L.A. Cnty. Dep't of Children & Family Servs. v. Elliot T. (In re A.T.)

• Decision Date: 17 November 2020
• Docket Number: B300263
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: In re A.T., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. ELLIOT T., Defendant and Appellant.

In re A.T., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDRENAND FAMILY SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. ELLIOT T., Defendant and Appellant.

B300263

COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION SEVEN

November 17, 2020

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

(Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 19CCJP03618)

APPEAL from order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Lisa A. Brackelmanns, Juvenile Court Referee. Affirmed.

Elizabeth C. Alexander, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Mary C. Wickham, County Counsel, Kristine P. Miles, Assistant County Counsel, and David Michael Miller, Deputy County Counsel for Plaintiff and Respondent.

____________________

INTRODUCTION

Elliot T. (Father) appeals from the juvenile court's jurisdiction findings under Welfare and Institutions Code¹ section 300, subdivisions (a) and (b)(1), and the disposition order removing A.T. from his physical custody under section 361, subdivision (c)(1). Father contends there was insufficient evidence to support the jurisdiction findings and removal order. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Jaqueline H. (Mother) and Father married in 2017. In April 2018, Mother gave birth to A.T. The family relocated from Dubai to California in late 2018.

A. May 2019 Incidents and the Department's Investigation

On May 8, 2019, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (Department) received a referral alleging emotional and physical abuse and general neglect of A.T. Mother reported to the police that she and Father had an argument on May 6, 2019. When Mother told Father "she did not want to talk," Father stated to Mother, "this is why I blow up." Father "became angry" and "pushed [Mother], call[ing] her a bitch" and a "dumb whore." Father "continued to call [Mother] a bitch" and a "whore," and Father slapped Mother's head and "kicked her on her legs with his right foot." When Mother "attempted to leave the room," Father "closed the door and placed [A.T.'s] crib in front of the door to prevent [Mother] from leaving"the bedroom. A.T. was in the crib. According to Mother, Father told her "the only way she would be able to leave was if he was dead." For the "next few hours," Father continued to "yell" at and "push" Mother. During this time, Mother did not speak because she knew it would make Father angrier. "Later that evening, [Father] began to yell at [Mother] again," hitting Mother in the face with a pillow. Mother told the police: "[Father] placed his hand around the front of her neck and squeezed making it so [she] 'couldn't breathe.' [Mother] stated that [Father] 'strangled' her. She stated she never lost consciousness." A.T. was in the room with Father and Mother throughout these incidents. The police observed "faint bruising" on Mother's "right shin and the front of her neck." Although Mother declined an emergency protective order against Father, Mother stated that "she was desirous of prosecuting" Father. On May 7, the police arrested Father and charged him with willful infliction of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant (Pen. Code, § 273.5).

Mother told the police "that there have been approximately twenty previous [occasions] where [Father] has assaulted her." Mother stated that, while she was pregnant in Dubai, "'he pushed me, he dragged me by my hair, he kicked me.'" Mother added that she "sustained bruises during that incident, and she filed a report with law enforcement in Dubai."

During an unannounced May 9 visit to the family home, Mother told the Department that she and Father got into an "only verbal" argument on May 5, "but the incident on [May 6] was verbal and physical." Mother stated that Father "lost his mind." "[F]ather pushed her head, kicked her right shin, hit her with a pillow on her head, and choked her." The social worker observed "a faint bruise on [Mother's] neck." Mother reportedthat on May 7, she and Father had another argument. Father again refused to allow Mother to leave the home. Mother told her friend to call the police because "she felt she had to do it to scare [Father]." Mother also told the social worker that "there has been more than 20 other incidents" when Father had been "physical with her" during their three-year relationship. "Mother stated that [F]ather has pushed her and pulled her hair." Mother also reported that she had been "physical with [Father] as well to defend herself." Consistent with her report to the police, Mother told the social worker about the domestic violence incident in Dubai.

