Hoffman v. P.T.D. (In re Interest of P.T.D.)
Decision Date | 10 April 2018 |
Docket Number | No. 20170068, No. 20170071, No. 20170069, No. 20170070, No. 20170072,20170068 |
Parties | IN the INTEREST OF P.T.D., a Child Eileen Hoffman, L.S.W., Stutsman County, Petitioner and Appellee v. P.T.D., child, T.D., father, Respondents and A.D., mother, Respondent and Appellant In the Interest of C.R.D., a Child Eileen Hoffman, L.S.W., Stutsman County, Petitioner and Appellee v. C.R.D., child, T.D., father, Respondents and A.D., mother, Respondent and Appellant In the Interest of P.A.D., a Child Eileen Hoffman, L.S.W., Stutsman County, Petitioner and Appellee v. P.A.D., child, T.D., father, Respondents and A.D., mother, Respondent and Appellant In the Interest of P.P.D., a Child Eileen Hoffman, L.S.W., Stutsman County, Petitioner and Appellee v. P.P.D., child, T.D., father, Respondents and A.D., mother, Respondent and Appellant In the Interest of N.A.D., a Child Eileen Hoffman, L.S.W., Stutsman County, Petitioner and Appellee v. N.A.D., child, T.D., father, Respondents and A.D., mother, Respondent and Appellant |
Court | North Dakota Supreme Court |
Frederick R. Fremgen (on brief), Stutsman County State’s Attorney, Jamestown, ND, for petitioner and appellee.
Kiara Kraus–Parr (on brief), Grand Forks, ND, for respondent and appellant.
[¶ 1] A.D., the mother of P.T.D., C.R.D., P.A.D., P.P.D., and N.A.D., appeals from a juvenile court order finding her five children were deprived under N.D.C.C. § 27–20–02(8). We previously concluded the juvenile court did not make sufficient findings of fact and remanded the case for further findings. Interest of P.T.D. , 2017 ND 248, ¶ 11, 903 N.W.2d 83. Upon review of the additional findings, we affirm the juvenile court’s Amended Juvenile Findings of Fact and Order for Disposition entered on December 15, 2017.
[¶ 2] We previously reviewed the juvenile court’s findings following a deprivation hearing regarding A.D.’s five children. Interest of P.T.D. , 2017 ND 248, ¶ 9, 903 N.W.2d 83. We provided the underlying facts in the prior appeal. Id. at ¶¶ 2–4. Following our review, we remanded for additional findings following our determination that the juvenile court’s findings were general, conclusory, and otherwise repeated the statutory language. Id. at ¶ 9. While the juvenile court noted the parents’ drug use, mental health issues, domestic violence, and other health issues in its order, it failed to connect those facts to the children’s deprivation. Id. We retained jurisdiction under N.D.R.App.P. 35(a)(3). Id.
[¶ 3] On remand, the juvenile court made additional findings relating to deprivation, including the following:
[¶ 4] A.D. argues the juvenile court’s findings were insufficient to find the children were deprived. With regard to the definition of deprivation, this Court has noted the following:
A deprived child is defined as a child who "[i]s without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by law, or other care or control necessary for the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health, or morals, and the deprivation is not due primarily to the lack of financial means of the child’s parents, guardian, or other custodian[.]" N.D.C.C. § 27–20–02(8)(a). "[T]he phrase proper parental care means the minimum standards of care which the community will tolerate." In re J.R., 2002 ND 78, ¶ 9, 643 N.W.2d 699 (citation and quotation marks omitted).
Interest of J.A.H. , 2014 ND 196, ¶ 7, 855 N.W.2d 394. Parental cooperation is pertinent to determining whether deprivation will continue. Interest of T.H. , 2012 ND 38, ¶ 29, 812 N.W.2d 373. The juvenile court may consider a parent’s pattern of behavior and whether a parent’s conduct demonstrates a serious indifference towards parental responsibilities and obligations. Id.
[¶ 5] We review decisions of a juvenile court as follows:
A juvenile court’s findings of fact should not be set aside, unless clearly erroneous. In re T.T. , 2004 ND 138, ¶ 5, 681 N.W.2d 779. "A finding of fact is clearly erroneous under N.D.R.Civ.P. 52(a) if there is no evidence to support it, if it is clear to the reviewing court that a mistake has been made, or if the finding is induced by an erroneous view of the law." Akerlind v. Buck , 2003 ND 169, ¶ 7, 671 N.W.2d 256. "On appeal, we review the files, records, and minutes or the transcript of the evidence, and we give appreciable weight to the findings of the juvenile court." In re B.B. , 2010 ND 9, ¶ 5, 777 N.W.2d 350 (citation and quotation marks omitted). Further, this Court gives due regard to the trial court’s opportunity to judge the credibility of the witnesses. N.D.R.Civ.P. 52(a)(6).
J.A.H. , 2014 ND 196, ¶ 7, 855 N.W.2d 394.
[¶ 6] When considering the above facts collectively, the juvenile court determined there was clear and convincing evidence the children were deprived. Giving appreciable weight to its findings, the juvenile court sufficiently connected the findings about the parents’ behavior to the children’s deprivation. The juvenile court’s determination the children were deprived is not clearly erroneous. Children living in an environment in which they are simultaneously scared, feeling unsafe, physically harmed, required to assume parental responsibilities, living in unsanitary and unsafe...
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Lill v. J.B. (In re Interest of J.B.)
...to the trial court’s opportunity to judge the credibility of the witnesses. N.D.R.Civ.P. 52(a)(6). Interest of P.T.D. , 2018 ND 97, ¶ 5, 909 N.W.2d 692 (quoting Interest of J.A.H. , 2014 ND 196, ¶ 7, 855 N.W.2d 394 ).III[¶ 6] Both N.B. and J.G. argue the juvenile court erred in finding clea......
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