In Re Welfare of CB

139 P.3d 1119, 134 Wash. App. 336
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedAugust 1, 2006
Docket32948-4-II, 32951-4-II, 32958-1-II
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 139 P.3d 1119 (In Re Welfare of CB) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Welfare of CB, 139 P.3d 1119, 134 Wash. App. 336 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

139 P.3d 1119 (2006)

In re the WELFARE OF C.B., B.B., and S.B., Minor Children.

Nos. 32948-4-II, 32951-4-II, 32958-1-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

August 1, 2006.

*1120 Anton Laurens Knappert, Seattle, Jennifer L. Dobson, Attorney at Law, Seattle, WA, Catherine E. Glinski, Attorney at Law, Manchester, WA, for Appellant.

Tanya L. Thorp, Attorney Generals Office, Tacoma, WA, for Respondent.

VAN DEREN, A.C.J.

¶ 1 C.L.B. appeals termination of her parental rights to her three children, C., B., and S. She argues that (1) the RCW 13.34.180 and RCW 13.34.190, the Washington parental rights termination statutes, are facially unconstitutional because they are not narrowly drawn to meet a compelling state interest and do not require the trial court to find that there are no less restrictive alternatives before terminating a parent's fundamental rights; and (2) if these statutes are constitutional, the State failed to prove the statutory elements necessary to justify termination of C.L.B.'s parental rights. We adopt Division One's reasoning in In re Dependency of I.J.S., 128 Wash.App. 108, 114 P.3d 1215, review denied, 155 Wash.2d 1021, 128 P.3d 1240 (2005), uphold the constitutionality of RCW 13.34.180 and 13.34.190, and conclude that the trial court did not err in terminating C.L.B.'s parental rights.

*1121 FACTS

¶ 2 C.L.B. is the mother of three children, C., B., and S.[1] The father was murdered in February 1997. Since July 1994, there have been six referrals to state authorities on behalf of the children in Washington and two referrals in Texas alleging physical abuse and neglect, medical neglect, sexual abuse, and drug use.

¶ 3 In May 2001, C.L.B. placed all three children informally with their paternal grandmother, Annette Lamphere, whose husband was a registered sex offender. In March 2003, S. reported that Lamphere's husband had touched her on her chest. Before C.L.B. gave Lamphere informal custody of all three children in May 2001, C.L.B. and the children lived with C.L.B.'s father and her brother, who is a Level III sex offender. During that time, C.L.B.'s father sexually abused S., a fact confirmed when S. was diagnosed with Chlamydia. C.L.B. apparently disclosed the abuse to another family member, but she continued to reside with her father and brother. S. also reported in March 2002 that her paternal grandfather, William Beatty, "touched her private areas and has been trying hard to stop the bad touching." Exhibit 3(1.5). Moreover, the children's blood tests indicated abnormal enzymes consistent with exposure to drug manufacture. Unchallenged testimony at the termination trial further demonstrated that C.L.B. exposed the children to drug activities, criminal behavior, and pornography. And B. began acting out sexually toward his siblings.

¶ 4 On April 15, 2002, in Young County, Texas, C.L.B. pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance — methamphetamine. In exchange for her guilty plea, the Texas trial court sentenced C.L.B. to ten years of "intensive community supervision," a sentence that allowed her to avoid incarceration so long as she complied with an extensive list of conditions.[2] But C.L.B. violated these conditions and the Texas trial court incarcerated her on June 13, 2003.

¶ 5 On April 21, 2003, before C.L.B.'s Texas incarceration, the Washington Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) petitioned the Kitsap County Superior Court to declare all three children dependent. When the dependency petition was filed, C.L.B. had ostensibly not seen any of the children since she placed them with Annette Lamphere in May 2001. As part of the dependency process, DSHS offered C.L.B. a variety of services after filing the dependency petition in April 2003, but she engaged in none of the services before her incarceration in June.[3] While C.L.B. was incarcerated in Texas, equivalent services were unavailable due to inadequate funding.[4]

¶ 6 The Kitsap County Superior Court declared all three children dependent on August 13, 2003. A subsequent dependency dispositional hearing order was issued on October 22, 2003, outlining steps C.L.B. had to take to end the dependency proceedings for her children. C.L.B. did not comply with the October 2003 dispositional order, and DSHS filed a petition to terminate C.L.B.'s parental rights on May 12, 2004. C.L.B. remained incarcerated between the August 2003 dependency order and DSHS's filing of the May 12, 2004 termination petition.

¶ 7 A parental rights termination hearing was held on January 12, 2005. At the time of the hearing, C.L.B. had not seen the children *1122 in about four years but had written to them monthly for much of her time in the Texas prison. After hearing (1) the testimony of a child welfare social worker with the Department of Children and Family Services and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) both recommending termination; and (2) arguments by DSHS and C.L.B.'s attorney, the trial court terminated C.L.B.'s parental rights.

¶ 8 C.L.B. appeals.

ANALYSIS

I. CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE

¶ 9 C.L.B. challenges the facial constitutionality of the parental rights termination statutes, RCW 13.34.180 and 13.34.190, arguing that they impede a parent's fundamental rights and are not narrowly drawn to meet a compelling State interest. The State responds that the statutes are narrowly tailored to focus on the children's safety and, thus, meet the State's compelling interest in the children's welfare.

A. Standard of Review

¶ 10 A statute is presumed constitutional. State v. Coria, 120 Wash.2d 156, 163, 839 P.2d 890 (1992). A party challenging a statute has the burden of proving it is unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt. In re Dependency of I.J.S., 128 Wash.App. at 115, 114 P.3d 1215. Interpreting a statute and determining whether a statute is unconstitutional are questions of law we review de novo. In re Parentage of C.A.M.A., 154 Wash.2d 52, 57, 109 P.3d 405 (2005); Cockle v. Dep't of Labor & Indus., 142 Wash.2d 801, 807, 16 P.3d 583 (2001). Parties asserting that a statute is facially unconstitutional must also prove that no set of circumstances exists in which the statute, as currently written, can be constitutionally applied. I.J.S., 128 Wash.App. at 115-16, 114 P.3d 1215.

¶ 11 Because a parent's right to raise her children without the State's interference is a constitutionally protected fundamental liberty interest, we examine the termination statutes under the strict scrutiny standard. C.A.M.A.,

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Bluebook (online)
139 P.3d 1119, 134 Wash. App. 336, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-welfare-of-cb-washctapp-2006.