Mother stated that Father "[was] not a bad person" and that he "[was] a good husband and dad." Mother also expressed that "she feels safe with [F]ather" and that "she needs him." Mother is from Brazil and does not have any family in America. Mother claimed that "[F]ather only has anger issues and was abused as a child" and that Father had been "stressed due to losing a lot of money with his business." Mother wished to do couples therapy with Father. Mother and Father resumed living together after Father's release from jail after his May 7 arrest.

During his May 9 interview with the Department, Father reported that he and Mother had an argument "due to both parents being stressed from lack of sleep and [M]other's hormones." Father claimed, "[M]other usually start[ed] the arguments." Father reported that he was working 16-hour days and that "[M]other want[ed] attention from him." Father added that he was "stressed out due to financial issues in Dubai." "Father stated that [M]other feels like a tourist and has not been working since moving to America." Father reported, Mother "was stressed from not having any friends or support. Father statedthat there [was] a lot of pressure on [M]other which affects her judgment." Father added that "he told [M]other to join a mom support group."

Father denied slapping or kicking Mother. However, he "did not want to make any further statements regarding the May 6 and 7 incidents." He declined to comment when asked "if [M]other had been physical with him." Father claimed that a friend had "peer pressured" Mother into calling the police and that "this was the first time law enforcement had been called to the home." Father stated, "[H]e want[ed] to 'squash the beef' and move forward." When asked about the domestic violence incident in Dubai while Mother was pregnant, Father responded: "[M]other had gotten in his face and threw stuff in the home," and Mother had "told him that she went to the police in Dubai." Father told the Department that he loved Mother, he and Mother had "communication issues," and they needed to work on themselves. Father also reported that "he will start anger management classes and want[ed] to do couples therapy with [M]other."

The social worker observed that A.T. was appropriately groomed and dressed and developmentally age appropriate. She was also comfortable in her home environment. The social worker did not observe any visible marks or bruises on A.T. Mother stated A.T. was healthy and had no medical issues. Mother sent the social worker emails on May 12 and 14 advising that she and Father had enrolled in anger management classes. Mother also forwarded paperwork regarding Father's anger management, domestic violence, and parenting "online" courses.

On June 3, 2019, the juvenile court issued an order detaining A.T. from Father. After the Department and sheriff'sdeputies served the order, Father agreed to vacate the family home. On June 6, Mother informed the Department that she and A.T. were living in paternal grandmother's home, while Father remained in the family home.

B. Dependency Petition and Detention Hearing

The Department filed a petition on June 7, 2019 alleging juvenile court jurisdiction over A.T. pursuant to section 300, subdivisions (a) and (b)(1). The petition alleged Father's violent conduct towards Mother and Mother's failure to protect A.T. from Father endangered A.T.'s health and safety and placed her at risk of serious physical harm. The petition described the May 6 and May 7 incidents as well as the prior domestic violence Mother recounted to the police and the Department. The Department recommended that the juvenile court detain A.T. from Father and place her in Mother's custody under the Department's supervision.

At the June 10, 2019 detention hearing, Mother and Father entered denial pleas. A.T.'s counsel joined with the Department in arguing that the juvenile court should sustain the petition under section 300, subdivisions (a) and (b)(1). A.T.'s counsel argued, "There was some pretty serious [domestic violence] that involved Mother being strangled, which is very concerning. There's also a long history here." Father's counsel requested that the juvenile court order A.T. released to both parents on the condition that Mother and Father reside separately. Alternatively, if the juvenile court detained A.T. from Father, Father's counsel requested that the juvenile court order unmonitored visits for Father.

The juvenile court found a prima facie case for detaining A.T. from Father and finding A.T. was a person described bysection 300. The juvenile court placed A.T. with Mother. The juvenile court ruled: "I think both parents are on the right track in immediately engaging in counseling prior to today's date. But because of the very concerning domestic violence incident that only happened a month ago, I am going to detain from Father with monitored visits . . . I am going to allow [A.T.] to be residing with the Mother. . . . But as to the Father, . . . there's a substantial danger to the physical and emotional...