In the Interest of J.K.F.

345 S.W.3d 706, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 5382
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 14, 2011
DocketNo. 05-10-00482-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 345 S.W.3d 706 (In the Interest of J.K.F.) 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 J.K.F., 345 S.W.3d 706, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 5382 (Tex. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion By

Justice MARTIN RICHTER.

After a jury trial, the trial court terminated the parental rights of Lisa Dawn Goodwin (Mother) to her child, J.K.F., and appointed Claus Fleckenstein (Father) as the sole managing conservator of the child. In seven issues, Mother, pro se, appeals the termination and contends the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support (a) termination of her parental rights under family code section 161.001(1)(D), (E); (b) a finding that termination of her parental rights is in the best interest of the child; and (c) termination of her parental rights based on conduct. She also complains that procedural and evidentiary errors during trial mandate reversal. For the reasons discussed below, we overrule Mother’s issues and affirm the trial court’s order.

I. Factual And Procedural Background

Following the divorce of her parents, six year old J.K.F. made an outcry of alleged sexual abuse against Father. Father was arrested and tried for the alleged crime. A jury acquitted Father in 2007. During the period following Father’s arrest and the conclusion of the criminal trial, Father was not allowed visitation with J.K.F. Upon his acquittal, Father sought to renew contact with J.K.F. Mother filed a motion for protective order to prevent all contact by Father; Father filed a motion for issuance of writ of attachment to remove J.K.F. from her Mother’s possession. The trial court appointed Patricia Rochelle as amicus attorney for the child and ordered supervised visitation between Father and J.K.F. Father and J.K.F. also met for joint therapy sessions with Dr. Alexandria Doyle, a psychologist who had been treating J.K.F. for over two years. On March 14, 2008, Father filed his original petition to terminate the parent-child relationship of Mother.

On March 19, 2008, the trial court signed interim temporary orders. Nancy Stark was appointed to supervise periods of possession and access awarded to Father. The trial court ordered that visitation was to take place every Wednesday for two hours and for these visits, Father and Stark would pick up J.K.F. at St. John’s Episcopal School, where the child attended elementary school. On March 28, 2008, amicus attorney for J.K.F. filed an emergency motion to modify interim orders. The motion advised the trial court of Mother’s interference with Father’s supervised visitation, expressed her concerns that Mother intended to remove J.K.F. from the jurisdiction of the court, and requested that the child be removed from Mother’s possession and placed in the home of family friends. According to the [710]*710emergency motion, when Stark and Father arrived for the first visit, J.K.F. attempted to run away. The following week, J.K.F. again attempted to run away. Mother and maternal grandmother appeared at the school and interfered with the visitation. On March 28, 2008, the trial court signed an order on the emergency motion to modify interim orders, removing J.K.F. from the Mother’s home and placing her with family friends. The trial court also temporarily restrained Mother from possession or access to the child. Mother filed a counter-petition to modify the parent-child relationship, based on her allegations that Father had a history of family violence and physical abuse and had sexually abused their child. In July 2008, the trial court ordered J.K.F. be placed in Father’s home. The court also ordered that all visitation between Mother and J.K.F. be supervised.

On April 8, 2010, the jury found Mother violated family code sections 161.001(1)(D) and (E) and found termination of Mother’s parental rights to be in J.K.F.’s best interest. See Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 161.001(1)(D), (E) (West Supp. 2010). The jury also awarded Father permanent sole conservatorship of J.K.F. On April 16, 2010, the trial court signed an order terminating Mother’s parental rights. This appeal followed.

II. Appellate Brief And Record On Appeal

Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 38.1(g) requires appellate briefs to contain a statement of facts that is supported by record references. Tex.R.App. P. 38.1(g). Also, Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 38.1(i) requires appellate briefs to “contain a clear and concise argument for the contentions made, with appropriate citations to authorities and to the record.” Tex.R.App. P. 38.1(i). Appellate courts must construe the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure reasonably, yet liberally, so the right to appeal is not lost by imposing requirements not absolutely necessary to effect the purpose of a rule. See Republic Underwriters Ins. Co. v. Mex-Tex, Inc., 150 S.W.3d 423, 427 (Tex.2004); Burke v. Ins. Auto Auctions Corp., 169 S.W.3d 771, 775 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2005, pet. denied); see also Tex.R.App. P. 38.9. However, an appellate court cannot consider documents, hearings, or trials that are cited in the brief and attached as appendices if they are not formally included in the record on appeal. See Burke, 169 S.W.3d at 775; Green v. Kaposta, 152 S.W.3d 839, 841 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2005, no pet.).

Mother provides argument and appropriate citations to authorities and the record to support her contentions. See Ranger Ins. Co. v. State, 312 S.W.3d 266, 270 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2010, pet. dism’d). However, throughout her brief, Mother cites to documents in her appendices which were not admitted into evidence in the trial court. Pro se litigants are held to the same standards as attorneys and must comply with all applicable and mandatory rules of pleading and procedure. See Green, 152 S.W.3d at 841. We cannot consider those documents that are not properly included in the appellate record or before this Court. Id.

III. SUFFICIENCY Of The Evidence

The termination of parental rights is a matter that implicates fundamental constitutional rights. See Wilson v. State, 116 S.W.3d 923, 927 (Tex.App.Dallas 2003, no pet.); In re S.N., 287 S.W.3d 183, 186 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, no pet.). A trial court may terminate the parent-child relationship if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that: (1) a parent committed one or more of the statutory child-endangering acts or omissions in section 161.001(1) of the fam[711]*711ily code; and (2) termination is in the best interest of the child. Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 161.001(1) (West Supp. 2010). The jury made affirmative findings as to both elements required for termination. In her first, second, third, and fifth issues, Mother contends the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support termination under the statutory conditions concerning endangerment. In her fourth issue, Mother contends the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to establish that termination is in the best interest of the child.

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345 S.W.3d 706, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 5382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-interest-of-jkf-texapp-2011.