AJ, In Interest of, C-86-3
| Decision Date | 01 May 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. C-86-3,C-86-3 |
| Citation | 736 P.2d 721 |
| Parties | In the Interest of AJ, a Minor. Appeal of The STATE of Wyoming, Appellant (Petitioner). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
A.G. McClintock, Atty. Gen., Peter J. Mulvaney, Deputy Atty. Gen., Richard E. Dixon, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellant.
Karen Maurer, County and Pros. Atty., Laramie, for appellee.
Tony S. Lopez, Laramie, guardian ad litem.
Maureen D. Rogers, Asst. Dist. Atty., Cheyenne, for amicus curiae.
Before BROWN, C.J., and THOMAS, CARDINE, URBIGKIT and MACY, JJ.
This case came on before the Court as an appeal regularly filed, docketed, briefed and argued, and the Court having considered the file and record of the court, the briefs of the parties and the amicus curiae, and the arguments of counsel for the parties and the amicus curiae, finds that the substantive question presented by the appeal has become moot because of the occurrence of an event which makes a determination of the issues unnecessary; any judgment of the court could not be carried into effect; any opinion of the court would be advisory only; and the case should be dismissed for the following reasons:
AJ, a minor child, was presented to the District Court of the Second Judicial District of the State of Wyoming in and for Albany County by a petition filed pursuant to § 14-6-212, W.S.19771 (July 1986 Rev.), alleging that the child was a "child in need of supervision" as defined in § 14-6-201, W.S.1977 (July 1986 Rev.). In the regular course of proceedings, AJ appeared with her attorney and guardian ad litem, admitted the truth of the allegations contained in the petition and her temporary legal custody was transferred to the Albany County Office of Public Assistance and Social Services. A formal evaluation was ordered pursuant to the provisions of § 14-6-219(a), W.S.1977 (July 1986 Rev.), and the court also required that a predisposition study and report be furnished by the Albany County Office of Public Assistance and Social Services pursuant to § 14-6-227, (a)(i), W.S.1977 (July 1986 Rev.). Following interim proceedings and modifications of the court's order, an order of final disposition was entered on February 3, 1986. Disposition was made pursuant to the provisions of § 14-6-229(a), W.S.1977 (July 1986 Rev.), and the court made appropriate findings pursuant to § 21-13-315, W.S.1977 (July 1986 Rev.). It ordered that AJ be placed at the Excelsior Youth Center, Denver, Colorado, for such period as the staff psychiatrist at that institution deemed necessary to complete a treatment program for the child; that the Albany County Office of Public Assistance and Social Services continue as the legal custodian of AJ; and that the State Department of Public Assistance and Social Services certify funding for the program at Excelsior Youth Center.
The State of Wyoming processed an appeal from that order which is the case before the Court. The issue as articulated by the State in its brief of appellant is:
"DO JUVENILE COURTS HAVE THE POWER TO ORDER THE STATE OF WYOMING TO PAY FOR PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN IN PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITIES AND HOMES IN A MANNER OTHER THAN THAT PROVIDED BY W.S. 21-13-315?"
In the brief of the appellee, a more elaborate statement of the issue, which also is adopted in the amicus curiae brief, is set forth:
The crux of the position of the parties evolves from the fact that, at the time the order of the district court was entered, the State Department of Public Assistance and Social Services informed the court that the funding for the private placement could not be certified, as required in § 21-13-315, W.S.1977 (July, 1986 Rev.). The district court ordered the private placement in any event, and stated in a most positive manner that it expected that the bills would be paid. We are invited to consider the inherent power of the district court to order the payment of such bills even though the funding could not be certified pursuant to the statute. These questions indeed are intriguing, and their significance in an appropriate instance could not be denied.
In this case, however, the freeze which had been placed on funding for placement of children such as AJ on January 6, 1986, by Julia Robinson, Director of the State Department of Public Assistance and Social Services, was released the day following the hearing on the disposition of AJ. This was the result of an emergency supplemental appropriation made available by the legislature of the State of Wyoming on the evening of January 23, 1986. The effect was to make the issues...
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