In Re CDE

546 S.E.2d 837, 248 Ga. App. 756
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMarch 6, 2001
DocketA00A1914, A00A1995
StatusPublished

This text of 546 S.E.2d 837 (In Re CDE) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re CDE, 546 S.E.2d 837, 248 Ga. App. 756 (Ga. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

546 S.E.2d 837 (2001)
248 Ga. App. 756

In the Interest of C.D.E. et al., children.
In the Interest of S.K.S.-F.

Nos. A00A1914, A00A1995.

Court of Appeals of Georgia.

March 6, 2001.
Reconsideration Denied March 26, 2001.

*839 David L. Whitman, Sandra D. Hicks, Snellville, for appellants.

Thurbert E. Baker, Atty. Gen., Dennis D. Dunn, Deputy Atty. Gen., William C. Joy, Senior Asst. Atty. Gen., Shalen S. Nelson, Laura W. Hyman, Assistant Attys. Gen., Cheeley & Joyner, John P. Cheeley, Duluth, for appellee.

*838 RUFFIN, Judge.

In these two cases, Patricia E. and Deryl E. appeal the juvenile court's order finding that several of their children were deprived and awarding temporary custody of those children to the Gwinnett County Department of Family & Children Services (DFCS). For reasons discussed below, we reverse the judgment in both cases.

In late 1999, Patricia and Deryl were living together with their infant son, D.E. (born July 24, 1999); three of Deryl's children from a prior marriage, S.M.E. (born April 21, 1989), D.C.E. (born December 28, 1988), and C.D.E. (born May 21, 1986); and Patricia's daughter, S.K.S.-F. (born February 20, 1992) (referred to hereafter as S.K.S.). Deryl also had another teenage child, Cl. E., who had previously been placed in DFCS' custody due to severe emotional problems. At the time, Deryl was on probation for convictions for simple battery and obstruction.

In January 2000, Deryl was arrested on a domestic violence charge for pushing Patricia to the ground while she was holding their baby, D.E. On February 14, 2000, DFCS filed deprivation petitions with respect to S.M.E., D.C.E., C.D.E., and S.K.S.,[1] alleging that there was domestic violence in the home. Following a hearing on that date, the trial court entered an order temporarily awarding custody of the children to DFCS pending a final deprivation hearing.

The final deprivation hearing was held on February 28, 2000. At the beginning of the hearing, the court was advised that S.K.S.'s father, Derek Franco, had filed a motion to change custody of S.K.S. The court indicated that it would consider the issue of S.K.S.'s deprivation at the hearing, but would not consider the change of custody motion until a later time.

The evidence presented at the hearing was very sketchy and largely based on hearsay. Nancy Conrey, a DFCS caseworker, testified that she was "assisting on the investigation" with respect to the various children, although she did not specify her precise role in the investigation. She testified that the children had been removed from Patricia and Deryl's home due to

[r]epeated incidents of domestic violence in the home. The issues between [Deryl] and [Patricia]. The children telling us in separate interviews repeated incidents of [Deryl] beating [Patricia]. The children continually exposed to this in the home. Also "C.D.E.," the 14-year-old, allegedly being physically abusive to [Patricia] which she chose not to handle through our recommendation to Juvenile Court for an unruly. We've documented, you know, domestic violence on [Deryl] from '88 up until the present and he's been in the anger management classes because he's on Federal probation and now on State probation for domestic violence and it doesn't seem to be working.

Although Conrey referred to "repeated" and "documented" incidents of domestic violence, it is apparent from her testimony that she had no personal knowledge of any such incidents. Rather, she relied completely on information related to her by others, primarily statements she claims were made by some of the children to unidentified persons at DFCS. Deryl's attorney objected to these statements on hearsay grounds, requesting that the judge interview the children himself, and the judge responded, "Okay. All right." However, the judge never actually questioned the children regarding the alleged violence, and no evidence of any specific allegations by the children was introduced. Conrey also stated that "there's evidence that [Patricia] maltreats ... `C.D.E.' and `D.C.E.,'" but offered no explanation as to what that evidence might be.

*840 Conrey testified that Deryl had completed a court-ordered psychological evaluation, and the psychologist's written report was offered into evidence without objection. The report indicated that it was based on one interview session with Deryl, as well as information about Deryl and his family provided to the psychologist by Conrey. The report offered no conclusions regarding Deryl's ability to properly parent his children, but nevertheless recommended that he "not get his children back at this time." The psychologist who prepared the report did not testify at the hearing.

Patricia testified that, in 1996, she had taken out a warrant against Deryl for simple battery. She did not, however, offer any details regarding the incident. Deryl went to prison for a time,[2] and there were no more violent incidents after he was released until late 1999 or early 2000. While Deryl was in prison, Patricia had custody of his children from his earlier marriage.

Patricia testified that her relationship with Deryl deteriorated in late 1999, largely as a result of stress over how to deal with C.D.E., who Patricia said had become sexually active with an older man. By the beginning of December, Patricia and Deryl were arguing "on a regular basis." Patricia testified at the deprivation hearing that, shortly before his January arrest, Deryl had begun to "get physical" with her, such as by biting her head or banging her head against a wall or door frame.[3] She said that none of these incidents, however, had resulted in any bruising. She testified that she "told [Deryl] if it ever happened again that it would be the last time." In January, Deryl pushed her to the ground while she was holding their five-month-old child, D.E. It was this incident that caused her to take out a warrant for Deryl's arrest.

Patricia testified that, except for the one incident when she was holding their baby, none of the children ever observed any acts of violence by Deryl. She testified that, after she had their father arrested, the situation with Deryl's children "got way out of control." According to Patricia, they "started threatening me that they were going to have me arrested and call DFACS on me because I had done this to their father." She testified that she and Deryl were no longer living together and had agreed to get a divorce. She promised to abide by any restrictions the court imposed on Deryl having contact with her or her children.

Jane Hudson, a licensed clinical social worker, testified that she had observed Patricia and Deryl and their children on several occasions, as part of a family assessment conducted in connection with Deryl's son Cl. E., who had previously been placed in DFCS' custody. Hudson testified that "[Patricia and Deryl] have a wonderful family. They have beautiful, very intelligent children, and they do a lot of things together as a family." She said, however, that "I think the children have ambivalent feelings. I think they at times feel very, very attached to Patti and to [Deryl].

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

Related

In the Interest of J. T. S.
365 S.E.2d 550 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1988)
In the Interest of D. S.
441 S.E.2d 412 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1994)
In Re JCP
307 S.E.2d 1 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1983)
McBride v. State
545 S.E.2d 332 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2001)
In the Interest of D. S.
456 S.E.2d 715 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1995)
In the Interest of M. A. C.
261 S.E.2d 590 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1979)
In the Interest of J. L. M.
418 S.E.2d 415 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1992)
In the Interest of J. C.
251 S.E.2d 299 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1978)
In the Interest of S. S.
501 S.E.2d 618 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1998)
In re J. C. P.
167 Ga. App. 572 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1983)
In re D. H.
342 S.E.2d 367 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1986)
In re S. E. H.
350 S.E.2d 833 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1986)
In the Interest of A. F.
510 S.E.2d 910 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1999)
In the Interest of J. B.
527 S.E.2d 275 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1999)
In the Interest of A. G. I.
539 S.E.2d 584 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2000)
In the Interest of C. D. E.
546 S.E.2d 837 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
546 S.E.2d 837, 248 Ga. App. 756, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-cde-gactapp-2001.