Maricopa County, Juvenile Action No. JS-8441, Matter of
| Decision Date | 18 June 1991 |
| Docket Number | CA-JV,JS-8441,No. 1,1 |
| Citation | 172 Ariz. 517,838 P.2d 1278 |
| Parties | In the Matter of the Appeal in MARICOPA COUNTY, JUVENILE ACTION NO.91-016. |
| Court | Arizona Court of Appeals |
This is an appeal by a father from a final minute entry order terminating his parental rights in his four-year-old daughter. Appellee Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES) has moved to dismiss the appeal as untimely filed. The appellant opposes the ADES motion to dismiss and in the alternative asks that he be granted a delayed appeal pursuant to State v. Berlat, 146 Ariz. 505, 507-8, 707 P.2d 303, 305-6 (1985). 1 We consider the following issues:
(1) Which of the dates reflected on a minute entry order of the juvenile court in Maricopa County represents the date when the order was "entered in the minutes of the juvenile court" within the meaning of Rule 25, Arizona Rules of Procedure for the Juvenile Court;
(2) Whether the procedure for seeking a delayed appeal in a juvenile matter outlined in Berlat, 146 Ariz. 505, 707 P.2d 303, applies in a non-delinquency case; and
(3) Whether the juvenile court has jurisdiction in a non-delinquency case to vacate a final appealable order pursuant to Rule 60(c), Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, to enable an aggrieved party to commence a timely appeal.
ADES initiated this matter by filing a petition for the termination of the parent-child relationship between the appellant and his daughter on several of the grounds set forth in A.R.S. § 8-533(B). The appellant indicated his intention to contest the allegations of the petition and was appointed counsel to represent him. The juvenile court conducted a hearing on the petition and took the matter under advisement on August 20, 1990.
The juvenile court subsequently issued a seven-page minute entry order terminating the parent-child relationship. The order set forth the juvenile court's findings as required by A.R.S. § 8-538(A); it therefore was final and appealable. In the Matter of the Appeal in Pima County Juvenile Action No. S-933, 135 Ariz. 278, 280, 660 P.2d 1205, 1207 (1982). Like all minute entry orders issued by the juvenile court in Maricopa County, the juvenile court's termination order reflected several different dates. At the top left, it was dated "10-18-90." At the bottom right, it bore the following designation:
CLERK OF THE COURT
Juvenile Court
Received: OCT 25 1990
On November 6, 1990, the juvenile court judge received a letter from the appellant asking that a different attorney be appointed to represent him on appeal. On November 7, 1990, the twentieth day following October 18, 1990, the appellant's counsel filed a notice of appeal. On November 14, 1990, ADES filed a response to the notice of appeal that included a motion to dismiss the appeal as untimely filed.
The ADES motion to dismiss relied on Rule 25, Arizona Rules of Procedure for the Juvenile Court, which provides in part:
(a) An appeal must be taken within 15 days after the final order is entered in the minutes of the juvenile court. There is no requirement that a final order be in writing and signed by the judge before an appeal can be taken. [Emphasis added.]
On November 23, 1990, the appellant's counsel filed a pleading offering the following response to the ADES motion to dismiss:
The Minute Entry was not received or processed by the Clerk of the Juvenile Court until October 25, 1990 as is evidenced by the date stamped on page one on the face of the Minute Entry. (See Attached Exhibit "1".)
October 25, 1990 was a Thursday. The Natural Father's counsel did not receive a copy of the Minute Entry until Monday, October 29, 1990.
The Natural Father resides in the State of California. The Notice of Appeal was filed within seven (7) days after counsel received notice of the Court's decision.
Also on November 23, 1990, the juvenile court issued a minute entry order appointing a new attorney to represent the appellant in all further proceedings.
On November 26, 1990, the appellant's new counsel filed a separate response to the ADES motion to dismiss, arguing:
(1) The notice of appeal was timely because it was filed within 15 days after the "received" and "processed" date on the juvenile court's minute entry ruling;
(2) The court should treat the letter from the appellant received by the juvenile court on November 6, 1990, as "substantial notice of his intention to appeal;" and
(3) The court should grant the appellant a delayed appeal pursuant to Berlat, 146 Ariz. 505, 707 P.2d 303.
