Re Ball) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Ball, 449 N.E.2d 490, 5 Ohio App. 3d 56, 5 Ohio B. 152, 1982 WL 6325, 1982 Ohio App. LEXIS 11036 (Ohio Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

Per Curiam..

This cause came on to be heard upon the record in the trial court. Each assignment of error was reviewed by the court and upon review the following disposition made:

Appellants, Mary O’Neal and John Ball, are appealing from a judgment of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, which awarded permanent custody of their daughter, Lynn Ball, born December 15, 1970, to Lucas County Children Services Board for adoptive placement.

On June 19, 1980, Lucas County Children Services Board filed a complaint in abuse and neglect and dependency seeking permanent custody of Lynn Ball. According to this complaint, Lynn Ball had been admitted to Medical College Hospital with injuries she incurred when her mother, appellant Mary O’Neal, grabbed her around the neck, slapped her in the face, and threw her against a brick building. Appellant Mary O’Neal was charged with endangering children because of this incident. The custody complaint stated that because of appellant Mary O’Neal’s past inability to provide proper care of Lynn, it was unlikely she would provide Lynn with proper care in the future. Appellant John Ball, according to the complaint, admitted he was unable to provide Lynn with proper care and had suggested Lynn be placed with one of his relatives. The complaint requested a temporary order placing Lynn with Lucas County Children Services Board pending adjudication of the complaint for permanent custody.

A judgment entry was filed on August 4,1980, finding an emergency existed and awarded temporary custody of Lynn Ball to Lucas County Children Services Board for placement and planning pending the adjudication of the complaint. Counsel for both appellants and the guardian ad litem filed motions for psychological or psychiatric examination of appellants and of Lynn. These motions were denied. Appellant John Ball also filed a motion requesting that he be given custody of Lynn.

On February 2, 1981, the complaint filed June 19,1980, was amended to a motion for change of disposition to permanent custody. A hearing before a referee was had on this motion for change of disposition to permanent custody over several dates in February and April 1981. The referee issued her recommendation on October 5, 1981, that Lucas County Children Services Board be awarded permanent custody of Lynn. The juvenile *57 judge held a hearing on objections to this recommendation and on November 24, 1981, affirmed the recommendations of the referee that Lucas County Children Services Board receive permanent custody of Lynn.

Appellant John Ball and appellant Mary O’Neal have been divorced since 1973. Lucas County Children Services Board received temporary custody of Lynn in December 1973. Since that time Lynn has lived in Children Services Board placements and with her mother, appellant Mary O’Neal, except for a three-month period in 1977, when she was placed with her father, appellant John Ball. The most recent placement of Lynn with appellant Mary O’Neal occurred in April 1980. The incident of abuse which occurred in June 1980, resulted in ap-pellee, Lucas County Children Services Board, filing its complaint requesting permanent custody.

The parties did not have the entire record of the proceedings below transcribed, but instead filed an “agreed statement of objections and testimony” along with selected portions of the record. This agreed statement of objections and testimony was not signed by the trial judge as required by App. R. 9(D). This agreed statement of objections and testimony indicates that appellant Mary O’Neal testified that she had hit Lynn on June 11, 1980, because Lynn had called her a name and had refused to obey her. Mary O’Neal was convicted of child endangering because of this incident. Other evidence indicated that appellant Mary O’Neal used a belt and board to discipline Lynn. Lynn also was sexually abused by her stepfather while in her mother’s custody. Appellant Mary . O’Neal has failed in the past to fulfill service agreements with Lucas County Children Services Board.

Appellant John Ball lives in a housing project operated by the Catholic Church and receives disability payments from Social Security. Mr. Ball allegedly has had a drinking problem in the past. Appellant John Ball has always maintained visitation with Lynn, whether she was in a placement of Lucas County Children Services Board, or whether she was in her mother’s custody. Lynn receives Social Security benefits as a dependent child through her father. Appellant John Ball was legally blind, but has now had successful corneal transplants. No service agreement was ever prepared by Lucas County Children Services Board for Mr. Ball.

The psychologist who treated Lynn stated it was in Lynn’s best interest that she be adopted. The guardian ad litem who served in that position for three years filed a statement and recommendation with this court. According to this recommendation, Lynn should be placed in appellant John Ball’s custody, subject to continued supervision by Lucas County Children Services Board; that Lynn should receive continued psychological or psychiatric therapy; that appellant John Ball should participate in such counseling efforts as deemed appropriate by the court; and that appellant Mary O’Neal should have supervised daytime visitation for a definite period of time not to exceed six months, with such visitations to be reevaluated at the end of this time period.

Appellant Mary O’Neal’s first, second, third and fourth assignments of error are:

“I. The trial court erred in applying the standards of O.R.C. 2151.04 and 2151.353 by failing to require a showing of real and substantial harm to the child as a prerequisite to termination of parental rights and by failing to require the state to prove it had exhausted less drastic alternatives prior to resorting to termination of parental rights and have thus deprived appellants of liberty without due process of law as required by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 16 of the Ohio Constitution.
“II. The lower court erred in apply *58 ing the standards of parental care as set forth in O.R.C. 2151.05.
“III. The lower court erred in reaffirming the report of the referee where there was no evidence to support the con-clussions [sic] of law stated in the report.
“IV. The lower court erred in finding that Lynn Ball lacked parental care against the weight of the evidence.”
R.C. 2151.353 provides as follows:
“(A) If the child is adjudged an abused, neglected, or dependent child, the court may make any of the following
orders of disposition:
* *

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In the Matter of Nicholas H.
738 N.E.2d 896 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2000)
In Re Dylan C.
699 N.E.2d 107 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1997)
In re Babcock
2 Ohio App. Unrep. 289 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1990)
Garabrandt v. Lucas County Children Services Board
547 N.E.2d 997 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1988)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
449 N.E.2d 490, 5 Ohio App. 3d 56, 5 Ohio B. 152, 1982 WL 6325, 1982 Ohio App. LEXIS 11036, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-ball-ohioctapp-1982.