In Re SN

292 S.W.3d 807, 2009 WL 2209863
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided July 23, 2009·No. 11-08-00293-CV·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

292 S.W.3d 807 (2009)

In the Interest of S.N., a Child.

No. 11-08-00293-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Eastland.

July 23, 2009.

*808 Forrest McCray, Abilene, for Appellant.

James Eidson, Dist. Atty., Patricia Dyer, Assistant Criminal District Attorney's Office, Allicyn B. Ivy, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Johnna McArthur, Beard Law Firm, Robert G. Clark, Abilene, for Appellee.

Panel consists of: WRIGHT, C.J., McCALL, J., and STRANGE, J.

OPINION

RICK STRANGE, Justice.

This is an accelerated appeal from the trial court's order terminating appellant's parental rights. We affirm.

Background Facts

Appellant is the father of S.N. T.M. is the mother of S.M. and S.N. T.M. and appellant lived together with S.M. and S.N. In March 2007, S.M. and S.N. were removed from the home. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services received information that appellant had hit S.M. and left bruises on her arms and thighs. The Department also learned that the parents used drugs in the home and that appellant was abusive to T.M. The Department filed a Petition for Protection of a Child, for Conservatorship, and for Termination in Suit Affecting Parent-Child Relationship. Appellant was subsequently charged with injury to a child for hitting S.M. Appellant pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to fifteen years confinement. At the time of the termination hearing, appellant was in prison and would be eligible for parole in February 2009. In its petition, the Department alleged five acts or omissions as the basis for terminating appellant's parental rights to S.N. It alleged that he:

13.1 knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the child to remain in conditions or surroundings which endanger the physical or emotional well-being of the child;
13.2 engaged in conduct or knowingly placed the child with persons who engaged in conduct which endangers the physical or emotional well-being of the child;
*809 13.3 knowingly engaged in criminal conduct that has resulted in the parent's:
(i) conviction of an offense; and
(ii) confinement or imprisonment and inability to care for the child for not less than two years from the date of filing of the petition;
13.4 been convicted or has been placed on community supervision, including deferred adjudication community supervision, for being criminally responsible for the death or serious injury of a child under the following sections of the Penal Code or adjudicated under Title 3 for conduct that caused the death or serious injury of a child and that would constitute a violation of one of the following Penal Code sections:
§ 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual)
13.5 failed to comply with the provisions of a court order that specifically established the actions necessary for the father to obtain the return of the child who [has] been in the permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services for not less than nine months as a result of the child's removal from the parent under Chapter 262 for the abuse or neglect of the child.

The trial court received evidence pertaining to the termination at a bench trial. At the conclusion of the trial, the court found that appellant had engaged in criminal conduct that resulted in his confinement and inability to care for his child for not less than two years and that he had been convicted of injury to a child. The trial court also found that termination was in S.N.'s best interest. The written termination order was filed on October 6, 2008. On October 14, 2008, appellant filed a notice of appeal and statement of points on which he intended to appeal. He identified the following complaints in his statement of points on appeal:

1. Texas Family Code 263.405(b) is unconstitutional and violates [appellant's] rights to due process and equal protection under Article [I], § 12 of the Constitution of the State of Texas and the 5th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution.
2. Texas Family Code 263.405(i) is unconstitutional and violates [appellant's] rights to due process and equal protection under Article [I], § 12 of the Constitution of the State of Texas and the 5th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution.
3. The evidence adduced at trial (or any prior hearing) was both legally and factually insufficient to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the termination of [appellant's] parental rights was in the best interest of the children as set forth in paragraph 7.1 of the Termination Order.
4. The evidence adduced at trial (or any prior hearing) was both legally and factually insufficient to establish by clear and convincing evidence that [appellant] has been convicted for being criminally responsible for the injury of a child constituting a violation of § 22.04 of the Texas Penal Code as set forth in paragraph 7.2.1 of the termination order.
5. The evidence adduced at trial (or any prior hearing) was both legally and factually insufficient to establish by clear and convincing evidence [appellant] knowingly engaged in *810 criminal conduct that resulted in the 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 as set forth in paragraph 7.2.2 of the termination order.

The trial court held a hearing to determine if any of appellant's points were frivolous and found that Points One and Two were not frivolous and that Points Three, Four, and Five were frivolous. Appellant does not challenge this finding.

Issues on Appeal

Appellant raises three issues on appeal. First, he argues that TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 263.405(b) (Vernon 2008) is unconstitutional because it deprives indigent parents their due process rights. Next, appellant argues that TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 263.405(i) (Vernon 2008) is unconstitutional because it violates the doctrine of separation of powers. Finally, he asserts that Section 263.405(i) is unconstitutional because it deprives indigent parents of their due process rights.

Standard of Review

A party may challenge a statute as being unconstitutional on its face or as applied to that party. Tex. Workers' Comp. Comm'n v. Garcia, 893 S.W.2d 504, 518 n. 16 (Tex.1995); City of Corpus Christi v. Pub. Util. Comm'n of Tex., 51 S.W.3d 231, 240-41 (Tex.2001). It is unclear whether appellant is attacking the constitutionality of TEX. FAM.CODE ANN. § 263.405 (Vernon 2008) on its face or as it is applied to him; therefore, we will discuss both a facial challenge and an as-applied challenge. To sustain a facial challenge, the party must show that the statute, by its terms, always operates unconstitutionally. Garcia, 893 S.W.2d at 518. To sustain an as-applied challenge, the party must show that the statute is unconstitutional when applied to that particular person or set of facts. Id.

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In Re SN, 292 S.W.3d 807, 2009 WL 2209863 (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

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