MEANING OF "ENTERED IN THE MINUTES OF THE JUVENILE COURT"
Juvenile Rule 25(a) requires that a notice of appeal be filed within 15 days after the order appealed from is "entered in the minutes of the juvenile court." Relying on Rule 58(a), Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides that the filing of a written, signed judgment with the clerk of the superior court "constitutes entry of such judgment," the appellant argues that the juvenile court's final order is not "entered in the minutes" within Juvenile Rule 25(a) until it is "filed" with the clerk of the superior court. He asserts that the face of the juvenile court's minute entry ruling in this case indicates that it was received by the clerk of the superior court on October 25, 1990. He therefore concludes that the 15-day appeal period did not begin to run until that date.
We cannot agree. A "minute entry" order is an informal, typed or hand-written record of a trial judge's order made most often by a deputy clerk at the judge's direction. These written records are referred to collectively as the court's "minutes." As a matter of logic and plain English the date on which a "minute entry" order is "entered in the minutes" of the court is the date of the minute entry order itself. In Maricopa County, this date is reflected at the top left of the minute entry order. See Focal Point, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, 149 Ariz. 128, 129, 717 P.2d 432, 433 (1986) ( ); see also State v. Garza, 128 Ariz. 8, 9, 623 P.2d 367, 368 (App.1981). The "received" and "processed" dates on a Maricopa County minute entry order have nothing to do with the "entry" of the order in the court's minutes, but instead indicate the dates on which the clerk's office's mailing center receives the minute entry order and mails out copies to counsel. City of Phoenix v. Geyler, 144 Ariz. 323, 326-27, 697 P.2d 1073, 1076-77 (1985). Accordingly, contrary to the appellant's argument, the 15 days for the filing of a notice of appeal in this case began to run on October 18, 1990, and therefore expired at the close of business on November 2, 1990.
The appellant's letter to the juvenile court judge was not received until November 6, 1990. Reliance on this as a proper "filing" is unavailing; under Juvenile Rule 25, a notice of appeal must be timely filed with the clerk of the superior court. Though the appellant's former counsel evidently received the juvenile court's minute entry ruling on or before November 1, 1990, she did not file a notice of appeal until November 7, 1990. The appeal therefore is untimely and must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Garza, 128 Ariz. at 10, 623 P.2d at 369.
The appellant's current counsel asserts that any delay in filing the notice of appeal was not attributable to the appellant, but rather to his former counsel or to the juvenile court. He therefore asks that a delayed appeal be granted in accordance with Berlat, 146 Ariz. 505, 707 P.2d 303. Resolution of the question of whether this court or the juvenile court is empowered to grant the appellant a delayed appeal requires a review of the applicable Arizona case law.
In the case of In the Matter of the Appeal in Pima County Juvenile Action No. B-9385, 138 Ariz. 291, 674 P.2d 845 (1983), the juvenile court vacated and reentered its minute entry ruling in an adoption case to enable counsel for the minor children, who had never received a copy of the original minute entry ruling, to file a timely appeal on their behalf. Division Two of this court dismissed the appeal on the theory that the minor children had no standing to appeal. On review, the supreme court held that the minor children had the requisite aggrievement to entitle them to appeal, but it also stated:
There does not appear to have been any formal motion filed in this case to have the order of the juvenile court reentered. Reading the court's minute entry of November 16, 1982, it appears that the juvenile court judge acted in response to information orally furnished to him by counsel. Thus, the record in this case is that the juvenile court judge acted because the parties did not get notice of the original minute entry. Relief under such circumstances is neither available nor appropriate. Park v. Strick, [137 Ariz. 100, 669 P.2d 78 (1983) ].
Although the appeal in this case must be dismissed as untimely, the parties may be entitled to relief in the juvenile court if an appropriate motion is filed supported by reasons showing justification for such relief. Park v. Strick, supra.
Id. at 295, 674 P.2d at 849. The court in Park v. Strick had held that when an aggrieved party establishes a lack of knowledge that a judgment has been entered and demonstrates additional reasons that are so extraordinary as to justify relief, the trial court has authority under Rule 60(c)(6), Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, to...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Maricopa County Juvenile Action No. JS-8441, Matter of
...The court of appeals dismissed as untimely the father's appeal from an adverse judgment. In re the Appeal in Maricopa County Juvenile Action No. JS-8441, 172 Ariz. 517, 838 P.2d 1278 (App.1991). We granted the father's petition for review and now reinstate the appeal. 1 PRIOR PROCEEDINGS Af......
-
Laws-Coats, Matter of
... ... Her clients filed a malpractice action against her and, as of the date of the consent agreement, ... ...