In Re the Welfare of V.R.

355 N.W.2d 426, 1984 Minn. App. LEXIS 3523
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedSeptember 11, 1984
DocketC1-84-341
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 355 N.W.2d 426 (In Re the Welfare of V.R.) 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 V.R., 355 N.W.2d 426, 1984 Minn. App. LEXIS 3523 (Mich. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

OPINION

HUSPENI, Judge.

This is an appeal by appellants father and mother from the Juvenile Court’s determination that V.R., P.R., and L.R. are dependent and neglected children as defined by Minn.Stat. § 260.015, subd. 6(b), (d) and subd. 10(b)-(e) (1982). Mother and father also contend that the trial court abused its discretion in denying their motion for a fourth continuance and by denying their motion for a new trial or to reopen the trial for the presenting of further witnesses. We affirm in part and vacate in part.

FACTS

V.R. is the natural daughter and B.R. is the natural son of mother. They are the adopted daughter and son of father. Two other daughters, P.R. and L.R., are the natural children of both parents.

On October 21, 1982, the Brooklyn Center police were called to the R.’s home by V.R. because of a family fight. When Officers McComb and Ewald arrived at the home, they observed that B.R., age 17, had a swollen right eye and a scratch on his cheek, was hysterical, crying, sobbing, and visibly upset. B.R. told the police that he had been assaulted by his father. He also reported that similar assaults had occurred in the past. Both officers testified that the father was intoxicated when they arrived, and that the mother was uncooperative and unconcerned when she returned home and the police were there.

After investigating the reported incident, the police arrested father and charged him with domestic abuse. Approximately one week later, V.R. and B.R. reported to a Hennepin County social worker that their father had been sexually abusing them. Shortly thereafter, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged father with in-trafamilial sexual abuse in the second degree in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.3642 (1982), and the Hennepin County Bureau of Social Services filed a dependency and neglect petition in regard to all four children. B.R., now an adult, has retracted his statements regarding father’s sexual abuse. V.R. has not retracted her statements.

A contested hearing on the dependency and neglect petition was scheduled on April 20, 1983. That hearing was continued for sixty days because father and mother were without legal counsel. An attorney from the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Conflicts Panel was appointed to represent them. On June 16, 1983, father and mother met with their appointed attorney for approximately one and one-half hours.

At the hearing on June 20, 1983, father and mother requested a continuance to pre *429 pare further for trial. The request was denied because of inconvenience to other parties and because father and mother had been granted one continuance already. The contested hearing on June 20 carried over to August 5, 1983.

At the hearing, V.R. testified that she had had sexual relations with father more than once a week since she was nine or ten years old. These relations included her father fondling her breasts and vagina, asking her to have oral sex or sexual intercourse with him. It usually occurred when her father was drunk, and he would slap her if she refused.

Mother denied ever witnessing or suspecting anything inappropriate about her husband’s relationships with their children. Father denied ever having any sexual relations with any of his children.

After hearing the matter, the trial court concluded that V.R., P.R., and L.R. were dependent and neglected children.

Father and mother then moved the court to vacate the judgment, grant a new trial, or, in the alternative, to reopen the trial to permit them to introduce additional testimony or evidence. The trial court denied the motion for a new trial, but reopened the trial for the limited purpose of allowing father and mother to call B.R., P.R., and L.R. as witnesses.

After the additional testimony, the trial court’s findings of fact, conclusions of law, and order remained unchanged. The court denied any further continuances to hear testimony, and this appeal resulted.

ISSUES

1. Was the trial court’s denial of appellants’ motion for a continuance of the trial an abuse of discretion which prejudiced appellants by materially affecting the outcome of the trial?

2. Was the trial court’s denial of appellants’ motion for a new trial or, in the alternative, to reopen the trial to permit the introduction of testimony of additional witnesses not previously called and to recall V.R. for further recrossexamination, an abuse of discretion?

3.Is the conclusion of the trial court that V.R., P.R., and L.R. are dependent and neglected children supported by clear and convincing evidence?

ANALYSIS

1. Father and mother contend that the trial court abused its discretion by denying their motion for a continuance. This motion was brought on the day the contested hearing was to begin. Father and mother argue they were denied time to prepare for trial and were denied effective assistance of counsel.

The decision to grant or deny a motion for continuance lies within the sound discretion of the trial court and will only be reversed upon a showing of abuse of discretion.

State v. Turnipseed, 297 N.W.2d 308, 311 (Minn.1980). To decide whether there has been an abuse of discretion, this court must examine all the circumstances before the trial court at the time the motion was made to determine whether the trial court’s decision prejudiced appellants by materially affecting the outcome of the trial. Id.

The trial was originally set for April 20, 1983. However, it was continued for sixty days because father and mother were without legal counsel. At the April 20 hearing, the Hennepin County Public Defender’s office was appointed to represent them, and the matter was continued until June 20, 1983. (Representation of father and mother was actually provided by a Conflicts Panel attorney because the Public Defender’s office was already representing V.R.) Father and mother allege that they first learned of their attorney’s appointment on June 16, 1983, and that they met with him for an hour and one-half to prepare for the June 20 hearing.

The county contends that father and mother havé not advanced any good cause why the continuance should have been granted. The county urges that father and mother failed to take proper action to meet with their attorney. There is no evidence *430 to indicate that father and mother made an appointment to see their attorney earlier than two days before the trial. There is no showing that they made any attempt to contact their attorney prior to June 16. Further, even though the motion for continuance was denied on June 20, that hearing was itself continued to August 5, 1983. There was adequate time between June 20 and August 5 for the Conflicts Panel attorney to prepare for the remainder of the hearing. The outcome of the trial was not materially affected by the court’s denial of the motion.

2. The grounds for new trial are governed by Rule 60.02, Minnesota Rules for Juvenile Court, which in relevant part states:

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Related

In Re the Welfare of G.C.
394 N.W.2d 830 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1986)
In Re the Welfare of S.G.
390 N.W.2d 336 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1986)
In re the Welfare of A.S.
375 N.W.2d 596 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1985)
In re the Welfare of J.W.
374 N.W.2d 307 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1985)
In re the Welfare of A.C.
373 N.W.2d 611 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1985)
In Re the Welfare of R.B.
369 N.W.2d 353 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1985)
In Re the Welfare of S.J.
367 N.W.2d 651 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1985)

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Bluebook (online)
355 N.W.2d 426, 1984 Minn. App. LEXIS 3523, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-welfare-of-vr-minnctapp-1984.