Case Summaries

Family Law

[07/22] In re Esmeralda S.
Juvenile court's order terminating defendant-mother's parental rights to her child is affirmed over claims of error that: 1) defendant's due process rights were violated when the juvenile court appointed her a guardian ad litem; and 2) the juvenile court did not properly inquire into her and the minor's father's possible American Indian ancestry for purposes of complying with Indian Child Welfare Act.

[07/18] In re Brandon T.
Order terminating mother's parental rights over her child is affirmed where: 1) there was sufficient evidence that the minor was specifically adoptable by his relative caretakers; 2) the Indian Child Welfare Act does not require more than one expert at a section 366.26 hearing; 3) there was sufficient evidence that continued custody would result in serious emotional or physical harm to the minor; and 4) mother was not prejudiced by a lack of evidence in regard to prevailing social and cultural standards of the minor's tribe.

[07/18] Duran v. Beaumont
Dismissal of a motion for the return of petitioner's daughter to Chile is affirmed where, for purposes of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, petitioner had only access rights, not custody rights, leaving the district court without jurisdiction to order the return of the child.

[07/16] In re Marriage of Sonne
In a marriage dissolution proceeding, a conclusion that repurchased service credits for husband's years of service to his employer prior to his wife were community property is affirmed where the repurchase of service credits involved the commingling of separate and community property in the use of community funds to purchase the service credits. However, assignation to the wife of the entire survivor benefit of which she was the irrevocable beneficiary is reversed and remanded where the husband was only compensated for the cost of the survivor benefits when its value far exceeded its cost.

[07/10] In re A.M.
In deciding whether to grant a parent's request for self-representation in a juvenile dependency proceeding, a juvenile court must consider the child's right to a prompt resolution of custody status. The juvenile court has discretion to deny the request when it is reasonably probable that self-representation will unduly delay the proceedings, impairing the child's right to a prompt resolution of custody status. A parent's disruptive behavior may be sufficient, but is not necessary to deny the request.

[06/30] Harper v. Division of Family Services
In a parental right adjudicatory proceeding, the court's decision to terminate respondent's parental rights and transfer of the minor to the Division of Family Services is affirmed where: 1) there was clear and convincing evidence to terminate parental rights; and 2) the state was able to prove that termination of parental rights was in the minor's best interest.

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