In the Interest of J. K.

629 S.E.2d 529, 278 Ga. App. 564
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMarch 30, 2006
DocketA05A1789
StatusPublished
Cited by46 cases

This text of 629 S.E.2d 529 (In the Interest of J. K.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia 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 J. K., 629 S.E.2d 529, 278 Ga. App. 564 (Ga. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinions

BLACKBURN, Presiding Judge.

The juvenile court of Gwinnett County terminated the parental rights of the mother of J. K. and J. K. II, seven-year-old twin girls. The mother appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. For reasons that follow, we affirm.

On appeal, we review the evidence in a light most favorable to the lower court’s judgment and determine only whether “any rational trier of fact could have found by clear and convincing evidence that the natural parent’s right to custody should be terminated.” (Punctuation omitted.) In the Interest of J. R.1 We defer to the juvenile court’s factfinding and thus neither weigh the evidence nor evaluate [565]*565witness credibility. See id. Nonetheless, we are mindful that “[because no judicial determination has more drastic significance than permanently severing a parent-child relationship, such severance must be exercised cautiously and scrutinized deliberately.” In the Interest of T. J. J.2

Viewed in this manner, the record shows that although the mother was married at the time of the girls’ birth, the girls’ putative father, Bryan Leitch, is not her husband. The girls were first removed from the care of their mother and her husband in July 2000, when they were eight months old, because one of the girls had been injured by her thirteen-year-old brother while left in his care. At that time, the juvenile court found that the girls were deprived due to a lack of proper parental control. Acase plan was subsequently put into effect, requiring the mother to complete anger management and parenting classes, to undergo a psychological evaluation and a drug evaluation, and to cooperate with the Department of Family and Children Services (“DFCS”).

The girls were returned to the custody of their mother and her husband in November 2001. The mother was to complete a psycho-sexual examination by the Medlin Clinic and continue to work on her case plan. In February 2002, the juvenile court found that the mother had not completed treatment recommendations made by the Medlin Clinic and had allowed contact between the girls and her son, which was forbidden by the case plan. The girls were not removed from her care at that time.

During a visit by a DFCS caseworker in May 2002, the mother, who was alone at home with the girls, could not be roused to answer the door. The police were eventually called to break into the house. J. K. and J. K. II were again found to be deprived and placed in DFCS custody. As part of her case plan, the mother was ordered to continue treatment at the Medlin Clinic; to be evaluated by a neuropsychologist; to see a psychiatrist for medication for depression, paranoia and severe mood swings; to attend parenting classes and marital counseling; and to participate in her son’s ongoing psychological treatment. In February 2003, the juvenile court granted temporary custody of the girls to Gerald and Renee Leitch, their paternal grandparents.

The mother has had supervised visitation with the girls since they were placed in the Leitches’ custody. However, she has provided no financial support for the girls other than occasional gifts, despite receiving a $30,000 inheritance.

The mother did not comply with the juvenile court’s May 2002 order to continue treatment at the Medlin Clinic and to follow up with [566]*566treatment recommendations resulting from her neuropsychological and psychiatric evaluations. She did not have regular employment or reliable transportation. She enrolled in Gwinnett Tech in December 2003, but had yet to take any classes as of April 2004. At the time of the hearing, the mother was not current on her mortgage payments. She has taken prescription Hydrocodone daily for the past eight years and cannot walk without it. Elizabeth McClure, director of the facility where the supervised visitation took place, testified that the mother kept her regular visits with the children, although she sometimes did not stay for the entire time scheduled due to transportation difficulties. McClure observed that the mother was unable to effectively discipline the children, and testified that unsupervised visitation would not be appropriate.

In its order of July 7,2004, the juvenile court again found that the girls were deprived due to a lack of parental care and ability. Specifically, the court concluded that the mother had “willfully refused and woefully failed” to comply with court-ordered counseling, resulting in her diagnosed mental health problems remaining untreated; had depended on pain medication which rendered her unable to care for the children; had provided no meaningful financial support for the children and was barely able to support herself; and had failed to develop and maintain a bond with the girls during her visits with them. The juvenile court therefore terminated the mother’s parental rights to J. K. and J. K. II. The mother filed a motion for a new trial, which was denied.

1. A basic review of the governing statute is in order. In a termination ofparental rights case, OCGA§ 15-11-94 (a) requires the trial court to consider whether there is clear and convincing evidence of parental misconduct or inability as provided in subsection (b) of that Code section. If such is shown, then the court considers whether termination of parental rights is in the best interest of the child.

Subsection (b) of the statute then sets forth four criteria that must be proven for the trial court to conclude that parental misconduct or inability is shown. Although the four criteria are separately listed, often they overlap, thus allowing evidence displaying one of the criteria to prove or at least partially prove one or more of the other criteria. The four criteria that the court must find in order to hold that parental misconduct or inability is shown are:

(i) The child is a deprived child, as such term is defined in Code Section 15-11-2;
(ii) The lack of proper parental care or control by the parent in question is the cause of the child’s status as deprived;
[567]*567(iii) Such cause of deprivation is likely to continue or will not likely be remedied; and
(iv) The continued deprivation will cause or is likely to cause serious physical, mental, emotional, or moral harm to the child.

OCGA§ 15-11-94 (b) (4) (A).

A careful review of these criteria demonstrates the overlapping nature of the evidence to show each. First, to show that a child is a deprived child, the State must present evidence that the child:

(A) Is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health or morals;
(B) Has been placed for care or adoption in violation of law;
(C) Has been abandoned by his or her parents or other legal custodian; or
(D) Is without a parent, guardian, or custodian.

OCGA § 15-11-2 (8).

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Bluebook (online)
629 S.E.2d 529, 278 Ga. App. 564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-interest-of-j-k-gactapp-2006.