S.W. v. Department of Children & Family Services

District Court of Appeal of Florida

S.W. v. Department of Children & Family Services

898 So. 2d 1181, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 4657, 2005 WL 766967

CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida

DecidedApril 6, 2005

DocketNo. 3D04-2186

StatusPublished

This text of 898 So. 2d 1181 (S.W. v. Department of Children & Family Services) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

S.W. v. Department of Children & Family Services, 898 So. 2d 1181, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 4657, 2005 WL 766967 (Fla. Ct. App. 2005).

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Opinion

PER CURIAM.

S.W. appeals a final judgment terminating her parental rights. We affirm.

The appellant mother argues that she should be granted a new trial because the appellee Department of Children and Family Services (“the Department”) failed to produce in discovery a letter from the therapist of one of the minor children, V.W. The letter recommended that V.W. have continued visitation with her mother, provided that the visitation would be closely supervised. The letter came to light after the termination trial but before the written judgment was entered.

The trial court found that there had been a discovery violation by the Department, but that the discovery violation had been unintentional. The judge (who was the same judge who conducted the termination of parental rights trial) ruled that in view of the other evidence in the case, the psychologist’s letter made no difference in the trial court’s determination that the mother’s parental rights should be terminated.

We conclude that the trial court’s denial of a new trial was within the court’s discretion. In this case the family was under court supervision. The mother absconded with the children to Illinois and resumed residing with the father, whose domestic violence had caused the need for protective services to begin with. Further problems ensued in Illinois, resulting in the intervention of the authorities in that state and, in turn, the children’s return to Florida. The determination by the trial court that the psychologist’s letter would not have had an impact on the case is supported by the record. See B.M. v. Dept. of Children and Families, 711 So.2d 616 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998).

The psychologist’s letter was pertinent to the issue of post-termination visitation, which the statute now allows. See § 39.811(7)(b), Fla. Stat. (2004). The guardian ad litem had, however, already recommended such visitation and it was ordered by the court. Under the circumstances here, we see no error in the denial of the request for a new trial.

To the extent that the mother complains about the trial court’s ruling regarding certain notes of the caseworker from the CHARLEE Program,

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PER CURIAM.

S.W. appeals a final judgment terminating her parental rights. We affirm.

The appellant mother argues that she should be granted a new trial because the appellee Department of Children and Family Services (“the Department”) failed to produce in discovery a letter from the therapist of one of the minor children, V.W. The letter recommended that V.W. have continued visitation with her mother, provided that the visitation would be closely supervised. The letter came to light after the termination trial but before the written judgment was entered.

The trial court found that there had been a discovery violation by the Department, but that the discovery violation had been unintentional. The judge (who was the same judge who conducted the termination of parental rights trial) ruled that in view of the other evidence in the case, the psychologist’s letter made no difference in the trial court’s determination that the mother’s parental rights should be terminated.

We conclude that the trial court’s denial of a new trial was within the court’s discretion. In this case the family was under court supervision. The mother absconded with the children to Illinois and resumed residing with the father, whose domestic violence had caused the need for protective services to begin with. Further problems ensued in Illinois, resulting in the intervention of the authorities in that state and, in turn, the children’s return to Florida. The determination by the trial court that the psychologist’s letter would not have had an impact on the case is supported by the record. See B.M. v. Dept. of Children and Families, 711 So.2d 616 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998).

The psychologist’s letter was pertinent to the issue of post-termination visitation, which the statute now allows. See § 39.811(7)(b), Fla. Stat. (2004). The guardian ad litem had, however, already recommended such visitation and it was ordered by the court. Under the circumstances here, we see no error in the denial of the request for a new trial.

To the extent that the mother complains about the trial court’s ruling regarding certain notes of the caseworker from the CHARLEE Program,

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898 So. 2d 1181, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 4657, 2005 WL 766967, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sw-v-department-of-children-family-services-fladistctapp-2005.

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