N.M. v. Department of Children & Families

District Court of Appeal of Florida

N.M. v. Department of Children & Families

103 So. 3d 1005, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 21692

District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided December 19, 2012·No. Nos. 3D12-1365, 3D12-1364·Published

Opinion

SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment terminating the parental rights of both the mother and the father to three female children, based essentially on sexual abuse of a sibling of the children in question by the father and the mother’s failure to appropriately protect the other children from the dangers he presented. § 39.806(l)(f), (g), Fla. Stat. (2012).¹ See N.R.R. v. Dep’t of Children & Families, 959 So.2d 359 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007); Dep’t of Children & Families v. B.B., 824 So.2d 1000 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002). See generally In re Z.C. (1), [1006]*100688 So.3d 977, 989-96 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (Altenbernd, J., concurring).

The thrust of the parents’ contentions on appeal is that, although the record supports the trial judge’s resolution of the disputed issue of whether the abuse occurred, the result was tainted by several allegedly erroneous rulings in the admission and rejection of evidence at the trial. We have carefully examined each of the arguments presented and find that none of them present reversible error: the rulings complained of did not constitute an abuse of discretion, were harmless, or both. See § 59.041, Fla. Stat. (1967); Johnston v. State, 863 So.2d 271, 278 (Fla.2003) (“A trial judge’s ruling on the admissibility of evidence will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion.”).

Affirmed.

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SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment terminating the parental rights of both the mother and the father to three female children, based essentially on sexual abuse of a sibling of the children in question by the father and the mother’s failure to appropriately protect the other children from the dangers he presented. § 39.806(l)(f), (g), Fla. Stat. (2012).¹ See N.R.R. v. Dep’t of Children & Families, 959 So.2d 359 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007); Dep’t of Children & Families v. B.B., 824 So.2d 1000 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002). See generally In re Z.C. (1), [1006]*100688 So.3d 977, 989-96 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (Altenbernd, J., concurring).

The thrust of the parents’ contentions on appeal is that, although the record supports the trial judge’s resolution of the disputed issue of whether the abuse occurred, the result was tainted by several allegedly erroneous rulings in the admission and rejection of evidence at the trial. We have carefully examined each of the arguments presented and find that none of them present reversible error: the rulings complained of did not constitute an abuse of discretion, were harmless, or both. See § 59.041, Fla. Stat. (1967); Johnston v. State, 863 So.2d 271, 278 (Fla.2003) (“A trial judge’s ruling on the admissibility of evidence will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion.”).

Affirmed.

N.M. v. Department of Children & Families, 103 So. 3d 1005, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 21692 (Fla. Ct. App. 2012).

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