In re J.B.

2019 Ohio 1929
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 20, 2019
Docket18CA011424
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2019 Ohio 1929 (In re J.B.) 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 J.B., 2019 Ohio 1929 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

[Cite as In re J.B., 2019-Ohio-1929.]

STATE OF OHIO ) IN THE COURT OF APPEALS )ss: NINTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COUNTY OF LORAIN )

IN RE: J.B. C.A. No. 18CA011424

APPEAL FROM JUDGMENT ENTERED IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS COUNTY OF LORAIN, OHIO CASE No. 18JC53984

DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY

Dated: May 20, 2019

TEODOSIO, Presiding Judge.

{¶1} Appellant Mother appeals the judgment of the Lorain County Court of Common

Pleas, Juvenile Division, that adjudicated her child J.B. abused, neglected, and dependent. This

Court affirms

I.

{¶2} Mother is the biological mother of J.B. (d.o.b. 4/26/13). Father appeared in the

juvenile court and asserted that he did not wish to participate in any proceedings regarding the

child.

{¶3} Based on injuries discovered on the child’s body, Lorain County Children

Services (“LCCS” or “the agency”) filed a complaint alleging that J.B. was an abused, neglected,

and dependent child. After an adjudicatory hearing, the magistrate issued a decision finding the

child to be abused, neglected, and dependent. The juvenile court adopted the magistrate’s

decision the same day. Mother filed timely objections. The juvenile court heard the arguments 2

of counsel at a hearing on the objections. Subsequently, the juvenile court issued a judgment

overruling Mother’s objections and adhering to its prior judgment adjudicating J.B. an abused,

neglected, and dependent child. Mother filed a timely appeal in which she raises three

assignments of error for review.

II.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR I

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT ADMITTED AS EVIDENCE, UH ELYRIA REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER OUTPATIENT SUMMARY, REGISTRATION HISTORY, AND CLINICAL CHART, WHEN SUCH RECORD CONTAINED HEARSAY.

{¶4} Mother argues that the juvenile court erred by admitting the child’s medical

records into evidence at the adjudicatory hearing. Mother’s argument is not well taken.

{¶5} A review of the record indicates that the magistrate declined to admit the child’s

medical records as evidence after Mother’s objection to their admission during the adjudicatory

hearing. Instead, the magistrate merely allowed the agency to proffer the medical records. In

addition, the magistrate expressly asserted that he did not need to consider the medical records to

make his decision. Rather, he found J.B. to be abused, neglected, and dependent based on the

remaining “overwhelming evidence” adduced at the hearing. Moreover, at the hearing on

Mother’s objections, Mother’s attorney admitted that the magistrate had not considered the

medical records in his decision. The juvenile court further did not indicate that it would consider

the medical records when ruling on the objections. The juvenile court’s judgment in which it

overruled Mother’s objections and adhered to its prior judgment of adjudication does not

reference any consideration of the child’s medical records. As there is nothing to indicate that

the juvenile court admitted or considered J.B.’s medical records, Mother’s argument fails.

Mother’s first assignment of error is overruled. 3

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR II

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED WHEN IT PERMITTED THE CHILD’S OUT OF COURT STATEMENTS TO BE ADMITTED AS EVIDENCE.

{¶6} Mother argues that the juvenile court erred by considering testimony by the

agency caseworker and the child’s school nurse regarding statements made by the child that

Mother’s boyfriend had caused the child’s injuries, because those statements contained

inadmissible hearsay. This Court disagrees.

{¶7} While this Court generally reviews the trial court’s action with respect to a

magistrate’s decision for an abuse of discretion, we do so with reference to the nature of the

underlying matter. In re I.R., 9th Dist. Summit No. 27775, 2016-Ohio-2919, ¶ 8, citing Fields v.

Cloyd, 9th Dist. Summit No. 24150, 2008-Ohio-5232, ¶ 9, and Tabatabai v. Tabatabai, 9th Dist.

Medina No. 08CA0049-M, 2009-Ohio-3139, ¶ 18. Given the broad discretion accorded to trial

courts to admit or exclude evidence, this Court “will not disturb evidentiary rulings absent an

abuse of discretion ‘that produced a material prejudice’ to the aggrieved party.” In re I.W., 9th

Dist. Wayne Nos. 07CA0056 and 07CA0057, 2008-Ohio-2492, ¶8, quoting State v. Roberts, 9th

Dist. Summit No. 21532, 2004-Ohio-962, ¶ 14. An abuse of discretion is more than an error of

judgment; it means that the trial court was unreasonable, arbitrary, or unconscionable in its

ruling. Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217, 219 (1983). When applying the abuse of

discretion standard, an appellate court may not substitute its judgment for that of the trial court.

Pons v. Ohio State Med. Bd., 66 Ohio St.3d 619, 621 (1993).

{¶8} It is well established that the juvenile court must strictly adhere to the rules of

evidence during the adjudicatory hearing. In re E.R., 9th Dist. Medina No. 05CA0108-M, 2006-

Ohio-4816, ¶ 41, citing In re Baby Girl Baxter, 17 Ohio St.3d 229, 233 (1985). Evid.R. 802 4

proscribes the admission of hearsay. Accordingly, hearsay is not admissible for purposes of

adjudication. In re E.R. at ¶ 41.

{¶9} Evid.R. 803 sets forth multiple exceptions to the hearsay rule. Mother argued

below and on appeal that this case involves the application of Evid.R. 803(4) which permits the

admission of

[s]tatements made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment and describing medical history, or past or present symptoms, pain, or sensations, or the inception or general character of the cause or external source thereof insofar as reasonably pertinent to diagnosis or treatment.

Mother argues that the juvenile court erred in determining that the child’s statements were made

for purposes of diagnosis or treatment, rather than for some other purpose.

{¶10} The Supreme Court of Ohio has clarified that a child-declarant’s competency is

not an issue that must be determined in these cases. Instead, the only issue relevant to the

admission of a child’s statements pursuant to Evid.R. 803(4) is whether the statements were

made for purposes of medical diagnosis or treatment. State v. Muttart, 116 Ohio St.3d 5, 2007-

Ohio-5267, ¶ 46. The high court set out a nonexhaustive list of considerations to determine the

purpose of the child’s statements, including (1) whether the child’s statements were elicited in a

leading or suggestive manner; (2) whether a motive to lie exists, e.g., in relation to a “bitter

custody battle[;]” and (3) whether the child understood the need to be truthful to the medical

provider. Id. at ¶ 49, quoting State v. Dever, 64 Ohio St.3d 401, 410 (1992). Other contextual

considerations include the child’s age, the consistency of the child’s assertions, and whether the

interview of the child was conducted pursuant to proper protocol. Id.

{¶11} The school nurse testified that she receives ongoing training relevant to her duties

at the school, some of which has addressed the identification of abuse in children. She explained

that she routinely conducts a head-to-toe assessment of a child who comes to her with an issue. 5

In addition, she questions the child about how he feels and the reason for his visit to determine

what medical treatment is required. If the nurse is concerned about what she learns following

her exam and questioning, she then calls in the principal to assess the need for further action.

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