In re Adoption of L.J.B.Appeal of C.L.F.

• Decision Date: 29 April 2011
• Citation: 18 A.3d 1098
• Parties: In re ADOPTION OF L.J.B.Appeal of C.L.F., Natural Mother.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

18 A.3d 1098

In re ADOPTION OF L.J.B.Appeal of C.L.F., Natural Mother.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted Oct. 15, 2010.Decided April 29, 2011.

Amal Munas Bass, Terry L. Fromson, Philadelphia, Women's Law Project, Louis S. Rulli, Penn Legal Assistance Office, for Appellant Amicus Curiae, Community Legal Services, Inc., et al.Marc Salo Drier, Drier & Dieter Law Offices, Jersey Shore, for S.M.B. and W.K.B.David Isaac Lindsay, Hall & Lindsay, P.C., for Guardian Ad Litem.CASTILLE, C.J., SAYLOR, EAKIN, BAER, TODD, McCAFFERY, ORIE MELVIN JJ.

OPINION ANNOUNCING THE JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

Justice BAER.¹

We granted allowance of appeal in this case to examine whether the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas erred in terminating the parental rights of a biological mother to her child, and, in so doing, further erred in determining that no bond existed between mother and child. For the reasons that follow, we vacate the order of the Superior Court, and remand this case to the court of common pleas for an immediate evidentiary hearing to determine if the instant action is now moot, in light of evidence placed on the record while this appeal was pending before the Superior Court, as discussed herein. Moreover, we order that any future proceedings concerning this child, regardless of their nature, be conducted by a jurist from a different judicial district, as appointed via the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

I. Factual and Procedural Histories

A. Custody Proceedings

The child in question, L.J.B., was born to C.L.F. (Mother) and S.M.B. (Father) on August 27, 2001. Mother and Father were living together but not married at the time of L.J.B.'s birth, and separated when L.J.B. was eleven months old. Upon their separation, in accord with a written agreement between Mother and Father, L.J.B. lived primarily with Mother and her half-siblings, while Father enjoyed physical custody on, essentially, alternating weekends. Four months after the separation, in November of 2002, Father married W.B. (Stepmother), and soon thereafter filed a custody complaint in the Clinton County Court of Common Pleas, seeking increased physical custody. After substantial proceedings, on November 19, 2003, the Honorable J. Michael Williamson, President Judge of Clinton County, granted Father's request for increased physical custody of L.J.B., awarding him six consecutive days during each two-week period.

Before proceeding further, it is necessary to detail what was Father's irresponsible conduct involving the child in his quest to undermine Mother's custodial and parental rights. It is also necessary as part of this discussion to specify what we respectfully view as an appearance of impropriety by Judge Williamson, who presided over the custody proceedings.

During the approximate year (November 2002 through November 2003) that the custody proceedings between Father (and, essentially, Stepmother) and Mother were ongoing, the relationship between Father and Mother deteriorated significantly. In fact, on approximately six occasions during the year, Father took L.J.B. to medical professionals claiming that Mother had sexually abused the child, subjecting her to pelvic examinations and pelvic cleaning.² Additionally, Father reported Mother to Clinton County Children and Youth Services (CYS) making the same allegations. In due course, the physicians and CYS caseworkers involved determined that Father's allegations were without merit. Eventually, Judge Williamson entered an order, on October 20, 2003, enjoining further unnecessary medical examinations of L.J.B.³

As noted, upon conclusion of the 2002–2003 proceedings, Judge Williamson entered a final order on November 19, 2003, granting Father's petition for increased custody, and awarding him six continuous days out of every two-week period. Mother appealed this order to the Superior Court. During the course of the appeal, Father again accused Mother of sexually abusing L.J.B., this time by way of an ex parte letter sent to Judge Williamson on November 9, 2004. ⁴ Rather than disregard the ex parte communication, Judge Williamson held a hearing on November 24, 2004 to entertain Father's allegations. ⁵ As part of the hearing, a memorandum from a CYS caseworker to Judge Williamson concluding that Father's accusations were unfounded was entered into the record. Nevertheless, in an order dated November 30, 2004, Judge Williamson revoked his previous order to cease the continuous pelvic examinations of L.J.B., and permitted Father (and it appears only Father) to subject L.J.B. to such examinations by an agreed upon pediatrician, Dr. Henry Dietrich.

