Ferguson v. Hunt
| Decision Date | 06 January 1966 |
| Docket Number | No. 23202,23202 |
| Citation | 146 S.E.2d 756,221 Ga. 728 |
| Parties | Louise FERGUSON v. Charles E. HUNT et al. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
The juvenile court is a court of special and limited jurisdiction, and where the order of the court does not set out the grounds of jurisdiction, it is void for want of jurisdiction and will not support a plea of res judicata.
Robert D. Engelhart, Rome, for appellant.
William W. Mundy, Mundy & Gammage, Cedartown, for appellees.
This case is an appeal by the mother of a minor child whose custody by parties unrelated to the child was found not to be illegal as contended by the mother in her petition for the writ of habeas corpus.
Mrs. Louise Ferguson brought her petition for the writ against Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Hunt in Polk Superior Court wherein she alleged: that she was the mother of Grace Long, six years old; that the child's father had deserted her and the child and his whereabouts was unknown; that the defendants were in possession of the child under a purported order of the Juvenile Court of Floyd County, dated April 30, 1965, which order was illegal and void because the juvenile court had no jurisdiction of the child and because the purported order did not comply with the Juvenile Court Act of 1951, as amended, (Ga.L.1951, pp. 291, 303-305).
The defendants filed their demurrers, plea of res judicata and answer. The court sustained the plea of res judicata.
The record discloses the following facts: in June, 1961, the mother, while residing in Floyd County, filed a petition in the Floyd County Juvenile Court asking the court 'to take the said Grace Elizabeth Long into its custody and provide care and protection for her until such time as petitioner is able to provide someone to care for or board her'; on this petition the court entered an order of commitment of the child as being 'a destitute and needy child'; in August, 1961, the mother was permitted by the court to take the child to Chicago; on November 22, 1961 she brought the child back to Floyd County and delivered its custody to the court; the court placed the child in the custody of the defendants, then residents of Floyd County, but subsequent to 1961 they moved to Polk County and they have had the custody of the child since that time.
On March 22, 1965, the defendants brought a petition in the Juvenile Court of Floyd County in which they sought complete legal custody of the child with full power to file a petition to adopt the child. The mother, Mrs. Louise Ferguson, was made a party and she was ordered to be served by mail as provided by Code Ann. § 24-2414. A hearing was held on this petition with the mother and her counsel present. On April 30, 1965, the judge of the juvenile court entered the following order: 'After hearing the evidence in said matter and argument of counsel, it is hereby considered, ordered and adjudged that the interest of said child will be best served by allowing her to remain in the custody of the said Charles E. Hunt and Mrs. Betty M. Hunt and that the parental rights of the said Laura Louise Long Wirsman Ferguson be and they are hereby terminated and it is hereby considered, ordered and adjudged that the said Charles E. Hunt and Mrs. Betty M. Hunt may proceed to adopt said child at any time deemed advisable by them from this day forward.'
The 1951 Juvenile Court Act () sets out seven grounds upon which a juvenile court shall have original jurisdiction concerning any child under 17 years of age. Code Ann. § 24-2421 (Ga.L.1951, pp. 291, 303) provides that when the court finds that a child comes within one of the grounds set out in Code Ann. § 24-2408, the court ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Lockhart v. Stancil, 46078
...it jurisdiction of the person and subject matter. (Emphasis supplied.) Parker v. Parker, 229 Ga. 496 (192 SE2d 341); Ferguson v. Hunt, 221 Ga. 728, 729 (146 SE2d 756). If the order of a juvenile court fails to recite the jurisdictional facts, the judgment is void. Bosson v. Bosson, 223 Ga. ......
-
Parker v. Parker, 27338
...must show upon their face such facts as are necessary to give it jurisdiction of the person and the subject matter. Ferguson v. Hunt, 221 Ga. 728, 730, 146 S.E.2d 756; Bosson v. Bosson, 223 Ga. 259(1), 154 S.E.2d 364. The juvenile court order in this case shows that jurisdiction of the cust......
-
Williams v. Department of Human Resources
...are necessary to give it jurisdiction of the person and subject matter. Parker v. Parker, 229 Ga. 496, 192 S.E.2d 341; Ferguson v. Hunt, 221 Ga. 728, 730, 146 S.E.2d 756. If the order of a juvenile court fails to recite the jurisdictional facts, the judgment is void. Bosson v. Bosson, 223 G......
-
Turnell v. Johnson
...court (Code Ann. § 24-2403) and must conform to the legal requirements of courts of limited jurisdiction to be valid. Ferguson v. Hunt, 221 Ga. 728, 146 S.E.2d 756; Bosson v. Bosson, 223 Ga. 259, 154 S.E.2d 364. The judgment of the juvenile court in the instant case failed to recite the nec......