In Re BMR

84 S.W.3d 814, 2002 WL 1987404
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided August 29, 2002·No. 01-01-00211-CV·Published

Opinion

84 S.W.3d 814 (2002)

In the Interest of B.M.R., a minor child.

No. 01-01-00211-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st Dist.).

August 29, 2002.

*815 Brian J. Fischer, Houston, for Appellant.

Carolyn Cook Robertson, Houston, for Appellee.

Panel consists of Chief Justice SCHNEIDER and Justices TAFT and RADACK.

OPINION

MICHAEL H. SCHNEIDER, Chief Justice.

The trial court terminated the parental rights of appellant, Stephen Mark Rousset, after a bench trial, and he now appeals. Appellant alleges the trial court erred in denying his motion to strike a portion of the pleadings and denying his motion for *816 continuance. He also contends section 161.001(1)(Q) of the Family Code is unconstitutionally vague, and he challenges the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence. We affirm.

Background

Appellees, Veronica Annette LeBlanc and Daniel John LeBlanc, sued to terminate appellant's parental rights to B.M.R. and sought to have the child adopted by Mr. LeBlanc. The trial court granted both requests.

Appellant met Veronica in 1993, and they were married in April 1996. The couple separated in January 1998, while Veronica was pregnant with B.M.R. The child was born in May 1998, and the couple divorced in December 1998, when the child was seven months old. The trial court found that appellant had spent less than 15 hours with his child before the divorce. After the divorce, the child continued to reside with Veronica. Veronica and Daniel LeBlanc were married in February 1999. The child has lived with the couple since their marriage and believes Daniel LeBlanc is her father.

In October 1998, appellant was arrested while transporting more than 300 pounds of marijuana by car. He pleaded guilty to the federal charge of possession with intent to distribute in August 1999. Appellant was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and was serving that sentence when this suit was brought against him. Appellant was not allowed to attend the trial, but he testified by deposition.

The trial court made numerous findings of fact supporting its conclusion that two grounds for termination had been proven and termination would be in the best interest of the child.

Motion to Strike and Motion for Continuance

In their Second Amended Petition, filed on December 27, 2000, the LeBlancs added a new ground for the termination of appellant's parental rights. The amended petition stated that appellant had "knowingly engaged in criminal conduct that has resulted in the parent's conviction of an offense and confinement or imprisonment and inability to care for the child for not less than two years from the date of filing the petition."[1] On the first day of the trial, January 5, 2001, appellant's counsel argued that there had been insufficient time to prepare a defense to this ground because of appellant's incarceration, and he moved that the new ground be struck from the pleadings or a continuance granted. The court denied both motions, and the trial proceeded. Appellant states in his first and second points of error that it was error to deny these two motions.

On appeal, appellant's four sentence argument for both points of error contains no citation to any legal authority. Accordingly, appellant has waived these two points of error because of inadequate briefing. See Tex.R.App. P. 38.1(h); Fredonia State Bank v. Gen. Am. Life Ins. Co., 881 S.W.2d 279, 284 (Tex.1994); Trenholm v. Ratcliff, 646 S.W.2d 927, 934 (Tex.1983).

We overrule appellant's first and second points of error.

Constitutionality of Section 161.001(1)(Q)

In his third point of error, appellant argues section 161.001(1)(Q) of the Texas Family Code is unconstitutionally vague and ambiguous. Appellant did not *817 present this issue to the court at trial and, accordingly, has not preserved any error for our review. Tex.R.App. P. 33.1; Dreyer v. Greene, 871 S.W.2d 697, 698 (Tex.1993); In re K.C.M, 4 S.W.3d 392, 394 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1999, pet. denied).

We overrule appellant's third point of error.

Legal and Factual Sufficiency

Appellant's fourth and fifth points of error challenge the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence. When, as here, a party without the burden of proof challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence, we will sustain the challenge only if, considering the evidence and inferences in the light most favorable to the finding, there is not more than a scintilla of evidence supporting it. See Burroughs Wellcome Co. v. Crye, 907 S.W.2d 497, 499 (Tex.1995); Stafford v. Stafford, 726 S.W.2d 14, 16 (Tex.1987). "More than a scintilla of evidence exists where the evidence supporting the finding, as a whole, `rises to a level that would enable reasonable and fair-minded people to differ in their conclusions.'" Burroughs Wellcome, 907 S.W.2d at 499 (quoting Transp. Ins. Co. v. Moriel, 879 S.W.2d 10, 25 (Tex.1994)).

The termination of parental rights must be supported by clear and convincing evidence. Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 161.001 (Vernon 1996). The supreme court recently held that termination findings must be upheld against a factual sufficiency challenge if the evidence is such that the factfinder could reasonably form a firm belief or conviction about the truth of the State's allegations. In re C.H., 45 Tex. Sup.Ct. J. 1000, 1000, 1005 (July 3, 2002).

In order to terminate appellant's parental rights, the court was required to find two things. First, appellant must have committed one of the acts or omissions prohibited by section 161.001(1) of the Family Code. Tex. Fam.Code. Ann. § 161.001(1) (Vernon 1996 & Supp.2002). Second, the termination must have been found to be in the child's best interest. Tex. Fam.Code. Ann. § 161.001(2) (Vernon 1996). The trial court found that appellant violated sections 161.001(1)(E), which regards endangerment of the child, and 161.001(1)(Q), which is based on a parent's confinement and inability to care for the child.

Confinement and Inability to Care for the Child

Because much of the evidence at trial and the arguments on appeal focused on the effect of appellant's incarceration, we will address section 161.001(1)(Q) first. A violation of section 161.001(1)(Q) occurs when a parent has knowingly engaged in criminal conduct that has resulted in the parent's conviction of an offense and confinement or imprisonment and inability to care for the child for not less than two years from the date of filing the petition. Tex. Fam.Code. Ann. § 161.001(1)(Q) (Vernon Supp.2002).

It is undisputed that appellant has been convicted of a federal crime, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, and was imprisoned at the time of trial.

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Related

Dreyer Ex Rel. A.D.D. v. Greene
871 S.W.2d 697 (Texas Supreme Court, 1994)
Holley v. Adams
544 S.W.2d 367 (Texas Supreme Court, 1976)
Stafford v. Stafford
726 S.W.2d 14 (Texas Supreme Court, 1987)
Trenholm v. Ratcliff
646 S.W.2d 927 (Texas Supreme Court, 1983)
Fredonia State Bank v. General American Life Insurance Co.
881 S.W.2d 279 (Texas Supreme Court, 1994)
Burroughs Wellcome Co. v. Crye
907 S.W.2d 497 (Texas Supreme Court, 1995)
Transportation Insurance Co. v. Moriel
879 S.W.2d 10 (Texas Supreme Court, 1994)
In the Interest of Caballero
53 S.W.3d 391 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001)
in the Interest of B.M.R., a Minor Child
84 S.W.3d 814 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
In the Interest of K.C.M.
4 S.W.3d 392 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999)