According to Mother, over the course of the next year, Father continued to exhibit aggressive behavior toward her. Mother related that Father repeatedly threatened her over the telephone, followed her home, and arrived at a custody exchange of L.J.B. with a loaded .357 handgun. On January 25, 2006, Father again sought custody modification, this time filing a petition with Judge Williamson for primary physical custody of the child. Two days later, and despite the order of November 30, 2004, that any further medical examinations were only to be conducted by Dr. Dietrich, Father took L.J.B. to an emergency room at 11:00 p.m. for what would be the child's eighth vaginal examination since November 2002. The record reveals that an intrusive examination, complete with color photographs, was undertaken. As with the prior exams, this one revealed no evidence of sexual or physical abuse.

After the January 2006 examination, CYS sent a second memorandum to Judge Williamson, in which it threatened to “open an abuse investigation if [Father and Stepmother] continue to have the child unnecessarily examined or cleaned.” Moreover, the Agency stated that it would “also request a temporary change in visitation [ e.g., the custody/partial custody arrangement] during the course of the investigation.” Notes of Testimony (N.T.), Docket No. 802–02, Feb. 10, 2006 at 43.

Notwithstanding CYS's obvious concerns over Father's conduct and L.J.B.'s well-being, on February 10 and March 2, 2006, Judge Williamson held a hearing concerning Father's petition for primary physical custody. The court reserved ruling on the matter, instead referring Mother and Father to a court-appointed psychologist “for the purpose of enabling [the psychologist] to submit to the Court his observations and thoughts with regard to the psychological background of these parents.” C.L.F. v. S.M.B., No. 802–02, Order of Court (Mar. 6, 2006) (Williamson, P.J.).

While completion of the psychological evaluations and resumption of the custody hearing were pending, in late March 2006, Mother abruptly dropped L.J.B. off with Father and Stepmother, dropped her other children off with their fathers, and moved to Tennessee. In the subsequent termination proceedings, Mother explained that she felt she had no choice but to give up her custody battle and leave the area to protect L.J.B. from continued pelvic examinations. She elaborated that Father had continued to threaten her, in her view CYS had failed to take any action against Father or to protect L.J.B., and she believed Judge Williamson to be biased against her. Thus, according to Mother, in an effort to protect L.J.B., she surrendered physical custody of her to Father, and moved to Tennessee. Upon Mother's relocation, Judge Williamson evidently viewed the litigation over primary physical and legal custody as moot, and entered an order granting Father sole physical and legal custody of L.J.B. In the court's order, it explained that in its view Mother had “abruptly and without prior notice to anyone, dropped her children off with their various fathers, and moved to Tennessee.” Id., Order of Court (Apr. 3, 2006) (Williamson, P.J.).

Over the course of the next year, Mother attempted to maintain contact with L.J.B. from Tennessee through arranged weekly telephone conversations. She also accepted a proposed visitation arrangement (brokered by the court-appointed psychologist) of one weekend a month with the child. According to Mother, however, Father and Stepmother repeatedly cut short the telephone conversations, and circumvented Mother's attempts to visit. Indeed, it was not until December of 2006, after the psychologist and the court intervened, that Mother finally visited with L.J.B. This visit consisted of a two-hour meeting at a McDonald's in Clinton County, where Father and Stepmother remained present throughout the reunion of Mother and L.J.B.

Throughout 2007, Mother continued her attempts to remain in contact with L.J.B. Her efforts included the making of telephone calls, the sending of presents, and the arranging for “proxy calls” by L.J.B.'s half-siblings. According to Mother, however, these efforts were thwarted by Father and Stepmother. This led L.J.B.'s maternal Grandmother to petition for visitation in the summer of 2007. During the hearing on this petition, Judge Williamson continuously berated Grandmother for both her and Mother's actions over the course of L.J.B.'s life. As detailed infra, Part III, Judge Williamson voiced his disgust over what he viewed as Mother's abandonment of L.J.B., and went so far as to suggest that Father seek to terminate Mother's parental rights. See N.T., Docket No. 818–07, Jul. 11, 2007 at 9, 11. Despite his expressed viewpoint regarding Mother and, apparently by derivation, Grandmother, Judge Williamson granted Grandmother one supervised visit with L.J.B. See B.J.B. v. S.M.B., No. 818–07, Order of Court (Jul. 11, 2007) (Williamson, P.J.) (directing CYS to “arrange a supervised visit between Grandmother and the child; following which, we will consider the entry of a further Order.”).

A meeting between Grandmother and L.J.B. did, in fact, occur and, afterwards, CYS memorialized to Judge Williamson that Father was not going to allow any further meetings. See Memorandum from CYS to Judge Williamson (Jul....