Jane Doe v. John Doe (In re Jane Doe II)

443 P.3d 213, 165 Idaho 199
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJune 13, 2019
DocketDocket No. 46458
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 443 P.3d 213 (Jane Doe v. John Doe (In re Jane Doe II)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jane Doe v. John Doe (In re Jane Doe II), 443 P.3d 213, 165 Idaho 199 (Idaho 2019).

Opinion

BRODY, Justice.

This is an expedited appeal from a Bonner County magistrate court's termination of the parental rights of John Doe (Father) to his minor child (IW). John and Jane Doe I, the maternal grandmother and step-grandfather (collectively "Guardians"), filed a petition to adopt IW and terminate Father's parental rights. Guardians alleged that Father abandoned IW and that termination was in her best interests. The magistrate court granted the Guardians' petition, and Father timely appealed. We affirm the magistrate court's amended judgment because there is substantial and competent evidence to support its findings.

*215I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

IW is eight years old. At the time of IW's birth, Father owned a house in Vallejo, California, in which Father, Mother, IW, and IW's maternal half-sister, MW, resided. Father and Mother were regular drug users at the time of IW's birth.

Grandmother was called upon to provide care for IW after she was born. Late one evening, Grandmother received a call from an unknown person stating that IW's parents had left IW with her. Grandmother immediately drove to Vallejo and retrieved the infant. Neither parent was present when Grandmother took custody of IW. IW began residing with Guardians full time. Shortly thereafter, IW's older half-sister, MW, who is also the granddaughter of Grandmother, came to live with them.

When IW was about six months old, Grandmother filed for legal guardianship of both IW and MW, in Solano County, California, listing step-grandfather as an additional guardian. The California court granted the petition over Father's objection. When the guardianship was granted, the California court issued a written explanation of duties and obligations for Guardians, which they acknowledged by signing the document. Central to this case, the document contained a provision which stated that Guardians did not have the right to change IW's residence to a place outside of California without the court's permission.

About two months after the California court granted Grandmother's guardianship petition, Father was arrested on charges relating to sexual contact with MW. Following two jury trials, both resulting in hung juries, Father pleaded guilty to a Lewd Act upon a Child and was sent to prison.

While incarcerated, Father filed for divorce from Mother. Custody of IW was not addressed in the divorce decree as it was "previously established" in the Guardians' California guardianship case. Mother testified at the hearing on the Guardians' petition at issue here that Mother and Father's relationship was tempestuous. Mother accused Father of domestic violence, testifying that he threw her down steps and broke her arm. Mother also testified that she pulled a shotgun on Father upon finding out that he was abusing her daughter, MW.

Father was released from prison and placed on parole on March 31, 2014, when IW was three years old. There was no contact between Father and IW between the time of his release from prison and the time of the termination hearing except that Father claims to have sent a drawing of angel wings to IW and MW at the Guardians' last known address. The record does not contain any evidence establishing whether the drawing was received.

In November 2015, Guardians moved with IW to Priest River, Idaho. There is no dispute that Guardians did not inform the California court that they were moving, nor did they seek permission from the court prior to moving, as was required by the terms of the guardianship. Father was also not informed that Guardians were moving to Idaho with IW.

In March of 2016, Father sold his Vallejo home and received roughly $ 68,000 in proceeds. From that money, he paid about $ 20,000 in back taxes and other unspecified amounts to various family members. He also used a portion of the proceeds ($ 1,500) to hire a private investigator in California to locate IW. When Father learned that Guardians had moved, he paid another investigator in Idaho $ 1,500 to locate IW.

Father and other witnesses testified at the termination hearing that Father has lived at many different addresses since IW was born. He is currently residing in a drug and alcohol program facility that houses up to forty parolees in Woodland, California. According to his parole officer, Father is not in the substance abuse program but requested to stay there because he had no other place to live. Father testified that he is currently unemployed but receives Social Security disability benefits in the amount of $ 910 per month. Father testified that he has been receiving benefits since he was fifteen. No evidence was offered as to the nature of his disability but his parole conditions state that Father has a documented history of mental illness.

*216Father has never paid nor offered to pay child support.

In October of 2016, the Solano County Superior Court issued an order requiring the Guardians to appear in court and show cause why sanctions should not be imposed against them for their failure to seek court permission to move IW and MW to Idaho. A subsequent order to show cause was issued requiring the Guardians to either return the girls to California or institute a guardianship action in Idaho immediately. After receiving the show cause orders, Guardians sought to register the guardianship in Idaho. The guardianship was successfully registered in Idaho, and the California guardianship was terminated in November 2017.

In May 2017, during the time that the guardianship registration issue was being addressed, Guardians filed the Petition for Adoption and Termination of Parental Rights which is at issue. Father objected to the petition, and a two-day trial was held. On June 6, 2018, the magistrate court entered an Order finding that Father had abandoned IW and that termination was in her best interests. Judgment was entered, and Father filed a timely notice of appeal.

II. ISSUES ON APPEAL

A. Whether the magistrate court erred in finding that Father willfully abandoned his child without just cause.
B. Whether the magistrate court erred in finding that termination of Father's parental rights was in the best interests of the child.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

"Pursuant to Idaho Code section 16-2005(1), a court may terminate parental rights if it finds that doing so is in the best interests of the child and that at least one of five grounds for termination is satisfied." In re Doe (2014-23) , 157 Idaho 920, 923, 342 P.3d 632, 635 (2015). "The trial court must find that grounds for terminating parental rights have been proved by clear and convincing evidence." Dep't of Health & Welfare v. Doe , 149 Idaho 207, 210,

Related

Doe I v. Jane Doe
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2022
IDHW v. John Doe
514 P.3d 991 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2022)
John Doe I and Jane Doe I v. John Doe
Idaho Court of Appeals, 2021
IDHW v. Jane Doe
Idaho Supreme Court, 2020
DHW v. John Doe
Idaho Supreme Court, 2019
DHW v. Jane Doe
Idaho Supreme Court, 2019
Jane Doe I and John Doe I v. Jane Doe
Idaho Supreme Court, 2019

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
443 P.3d 213, 165 Idaho 199, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jane-doe-v-john-doe-in-re-jane-doe-ii-idaho-2019.