in the Interest of B.N.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedSeptember 29, 2022
Docket09-22-00108-CV
StatusPublished

This text of in the Interest of B.N. (in the Interest of B.N.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
in the Interest of B.N., (Tex. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont

________________

NO. 09-22-00108-CV ________________

IN THE INTEREST OF B.N.

________________________________________________________________________

On Appeal from the 279th District Court Jefferson County, Texas Trial Cause No. F-238,711 ________________________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Mother and Father both appeal from an order terminating their parental

rights. 1 After a bench trial, the trial court found, by clear and convincing evidence,

that statutory grounds exist for termination of Mother’s parental rights to her minor

child “Billy,” and that termination of Mother’s parental rights would be in the best

interest of Billy. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 161.001(b)(1)(E), (F) (N), (O), (2). The

trial court also found, by clear and convincing evidence, that statutory grounds exist

1We refer to the appellants as “Mother” and “Father” and the child by a pseudonym to protect their identities. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 109.002(d); Tex. R. App. P. 9.8(b)(2). 1 for termination of Father’s parental rights to his minor child Billy, and that

termination of Father’s parental rights would be in the best interest of Billy. See id.

§ 161.001(b)(1)(F), (N), (O), (2). After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment

terminating Mother’s and Father’s parental rights.

FATHER’S APPEAL

Father’s appointed counsel submitted a brief in which counsel contends that

there are no arguable grounds to be advanced on appeal. See Anders v. California,

386 U.S. 738 (1967); In re L.D.T., 161 S.W.3d 728, 731 (Tex. App.—Beaumont

2005, no pet.). The brief provides counsel’s professional evaluation of the record.

Counsel served Father with a copy of the Anders brief filed on his behalf. This Court

notified Father of his right to file a pro se response, as well as the deadline for doing

so. This Court did not receive a pro se response from Father.

We have independently reviewed the appellate record and counsel’s brief, and

we agree that any appeal would be frivolous. We find no arguable error requiring us

to order appointment of new counsel to re-brief Father’s appeal. Cf. Stafford v. State,

813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). We affirm the trial court’s judgment

terminating Father’s parental rights to Billy.

We deny the motion to withdraw filed by Father’s court-appointed counsel

because an attorney’s duty extends throughout the exhaustion or waiver of all

appeals. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 107.016(2)(B); In re P.M., 520 S.W.3d 24, 27

2 (Tex. 2016). Should Father decide to pursue an appeal to the Supreme Court of

Texas, counsel’s obligations to Father can be met “by filing a petition for review that

satisfies the standards for an Anders brief.” See In re P.M., 520 S.W.3d at 27-28.

MOTHER’S APPEAL

Mother’s appointed counsel filed a merits brief and in four issues questions

whether the evidence was legally or factually sufficient to support the trial court’s

judgment terminating the parental rights of Mother to the child on each statutory

ground found by the trial court, as well as in the child’s best interest. It is the burden

of the Department to show by clear and convincing evidence that the parent

committed one or more predicate acts or omissions and that termination is in the

child’s best interest. See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 161.001(b)(1), (2).

I. Background

Pretrial Allegations

On January 27, 2021, the Department received a referral alleging mental

health concerns regarding Mother. According to the affidavit submitted by the

Department to the trial court and attached to its Original Petition for Protection of a

Child, For Conservatorship, and For Termination in Suit Affecting the Parent-Child

Relationship, Mother, while still in the hospital after giving birth to Billy, was

“trying to give her child away.” 2 Mother was accused of taking a photo of her child

2 The affidavit was admitted as evidence at trial. 3 and texting the photo of the child to someone asking whether that person wanted the

child. The message contained a photo of Billy and stated, “Do you want the baby.

It’s a boy. Your mom…say you wanted a baby boy.” The affidavit stated that Mother

also had failed to fill out any vital statistics registry documents at the hospital for her

child.

When the Department interviewed Mother, she denied having mental health

or medical issues. She also denied sending a photo of Billy and trying to give him

away. Mother told the Department she wanted to keep and care for her child. But,

Mother could not provide the Department with a home address or proof that she had

any essentials to provide for an infant child.

The Department eventually was able to obtain an address where Mother was

living temporarily, and determined the home did not have any necessities for a

newborn child. Another member of the household confirmed that Mother was to stay

at the home, and also stated that Mother did not have any necessities for her child.

The Department alleged in its affidavit that it had serious safety concerns for the

child and concerns for Mother’s mental health and ability to care for her child, a lack

of a stable home, and that Mother was trying to give her child away to a stranger.

The affidavit also stated that Mother had a prior history with the Department, having

previously lost parental rights to two other children.

4 Evidence at Trial

On March 29, 2022, the trial court conducted a bench trial. Department

caseworker Stephanie McGlory testified that she was the caseworker on this case

from July 2021 to January 2022. According to McGlory, Mother blamed Father’s

ex-girlfriend for calling the Department and making the allegation that Mother could

not take care of her child. She explained the Department’s concerns regarding

Mother’s mental health, her history with the Department, including allegations of

sexual abuse of her older children, and her lack of a stable home. Mother’s family

service plan was created to address these concerns. In Mother’s service plan, she

was required, among other things, to get a psychological assessment. McGlory stated

the Department provided the information for Mother to contact the doctor. McGlory

testified she has never had a case where a parent has not been able to contact the

mental health doctor, testifying it is very easy to get in touch with the doctor. She

believed that the Department gave Mother “reasonable time” to complete her service

plan and she agreed she would have done anything possible to help Mother complete

her services.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Anders v. California
386 U.S. 738 (Supreme Court, 1967)
In Re J.O.A.
283 S.W.3d 336 (Texas Supreme Court, 2009)
Holley v. Adams
544 S.W.2d 367 (Texas Supreme Court, 1976)
Stafford v. State
813 S.W.2d 503 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Dupree v. Texas Department of Protective & Regulatory Services
907 S.W.2d 81 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1995)
in the Interest of L.D.T., C.R.E.T. and W.G.T.
161 S.W.3d 728 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005)
in the Interest of P.M., a Child
520 S.W.3d 24 (Texas Supreme Court, 2016)
in the Interest of M. L. L., a Child
573 S.W.3d 353 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019)
in Re Interest of N.G., a Child
577 S.W.3d 230 (Texas Supreme Court, 2019)
In the interest of C.H.
89 S.W.3d 17 (Texas Supreme Court, 2002)
In the Interest of J.F.C.
96 S.W.3d 256 (Texas Supreme Court, 2002)
In the Interest of J.L.
163 S.W.3d 79 (Texas Supreme Court, 2005)
In the Interest of R.R. & S.J.S.
209 S.W.3d 112 (Texas Supreme Court, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
in the Interest of B.N., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-interest-of-bn-texapp-2022.