In Re CAJ

122 S.W.3d 888, 2003 WL 22725364
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 20, 2003
Docket2-03-092-CV
StatusPublished

This text of 122 S.W.3d 888 (In Re CAJ) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re CAJ, 122 S.W.3d 888, 2003 WL 22725364 (Tex. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

122 S.W.3d 888 (2003)

In the Interest of C.A.J., A Child.

No. 2-03-092-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Fort Worth.

November 20, 2003.

*890 David A. Pearson, IV, Fort Worth, for Appellant.

Tim Curry, Criminal District Attorney, Charles M. Mallin, Michael R. Casillas, Melissa Paschall, Asst. Criminal District Attorneys, Fort Worth, for State.

Panel F: LIVINGSTON, DAUPHINOT, and HOLMAN, JJ.

OPINION

TERRIE LIVINGSTON, Justice.

Appellant, C.J., appeals from the trial court's order terminating her parental rights with regard to her child C.A.J. In a single point, appellant complains that the evidence was factually insufficient to support the court's conclusion that termination of the parent-child relationship was in the child's best interest. We affirm.

FACTS

Appellant gave birth to C.A.J., her third child, on April 19, 2002. When C.A.J. was born, she tested positive for cocaine. In response, the hospital called Child Protective Services (C.P.S.) to report the abuse. At the hospital, appellant admitted to the C.P.S. worker that she took crack cocaine on a daily basis while she was pregnant with C.A.J.

Due to the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services' (D.P.R.S.) ruling that C.A.J. had been abused, shortly after her birth C.P.S. removed her from appellant's care and placed her in foster care. Initially, C.P.S. considered appellant's mother, JoAnn Wilson ("Wilson"), as a placement option for the child, but she withdrew her name from consideration. Consequently, C.P.S. placed the child with Karen Eckman ("Eckman"), appellant's sister in California. The Eckmans took possession of C.A.J. with an understanding that they would ultimately adopt C.A.J.

Wilson testified that when she withdrew her name from consideration as an option *891 for placement for C.A.J., she recommended Eckman as a potential placement option. However, Wilson also stated that when she recommended Eckman, she did not think that Eckman planned to adopt C.A.J. Additionally, Wilson claimed that she was unaware that she could be reconsidered for placement. Appellant testified that she was unable to care for the child on her own. Appellant also admitted that it was probably in the child's best interest to live with her sister.

Aisha Anderson, the C.P.S. caseworker assigned to C.A.J. in July 2002, testified that she tried to set up visitation appointments between C.A.J. and appellant, but had been unable to do so because she could not locate appellant. After appellant was incarcerated, Anderson arranged the only visit that occurred between C.A.J. and appellant by taking C.A.J. to visit at the jail. Anderson noted that no bonding had occurred between appellant and the child.

During the termination proceedings, appellant was pregnant with her fourth child. Her second child lives with appellant's mother, and her first child lives with another relative. Appellant admitted to using drugs during all of her pregnancies. In addition to drug addiction, appellant also suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Appellant has twice been convicted of prostitution and at least twice for assault. At the time of trial, appellant was serving a fifteen-month sentence for a felony level theft conviction and could not provide a stable home for C.A.J. Based upon this evidence, the trial court concluded that it was in the child's best interest to terminate appellant's parental rights.

ANALYSIS

In appellant's sole point, she complains that the evidence was factually insufficient to support the trial court's conclusion that termination of the parent-child relationship was in the child's best interest. A parent's rights to "the companionship, care, custody and management" of his or her children are constitutional interests "far more precious than any property right." Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 758-59, 102 S.Ct. 1388, 1397, 71 L.Ed.2d 599 (1982). "While parental rights are of constitutional magnitude, they are not absolute. Just as it is imperative for courts to recognize the constitutional underpinnings of the parent-child relationship, it is also essential that emotional and physical interests of the child not be sacrificed merely to preserve that right." In re C.H., 89 S.W.3d 17, 26 (Tex.2002). In a termination case, the State seeks not just to limit parental rights but to end them permanently—to divest the parent and child of all legal rights, privileges, duties, and powers normally existing between them, except for the child's right to inherit. Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 161.206(b) (Vernon 2002); Holick v. Smith, 685 S.W.2d 18, 20 (Tex.1985). We strictly scrutinize termination proceedings and strictly construe involuntary termination statutes in favor of the parent. Holick, 685 S.W.2d at 20-21; In re D.T., 34 S.W.3d 625, 630 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2000, pet. denied) (op. on reh'g).

In proceedings to terminate the parent-child relationship brought under section 161.001 of the family code, the petitioner must establish one or more of the acts or omissions enumerated under subdivision (1) of the statute and must also prove that termination is in the best interest of the child. Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 161.001; Richardson v. Green, 677 S.W.2d 497, 499 (Tex.1984); Swate v. Swate, 72 S.W.3d 763, 766 (Tex.App.-Waco 2002, pet. denied). Both elements must be established; termination may not be based solely on the best interest of the child as determined by the trier of fact. Tex. Dep't *892 of Human Servs. v. Boyd, 727 S.W.2d 531, 533 (Tex.1987).

Termination of parental rights is a drastic remedy and is of such weight and gravity that due process requires the petitioner to justify termination by "clear and convincing evidence." TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 161.206(a) (Vernon Supp.2004); In re G.M., 596 S.W.2d 846, 847 (Tex. 1980). This intermediate standard falls between the preponderance standard of ordinary civil proceedings and the reasonable doubt standard of criminal proceedings. G.M., 596 S.W.2d at 847; D.T., 34 S.W.3d at 630. It is defined as the "measure or degree of proof that will produce in the mind of the trier of fact a firm belief or conviction as to the truth of the allegations sought to be established." Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 101.007. The higher burden of proof in termination cases alters the appellate standard of factual sufficiency review. In re C.H., 89 S.W.3d at 25. "[A] finding that must be based on clear and convincing evidence cannot be viewed on appeal the same as one that may be sustained on a mere preponderance." Id.

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122 S.W.3d 888, 2003 WL 22725364, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-caj-texapp-2003.