In re William N.

40 Misc. 3d 602
CourtNew York City Family Court
DecidedMay 31, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 40 Misc. 3d 602 (In re William N.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York City Family Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re William N., 40 Misc. 3d 602 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Ann E. O’Shea, J.

The Commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) commenced this proceeding alleging that the subject child, William N., Jr. (date of birth Mar. 2, 2011) (the child or William), was neglected by his mother, Kimberly H., and his father, William N., Sr. (collectively the respondents). Specifically, ACS alleges that the child’s “physical, mental, or emotional condition has been impaired or is in imminent danger of becoming impaired” as a result of the mother’s and father’s use of marijuana while the mother was pregnant; the father’s “failure to take any action” to stop the mother from smoking marijuana; and the mother’s failure to comply with a dispositional order entered, less than three months before William was born, in a case involving William’s then 41/2-year-old sibling, Akasha. William was removed from the respondents’ care two days after his birth, remanded to the custody of the Commissioner, and temporarily placed with his maternal aunt pending further proceedings.

A fact-finding hearing commenced on February 14, 2012, and was continued on March 28, 2012, and October 10, 2012. At the conclusion of ACS’s evidence, respondents moved pursuant to CPLR 4401 to dismiss the petition on the grounds that ACS had failed to establish a prima facie case of neglect against them. After submission of briefs, the court denied the motions and continued the hearing.

The Evidence

Petitioner’s evidence consisted of records from Beth Israel Hospital (the hospital) where William was born and the testimony of Child Protective Specialist Leah Brown. In addition, the court took judicial notice of the fact-finding and dispositional orders in Akasha’s case. The mother testified on her own behalf. The father presented no evidence.

[605]*605The Mother’s and Father’s Use of Marijuana

The hospital records established that the mother tested positive for marijuana when William was born, but William tested negative. Ms. Brown testified that the mother admitted smoking marijuana during her pregnancy. The mother admitted in the hearing that she smoked marijuana when she was seven months pregnant with William — around the same time that she consented to entry of a finding that she neglected Akasha by misusing marijuana. The mother explained that she smoked marijuana while she was pregnant with William because it was a difficult pregnancy, she was unable to eat, and the marijuana helped increase her appetite and her tolerance of food. Regardless, she did smoke marijuana while she was pregnant with William.

The hospital records also established that, although the mother tested positive for marijuana when William was born, William tested negative for alcohol, marijuana, or any other controlled substance. Except for a slightly elevated bilirubin count, which had no connection to the mother’s marijuana use, William was a healthy, normal newborn in all respects.

Family Court Act § 1012 (f) defines a “neglected child” in pertinent part as a child under the age of 18

“(i) whose physical, mental or emotional condition has been impaired or is in imminent danger of becoming impaired as a result of the failure of his parent ... to exercise a minimum degree of care
“(B) in providing the child with proper supervision or guardianship ... by misusing a drug or drugs ”i

To establish that William was a neglected child, petitioner had [606]*606to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence (Family Ct Act § 1046 [b] [i]; Nicholson v Scoppetta, 3 NY3d 357, 368 [2004]), not only that the mother misused a drug or drugs, which is not in dispute, but also that William’s physical, mental or emotional condition was impaired or placed in imminent danger of becoming impaired as a result of the mother’s drug use (id.).

The Court of Appeals instructed in Nicholson that, in determining whether a child should be removed from her home, a court must “focus on serious harm or potential harm to the child, not just on what might be deemed undesirable parental behavior” (3 NY3d at 369). Moreover, the Court emphasized that “imminent danger” means “near or impending, not merely possible” (id.).

The Court of Appeals reiterated Nicholson’s teaching in Matter of Afton C. (James C.) (17 NY3d 1, 9 [2011]). In that case, the Court held that the respondent father’s conviction of second-degree rape and having sex with a minor was insufficient to establish that he posed an imminent risk to his teenage daughters and should thus be removed from the home. The Court admonished that the test is whether the respondent failed to exercise a “minimum degree of care — not maximum, not best, not ideal — and the failure must be actual, not threatened” (id.). Quoting its earlier decision in Matter of Marie B. (62 NY2d 352, 358 [1984]), the Afton Court noted that

“these statutory requirements have constitutional underpinnings:
“ ‘Fundamental constitutional principles of due process and protected privacy prohibit governmental interference with the liberty of a parent to supervise and rear a child except upon a showing of overriding necessity. . . . [Thus,] the State may not deprive a natural parent of the right to the care and custody of a child absent a demonstration of . . . behavior evincing utter indifference and irresponsibility to the child’s well-being’ (Matter of Marie B., 62 NY2d 352, 358 [1984]).” (Afton, 17 NY3d at 9 n 3.)

In a case of particular relevance to the present one, the Court of Appeals held in Matter of Nassau County Dept. of Social Servs. v Denise J. (87 NY2d 73, 79 [1995]) that a newborn’s pos[607]*607itive toxicology for cocaine without proof that the “child has been physically, mentally or emotionally impaired, or is in imminent danger of being impaired” is insufficient to establish neglect under Family Court Act § 1012 (f) (i) (B). (See also Matter of Jones v Jones, 34 Misc 3d 1226[A], 2012 NY Slip Op 50257[U] [Fam Ct, Kings County 2012]; compare Matter of Joseph A. [Fausat O.], 91 AD3d 638 [2d Dept 2012] [the mother’s mental illness and delusional beliefs were insufficient to support a finding of neglect in the absence of evidence that the children were harmed or placed in imminent risk of harm as a result of her illness].) Unlike the baby in Denise J., who had a positive toxicology for cocaine, William tested negative for all unlawful substances and alcohol. And there was no evidence that the mother’s positive toxicology for marijuana — or her use of marijuana while she was pregnant with William — caused any physical, mental, or emotional harm to William or put him at risk of such harm. Indeed, there was no evidence presented that marijuana itself causes any harm to a developing fetus (see e.g. Matter of Jones v Jones, 34 Misc 3d 1226[A], 2012 NY Slip Op 50257[U] [Fam Ct, Kings County 2012]). Nor was there any evidence that other conduct of the mother in addition to or in combination with her use of marijuana placed William at risk of harm (cf. Matter of Aaliyah G., 51 AD3d 918 [2d Dept 2008] [father’s misuse of marijuana and using the child as a barricade against the police constituted neglect]).

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Related

In re William N.
118 A.D.3d 703 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
40 Misc. 3d 602, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-william-n-nycfamct-2013.