Roe v. State

9 P.3d 1226, 134 Idaho 760, 2000 Ida. LEXIS 95
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 6, 2000
DocketNo. 26248
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 9 P.3d 1226 (Roe v. State) 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
Roe v. State, 9 P.3d 1226, 134 Idaho 760, 2000 Ida. LEXIS 95 (Idaho 2000).

Opinion

SILAK, Justice.

This is an appeal from an order of the magistrate court denying a motion to intervene made by appellant Jane Roe (Roe) in Child Protective Act (CPA) proceedings involving her granddaughter Jane Doe (the Child).

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

A. Facts

Respondents John Doe (John) and Jane Doe I (Jane) were married in February 1987. John and Jane separated in September 1989 [762]*762and were divorced in Santa Cruz County, California in February 1990. Jane had been living with a boyfriend prior to her divorce from John. In late September or early October of 1990, Jane asked if she could spend the night with John because she and the boyfriend had been fighting. John acquiesced, and he and Jane had sexual intercourse during the visit. John and Jane had no physical contact after that isolated episode. On May 17, 1991, Jane gave birth to the Child.

When John learned that Jane had given birth to the Child, he attempted to visit her at the boyfriend’s home. Jane did not leave her room to speak with John, but Roe, Jane’s mother, showed the Child to John. John left after a few minutes. John testified in an affidavit that he never suspected that the Child was his daughter because the Child was bom fewer than nine months after his most recent sexual encounter with Jane. John also testified that Jane represented to him in subsequent communications that the boyfriend was the Child’s father.

Jane eventually moved to Boise, Idaho. On June 23, 1997, Jane stipulated that the Child fell under the purview of the CPA, and on that same day, the magistrate court entered an order giving respondent Department of Health and Welfare (the Department) legal custody of the Child. On April 4, 1999, a social worker from the Department’s Child Protection Division contacted John. The social worker informed John that the Child had been removed from Jane’s care pursuant to the CPA because of reports of abuse and neglect. The social worker also told John that a paternity test had established that the boyfriend was not the Child’s father, and asked John to undergo paternity testing. John agreed to the testing, which established that he was the Child’s biological father. When John was notified on May 18, 1999 that the Child was his daughter, he stated that he wanted to establish a relationship with her.

B. Procedural Background

On August 13, 1999, Roe filed a motion in the Child’s CPA proceedings, seeking permanent placement of the Child with her. The motion also asked the court to direct the Department to cease reunification efforts with John, the Child’s biological father. This motion was not heard, however, because Roe was not a party to the CPA action. On August 26, 1999, Roe filed a motion for permissive intervention in the CPA proceedings, pursuant to I.R.C.P. 24(b). On September 7, John filed a motion to dismiss Roe’s motion to intervene and an accompanying affidavit. The next day, the Child’s guardian ad litem filed an addendum to her renewal report, recommending that the Department seek reunification of the Child with her biological father.

On November 19, 1999, the magistrate court denied Roe’s motion to intervene. The magistrate ruled that the CPA recognized only parents, guardians or other legal custodians, and a child’s guardian ad litem as parties to CPA proceedings. The magistrate further ruled that while the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA), 111 Stat. 2115 (1997) (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. 675(5)(G)) entitles foster parents and relatives providing care with notice and an opportunity to be heard in any proceeding involving the child, ASFA does not grant “a relative providing care the status of being a party in the action.” The magistrate concluded that the CPA did not provide a conditional right to intervene as required by I.R.C.P. 24(b), and denied the motion for permissive intervention. This Court entered an order on February 18, 2000 granting Roe’s motion for permissive appeal of the magistrate court’s denial of the motion to intervene.

In addition to this CPA action, a paternity action filed by John (Ada County Case No. CV DR 9901928D) and a guardianship proceeding filed by Roe (Ada County Case No. SP GM 9900050M) are pending in district court. A proceeding to terminate parental rights was also initiated by Roe (Ada County Case No. SP AT 9900162M), but Roe has voluntarily dismissed her action to terminate John’s parental rights.

II.

ISSUES ON APPEAL

Roe raises the following issues on appeal:

A. Whether a grandmother, who has established a strong relationship with her granddaughter as a de facto par[763]*763ent, including continuous care under a placement order entered by the magistrate court in June 1997, has legal standing to seek permanent placement of her granddaughter under the CPA.
B. Whether the Department’s characterization of Roe as a “foster parent” under the ASFA eliminates Roe’s standing to intervene under I.R.C.P. 24(b).
C. Whether, in the absence of prior “state action” separating the biological father from a child under the CPA, the ASFA requires reunification with a biological father.
D. Whether the ASFA’s policy of reuniting a parent and child prevails over or preempts the policy that the permanent placement of a child be in the least disruptive environment as provided by I.C. § 16-1623(k).

III.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

A court’s decision to grant or deny a motion to intervene is discretionary. See Rodriguez n Oakley Valley Stone, Inc., 120 Idaho 370, 377, 816 P.2d 326, 333 (1991). When a court’s discretionary decision is reviewed on appeal, the appellate court considers “(1) whether the trial court correctly perceived the issue as one of discretion; (2) whether the trial court acted within the outer boundaries of its discretion and consistently with the legal standards applicable to the specific choices available to it; and (3) and whether the trial court reached its decision by an exercise of reason.” Sun Valley Shopping Ctr., Inc. v. Idaho Power, Inc., 119 Idaho 87, 94, 803 P.2d 993, 1000 (1991).

IV.

ANALYSIS

A. The Magistrate Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion In Denying Roe’s Motion For Permissive Intervention.

The rule governing permissive intervention states, in pertinent part:

Upon timely application anyone may be permitted to intervene in an action: (1) when a statute confers a conditional right to intervene; or (2) when an applicant’s claim or defense and the main action have a question of law or fact in common---In exercising its discretion the court shall consider whether the intervention will unduly delay or prejudice the adjudication of the rights of the original parties.

I.R.C.P. 24(b). The rule, therefore, provides for two alternative methods for obtaining permissive intervention.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
9 P.3d 1226, 134 Idaho 760, 2000 Ida. LEXIS 95, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roe-v-state-idaho-2000.