In the Interest of T.N.F.

205 S.W.3d 625, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 7904
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided August 30, 2006·No. No. 10-05-00327-CV·Published·Cited by 149 cases

Opinion

OPINION

BILL VANCE, Justice.

After a jury trial, the parental rights of Tammy Fulton, Ray Fulton, and Brandon Wobig to their respective children were terminated. All three appeal. We will affirm.

Tammy is the mother of all four children. Ray is the biological father of two of the children: H.Ra.F. and He.R.F., William Towery, the biological father of HÍ.R.F., reached an agreement with the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services on conservatorship, and his parental rights are not at issue. Brandon is the biological father of T.N.F. All four children resided with Tammy and Ray. The Department had previously removed the children in 2001, but they were reunited with the Fultons in March 2003. The Department filed a petition in February 2004 alleging neglect or abuse (Ray’s physical abuse of Tammy and the children), and the trial court signed an emergency protection order that named the Department temporary sole managing conservator. The Department set up service plans, but after the Fultons’ sporadic compliance and Brandon’s cessation of compliance and contact with the Department and T.N.F., sought termination of their parental rights.

Ray Fulton’s Appeal

After the trial court ordered termination of Ray’s parental rights, his appointed appellate attorney has filed an adequate Anders brief. See In re E.L.Y., 69 S.W.3d 838, 840 (Tex.App.-Waco 2002, order); see also Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967). Counsel, in his brief, considers issues in areas relevant to an appeal of the termination of parental rights, including a detailed discussion of the evidence and the effectiveness of trial counsel. See Sowels v. State, 45 S.W.3d 690, 691 (Tex.App.-Waco 2001, no pet.). Counsel’s brief contains references to both the record and applicable statutes, rules, and cases and discusses why counsel concludes that the record does not present any arguable issues. See id. Moreover, Ray was afforded an opportunity to respond to the Anders brief but did not.

We have conducted an independent review of the record to determine whether there are arguable grounds for appeal. See Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex.Crim.App.1991). Upon conducting that review, we determined that Ray had notice of the grounds for terminating his parental rights and had opportunity to defend against those grounds through the use of counsel, the presentation of evidence, and the cross-examination of adverse witnesses. Furthermore, the evidence presented at the trial is legally and factually sufficient to support the jury’s finding that Ray committed the predicate acts1 and that termination of Ray’s paren[629]*629tal rights was in the best interest of his children. See In re A.W.T., 61 S.W.3d 87, 88-89 (Tex.App.-Amarillo 2001, no pet.). We conclude that there are no arguable issues in Ray’s appeal and will affirm the trial court’s order terminating his parental rights. Counsel must advise Ray of our decision and of his right to file a petition for review. See Sowels, 45 S.W.3d at 694.

Brandon Wobig’s Appeal

Based on jury findings, the trial court terminated the parental rights of Brandon Wobig to T.N.F. because termination would be in the child’s best interest and because Brandon had: (1) knowingly placed or knowingly allowed T.N.F. to remain in conditions or surroundings that endangered her physical or emotional well-being; (2) engaged in conduct or knowingly placed T.N.F. with persons who engaged in conduct that endangered her physical or emotional well-being; and (3) failed to comply with the provisions of a court order that specifically established the actions necessary for him to obtain the return of T.N.F., who had been in the permanent or temporary managing conser-vatorship of the Department for not less than nine months as a result of the child’s removal from the parent under Chapter 262 for the abuse or neglect of the child.

Termination of parental rights is a drastic remedy and is of such weight and gravity that due process requires the petitioner to justify termination by “clear and convincing evidence.” Spangler v. Texas Dept. of Prot. & Reg. Servs., 962 S.W.2d 253, 256 (Tex.App.-Waco 1998, no pet.). This standard is defined as “that measure or degree of proof which will produce in the mind of the trier of fact a firm belief or conviction as to the truth of the allegations sought to be established.” Id. In a proceeding to terminate the parent-child relationship brought under section 161.001 of the Texas Family Code, the Department must establish by clear and convincing evidence two elements: (1) one or more acts or omissions enumerated under subsection (1) of section 161.001 (termed a predicate violation); and (2) that termination is in the best interest of the child. Tex. Fam. Code Ajnn. § 161.001 (Vernon Supp.2006); Swate v. Swate, 72 S.W.3d 763, 766 (Tex.App.-Waco 2002, pet. denied). The factfin-der must find that both elements are established by clear and convincing evidence, and proof of one element does not relieve the petitioner of the burden of proving the other. Holley v. Adams, 544 S.W.2d 367, 370 (Tex.1976); Swate, 72 S.W.3d at 766. If multiple predicate violations under section 161.001(1) were found in the trial court, we will affirm based on any one ground because only one predicate violation under section 161.001(1) is necessary to a termination judgment. In re S.F., 32 S.W.3d 318, 320 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 2000, no pet.).

Raising three issues, Brandon asserts that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support any of the three grounds for termination.2 Both le-[630]*630gal and factual sufficiency reviews in termination cases must take into consideration whether the evidence is such that a factfinder could reasonably form a firm belief or conviction about the truth of the matter on which the petitioner bears the burden of proof. In re J.F.C., 96 S.W.3d 256, 264-68 (Tex.2002) (discussing legal sufficiency review); In re C.H., 89 S.W.3d 17, 25 (Tex.2002) (discussing factual sufficiency review).

In a legal sufficiency review, a court should look at all the evidence in the light most favorable to the finding to determine whether a reasonable trier of fact could have formed a firm belief or conviction that its finding was true.

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In the Interest of T.N.F., 205 S.W.3d 625, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 7904 (Tex. Ct. App. 2006).

205 S.W.3d 625 (In the Interest of T.N.F.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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