In Re Kiana A.

113 Cal. Rptr. 2d 669, 93 Cal. App. 4th 1109
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 19, 2001
DocketB146673
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 113 Cal. Rptr. 2d 669 (In Re Kiana A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Kiana A., 113 Cal. Rptr. 2d 669, 93 Cal. App. 4th 1109 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

113 Cal.Rptr.2d 669 (2001)
93 Cal.App.4th 1109

In re KIANA A., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.
Los Angeles County Department of Children And Family Services, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
Mario A., Defendant and Appellant.

No. B146673.

Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Three.

November 19, 2001.

*672 Tyna Thall Orren, Pasadena, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Lloyd W. Pellman, County Counsel, Lois D. Timnick, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

KLEIN, P.J.

In juvenile dependency proceedings, Mario A. and Kevin W. each petitioned the juvenile court to be declared the presumptive father of Kiana A. (05-13-88). At the time of disposition, the juvenile court found in Kevin W.'s favor. Mario A. appeals. We affirm the juvenile court's order.

*673 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Kevin W. removed the minors Kiana A. and her half sibling, Mykea M. (06-13-92), from their mother's home on August 30, 2000, after learning mother had been arrested. The minors came to the attention of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on September 7, 2000, when it was reported the minors had been the victims of general neglect by mother who sold drugs and permitted strangers to have sex in the home. The minors subsequently were declared wards of the court pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 based on a petition which, as sustained, alleged mother inappropriately disciplined the minors, Mykea M.'s father inappropriately touched Kiana A., mother has a history of drug abuse and Mykea M.'s father is currently incarcerated.

A Children's Social Worker (CSW) interviewed the minors at Kevin W.'s home on September 12, 2000. Kiana A. reported she had been living with Kevin W., whom she referred to as her "daddy," and no longer wished to live with mother. DCFS detained the minors from Kevin W.'s home and placed them in foster care.

Kevin W. indicated he and Kiana A.'s mother lived together when mother became pregnant with Kiana A. Mother told Kevin W. he was the father. However, five months later, they separated and mother began to live with Mario A. Soon thereafter, mother denied Kevin W. was Kiana A.'s father, and mother has made conflicting statements regarding Kiana A.'s paternity over the years. Kevin W. indicated he "has always been a part of Kiana's life." The CSW reported Kiana A. did not acknowledge Mario A. as being her father and does not recall ever seeing Mario A., whereas Kevin W. has treated Kiana A. as his child and has indicated that, even if genetic testing proved he was not Kiana A.'s father, he would continue to treat her as his child.

At the detention hearing, counsel for Kiana A. asked the juvenile court to release Kiana A. to Kevin W. Kevin W. testified he had cohabited "off and on" with mother after Kiana A. was about four years of age and that Kiana A. has stayed at Kevin W.'s home for two or three months at a time and has a bed in the room shared by his girlfriend's two daughters. When mother was arrested, Kiana A. telephoned Kevin W. and said, "Daddy, come get me." Kevin W. thereafter enrolled the minors in school and transported Kiana A. to and from school every day. When asked if he had ever been convicted of a crime, Kevin W. indicated he had been convicted of grand theft auto in 1986 and had not been in trouble since then.

At the conclusion of Kevin W.'s testimony, the juvenile court ordered Kiana A. released to his custody and denied DCFS's request for genetic testing.[1]

The matter was recalled when mother appeared and the juvenile court received the results of a search of Kevin W.'s criminal history. Under cross-examination by county counsel, Kevin W. admitted he had been imprisoned in 1993 after violation of parole upon conviction of burglary and grand theft auto. Additionally, Kevin W. had a 1988 misdemeanor conviction of brandishing a weapon and had been arrested in 1997 after an argument with his girlfriend. The juvenile court found Kevin W. had a "much more extensive record" than he had admitted, rescinded its earlier *674 placement order and ordered Kiana A. placed in foster care.

Prior to disposition, Mario A. sought to be declared Kiana A.'s presumptive father. Mario A. declared he and mother cohabited at about the time of Kiana A.'s conception, he is named as Kiana A.'s father on her birth certificate, he consented to the placement of his name on her birth certificate, he married mother on May 9, 1990, two years after Kiana A.'s birth, and they divorced on December 26, 1997. At about the time of Kiana A.'s birth, Mario A. was arrested. He has been continuously incarcerated for the past 12 years and was scheduled to be released on parole in October of 2001. Mario A. told the CSW he wanted to do what he could for Kiana A., including accepting responsibility as her father. Mario A. indicated he has maintained contact with Kiana A. by writing and telephoning her.

Kiana A. filed a declaration in which she averred she has always thought of Kevin W. as her father. "He has been around my whole life and has always supported me. When I lived with my mom he would buy me things that I needed." Kevin W. helped Kiana A. enroll in school and met with her teachers. Prior to a juvenile court appearance in November of 2000, Kiana A. did not remember ever seeing Mario A. Kiana A. indicated Mario A. has written her that he is her father. However, Kiana A. stated, "Kevin is my real dad. He has always been there for me."

Prior to disposition, the juvenile court denied Kevin W.'s request for genetic testing. On December 12, 2000, the juvenile court found both Kevin W. and Mario A. qualified as Kiana A.'s presumed father but concluded Kevin W.'s presumption prevailed over Mario A.'s because Kiana A. had acknowledged Kevin W. as her father and Kevin W. had received Kiana A. into his home.

CONTENTIONS

Mario A. contends he is Kiana A.'s presumptive father, Kevin W. does not qualify as a presumptive father and the juvenile court should have ordered genetic testing before it weighed the competing presumptions of paternity.

DISCUSSION

1. The Uniform Parentage Act.

Before addressing Mario A.'s contentions, we review the relevant law. The Uniform Parentage Act (the Act), originally adopted as Civil Code section 7000 et seq. and reenacted without substantive change as Family Code section 7600 et seq., establishes the framework by which California courts make paternity determinations.[2] It provides for conclusive and rebuttable presumptions of paternity.

a. The conclusive presumption of section 75W

The "conclusive presumption," found in section 7540, states: "Except as provided in Section 7541 [providing for the use of blood tests], the child of a wife cohabiting with her husband, who is not impotent or sterile, is conclusively presumed to be a child of the marriage." Under section 7541, requests for blood tests to rebut the conclusive presumption of paternity must be made within two years of the child's birth and can only be made by the husband, the child, the mother or a "presumed father" as defined in sections 7611 and 7612.

The conclusive presumption of section 7540 is a social policy statement made by the Legislature to protect the *675 integrity of the family unit.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
113 Cal. Rptr. 2d 669, 93 Cal. App. 4th 1109, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-kiana-a-calctapp-2001.