In Re the Welfare of the Children of B.J.B.

747 N.W.2d 605, 2008 Minn. App. LEXIS 151, 2008 WL 1800143
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedApril 22, 2008
DocketA07-2124
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 747 N.W.2d 605 (In Re the Welfare of the Children of B.J.B.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re the Welfare of the Children of B.J.B., 747 N.W.2d 605, 2008 Minn. App. LEXIS 151, 2008 WL 1800143 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinions

OPINION

WORKE, Judge.

In this appeal from the district court’s order revoking a stay of termination of her [607]*607parental rights, appellant-mother argues that (1) the district court’s use of a stayed termination order is not authorized and led to an involuntary waiver of her right to trial and to have the state prove its case, and (2) the record does not support revoking the stay. Because the district court did not err by using a stayed termination order, which did not deprive appellant of due process, and because a statutory basis for terminating appellant’s parental rights was shown by clear and convincing evidence, we affirm.

FACTS

Appellant B.J.B. has a history of chemical dependency and failures in multiple treatment programs. In May 2006, appellant’s fifteen-month-old child, C.P., was adjudicated a child in need of protection or services; in May 2007, appellant’s seventeen-month-old, C.B., was added to the petition and adjudicated in need of protection or services.

In July 2007, the district court issued an emergency protective order removing the children from appellant’s custody after methamphetamine was found at appellant’s residence and she admitted to cocaine use. Following a review hearing in August 2007, the district court found that appellant had consistently produced positive urinalyses (UAs), failed to attend scheduled out-patient treatment sessions, and failed to attend individual therapy. Appellant also missed several supervised visits with the children.

The court gave appellant another 15 days to show that she could abide by the terms of her case plan, which she was unable to do. Dodge County then petitioned for the termination of appellant’s parental rights, based on appellant’s diagnosed history of chemical dependency, her multiple failures in chemical-dependency treatment, and her continued failure to abstain from chemical use. Appellant entered inpatient chemical-dependency treatment. The children’s father consented to termination of his parental rights.

On October 5, 2007, after appellant finished the treatment program, the parties signed a stipulation in which appellant admitted to the termination petition under Minn.Stat. § 260C.301, subd. 1(b)(5) (2006), which provides grounds for termination if, following the children’s out-of-home placement, reasonable efforts have failed to correct the conditions leading to that placement. Appellant admitted that she was addicted to chemicals; that her addiction gravely and negatively impacted her ability to parent the children; that reasonable efforts to correct conditions leading to the children’s placement had been made and those efforts were unsuccessful; and that due to her ongoing chemical dependency, she would be unable for the foreseeable future to care appropriately for the children’s physical, mental, or emotional needs. The stipulation also provided that an order would be issued, staying the termination of appellant’s parental rights for up to 90 days based on appellant’s 100% compliance with certain conditions, including abstaining from the use of alcohol or controlled substances, refusing to associate with persons who used those substances, and complying with all requested UAs. The stipulation provided that, should appellant comply with all of the conditions, visitation with the children would possibly become unsupervised and gradually increase to include overnights, with dismissal of the petition without prejudice after 90 days and the children remaining under protective supervision or care. If it were alleged that appellant had violated the conditions, the court would hold a hearing and make a finding on the alleged violation. The stipulation stated that if appellant failed to comply with the provisions of the stipulation and order “in all respects,” it would be determined to be in the best interests of the children to [608]*608terminate her parental rights so that the children could obtain a permanent home.

When the parties presented the stipulation to the court, appellant’s attorney stated that appellant wished to admit, as stipulated, to the termination petition. Appellant testified that she was addicted to cocaine and other controlled substances, that she had failed chemical-dependency programs at least twice, and that she loved her children but was incapable of parenting when she was using chemicals. Appellant waived her right to a court trial, to subpoena and cross-examine witnesses, and to testify or not to testify. The court confirmed that the stipulation included random testing for the next 90 days, and appellant agreed to provide a UA immediately after the hearing. The court approved the stipulation.

Appellant produced a positive UA after the hearing, and a second UA also tested positive for cocaine. Appellant, as well as the person she was living with, declined to produce any additional UAs over the next few days. On October 12, the district court held another hearing on the allegation that appellant had violated the conditions of the stay. Appellant was present and admitted, through her attorney, that “she did relapse. She did use cocaine.” The district court issued an order terminating appellant’s parental rights, and this appeal followed.

ISSUES

I. Did the district court err by using a stayed termination order in a termination-of-parental-rights proceeding?

II. Does clear and convincing evidence of a statutory basis for termination exist to support revocation of the stay?

ANALYSIS

I.

A district court may terminate parental rights if it is proved by clear and convincing evidence that a statutory ground for termination exists and that the termination is in the child’s best interests. In re Welfare of P.R.L., 622 N.W.2d 538, 543 (Minn.2001). The best interests of the child is the paramount consideration in a termination-of-parental rights proceeding. Minn.Stat. § 260C.301, subd. 7 (2006). Whether a parent’s due-process rights have been violated in a termination proceeding is a question of law, which this court reviews de novo. In re Child of P.T., 657 N.W.2d 577, 583 (Minn.App.2003), review denied (Minn. Apr. 15, 2003).

The parent-child relationship is among the fundamental rights protected by substantive due process. Soohoo v. Johnson, 731 N.W.2d 815, 820 (Minn.2007); P.T., 657 N.W.2d at 588. The applicable due-process standard for juvenile proceedings is fundamental fairness. McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, 403 U.S. 528, 543, 91 S.Ct. 1976, 1985, 29 L.Ed.2d 647 (1971). A court considering whether a party has been deprived of due process balances the private interest affected by official action, the risk of erroneous deprivation of that interest through the procedures used and the value of additional or substitute procedural safeguards, and the government’s interest. Bendorf v. Comm’r of Pub. Safety, 727 N.W.2d 410, 415-16 (Minn.2007).

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747 N.W.2d 605, 2008 Minn. App. LEXIS 151, 2008 WL 1800143, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-welfare-of-the-children-of-bjb-minnctapp-2008.