Charles S. v. Superior Court

• Decision Date: 14 May 1985
• Citation: 214 Cal.Rptr. 47,168 Cal.App.3d 151
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: CHARLES S., Petitioner, v. SUPERIOR COURT, etc., County of Orange, Sitting as the Juvenile Court, Respondent, ORANGE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, Real Party in Interest. G 002601.

Page 47

214 Cal.Rptr. 47

168 Cal.App.3d 151

CHARLES S., Petitioner, v. SUPERIOR COURT, etc., County of Orange, Sitting as the Juvenile Court, Respondent ORANGE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, Real Party in Interest.

G 002601.

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 3, California.

May 14, 1985.

[168 Cal.App.3d 153] Judith E. Harding, San Francisco, for petitioner.

Adrian Kuyper, County Counsel, and Susan Strom, Deputy County Counsel, Santa Ana, for real party in interest.

OPINION

TROTTER, Presiding Justice.

Petitioner seeks review of an order of the Orange County Superior Court, sitting as the Juvenile Court, denying him standing to participate in a permanency planning hearing regarding the future status of his 16-month-old grandson (Welf. & Inst.Code, § 366.25) ¹ and terminating further visitation with the minor child. He claims his right to participate is predicated upon his status as grandparent, and that the trial court's action precluded the presentation of evidence vital to a determination of the child's best interests. We agree and issue a writ.

I.

Abel S. was born in Los Angeles on November 25, 1983, to Kathryn S., the daughter of Charles S., the petitioner herein. The identity of the child's father is unknown. At the time of Abel's birth, Kathryn was hospitalized for mental illness; thus, a section 300 proceeding was instituted in the Los Angeles Superior Court to declare the minor a dependent of the court. Jurisdiction over the matter was later transferred to the Orange County Superior Court, the Los Angeles court having learned Kathryn maintained her legal residence with her father in this county. And on May 29, 1984, Abel was declared a dependent of the Juvenile Court ( § 361, subd. (b)(1)), with custody vested in the Department of Social Services (DSS).

At a June 21, 1984, contested placement hearing, the court approved a service plan recommending Abel's placement in a neutral foster home. By this time, Abel already had been placed in a foster home; however, because Charles had indicated a desire to have the child live with him, the case worker visited the grandfather's home (where Kathryn resided on an intermittent basis when she was not hospitalized) and personally observed hostility between Charles and Kathryn concerning the child's future plans.

The court approved another service plan at a six-month review hearing on November 15, 1984. It recommended, among other things, that the minor be continued a dependent child of the Juvenile Court. The accompanying report noted "[a]lthough [Charles] appears financially able to provide for the minor, he appears to be unaware of the emotional and developmental requirements of the minor, and his plans to have others meet these needs do not seem to reflect the best long term interests of the minor."

A permanency planning hearing was scheduled for March 26, 1985. The child was then 16 months old and Charles, with the court's approval, had been visiting with him on a regular weekly basis except for isolated occasions when he was out of town on business. Before the matter was assigned for trial, County Counsel voiced an objection to Charles' standing to participate. In response, Charles' attorney made an appropriate oral motion, which was denied by the presiding judge "for failure to make a formal noticed motion for standing and other things." ² The motion was renewed in the trial court at the commencement of the hearing and was again denied, this time on the ground of res judicata. The trial judge, however, allowed Charles to remain silently at the counsel table during the course of the proceeding.

After hearing testimony of Kathryn and the case worker, the court found the minor to be adoptable pursuant to section 366.25, subdivision (d)(1) and that the conditions described in subparts (A), (B) and (C) did not exist. ³ The DSS was authorized to proceed to free the minor child from the custody and control of his parent, and County Counsel was ordered to initiate an action pursuant to Civil Code section 232. The court also ordered "no visitation by mother or grandfather. If on June 21, 1985 [the date set for a periodic review hearing], it appears mother's condition has stabilized, visitation will be reconsidered." Charles' writ petition followed.

II.

Charles contends the trial court's refusal to grant him standing "foreclosed the one person who is related to the minor by blood and who has consistently maintained a relationship with the minor against formidable odds from making the court aware of an important source of love, care and understanding for this minor." Relying on In re B.G. (1974) 11 Cal.3d 679, 114 Cal.Rptr. 444, 523 P.2d 244, and Katzoff v. Superior Court (1976) 54 Cal.App.3d 1079, 127 Cal.Rptr. 178, he claims he has an automatic right to participate.

In In re B.G., the trial court had allowed foster parents to participate as interested parties in a juvenile court proceeding solely because they had applied for letters of guardianship. The "unsatisfactory and ad hoc character" of that ruling prompted our Supreme Court to clarify "the unsettled state of the law respecting the standing in juvenile court of nonparents interested in the welfare of the minor...." (In re B.G., supra, 11 Cal.3d at p. 692, 114 Cal.Rptr. 444, 523 P.2d 244.) Viewing a foster parent as a "de facto" parent, i.e., a person "who, on a day-to-day basis, assumes the role of parent, seeking to fulfill both the child's physical needs and his psychological need for affection and care...." (id., at p. 692, fn. 18, 114 Cal.Rptr. 444, 523 P.2d 244), the court determined "[t]he juvenile court in a dispositional hearing must undertake 'a judicious appraisal of all available evidence bearing on the child's best interests' including an evaluation of the relative merits of alternative custody awards. [Citation omitted.]" (Id., at p. 693, 114 Cal.Rptr. 444, 523 P.2d 244.) "[D]e facto parents ... should be permitted to appear as parties in juvenile court proceedings. Their standing should not depend upon the filing of a petition for guardianship, although the filing of such petition may aid in attesting to their interest in the custody of the child.... [T]hey should be permitted to appear as parties to assert and protect their own interest in the companionship, care, custody and management of the child. [Fn. omitted]." (Ibid.)

In Katzoff v. Superior Court, supra, 54 Cal.App.3d 1079, 127 Cal.Rptr. 178, after refusing to allow a two-year-old child's foster parents to testify at a dependency review hearing, the juvenile court authorized the child's removal to another foster home. Relying on In re B.G., the appellate court stated: "If the participation of the foster parents, either through their testimony or by their presentation of other evidence, would have provided the court with relevant information as to [the child's] best interests, the court should have permitted their participation and considered the evidence presented. [Citation omitted.]" (Katzoff v. Superior Court, supra, at p. 1084, 127 Cal.Rptr. 178.)

, 168 Cal.App.3d 1 The DSS takes the position neither In re B.G. nor Katzoff is controlling because Charles is not a "de facto" parent. True, Charles did not maintain a day-to-day relationship with his grandson and therefore does not fit our Supreme Court's definition of the term. However, we think the rationale underlying the holding in In re B.G. is equally applicable to persons occupying Charles' status. ⁴ As noted in that case, "[t]he simple fact that a person cares enough to seek and undertake to participate goes far to suggest that the court would profit by hearing his views as to the child's best interests; if the participant lacks a close relationship with the child, that fact will undoubtedly emerge during the proceedings." (In re B.G., supra, 11 Cal.3d at p. 692, fn. 18, 114 Cal.Rptr. 444, 523 P.2d 244.)

Charles informs us he attended all hearings pertaining to his grandson. Even if, as the DSS contends, he did not formally participate at all of those hearings, his presence alone is indicative of a desire to be involved in and informed of any plans made with respect to the child's future. To that end, he spent the entire day in court on March 26th waiting...