People v. W.L. (In re R.L.)
| Decision Date | 04 October 2021 |
| Docket Number | 1-21-0419 |
| Citation | 2021 IL App (1st) 210419,195 N.E.3d 780,457 Ill.Dec. 644 |
| Parties | IN RE R.L., a Minor-Appellee (The People of the State of Illinois, Petitioner-Appellee, v. W.L., Respondent-Appellant.) |
| Court | United States Appellate Court of Illinois |
2021 IL App (1st) 210419
195 N.E.3d 780
457 Ill.Dec. 644
IN RE R.L., a Minor-Appellee
(The People of the State of Illinois, Petitioner-Appellee,
v.
W.L., Respondent-Appellant.)
No. 1-21-0419
Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, FIRST DIVISION.
Filed October 4, 2021
Sharone R. Mitchell Jr., Public Defender, of Chicago (Frank M. Adams, Assistant Public Defender, of counsel), for appellant.
Kimberly M. Foxx, State's Attorney, of Chicago (John E. Nowak, Gina DiVito, and Brian A. Levitsky, Assistant State's Attorneys, of counsel), for the People.
Charles P. Golbert, Public Guardian, of Chicago (Kass A. Plain and Christopher J. Williams, of counsel), for other appellee.
JUSTICE WALKER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.
¶ 1 After a hearing held by video conference, the trial court terminated W.L.’s parental rights with respect to his daughter, R.L. W.L. argues on appeal that by proceeding with a video conference, the trial
court violated W.L.’s right to due process. He separately argues that the trial court should have granted his motion for a continuance. We hold that the COVID-19 pandemic justified the use of video conferencing, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied the motion for a continuance.
¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND
¶ 3 R.P. gave birth to R.L. in May 2018. Doctors found that R.P. had exposed R.L. to heroin during gestation. A court granted the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) temporary custody of R.L. in July 2018, and DCFS found a foster family for R.L.
¶ 4 In October 2019, the State filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of R.P. and W.L. Early in 2020, the Child Protection Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County began hearing cases by video conference using Zoom. W.L. objected to using Zoom for the proceedings on the petition to terminate his parental rights, arguing that the procedure would violate his right to due process. In October 2020, before trial began, he sought a continuance to delay proceedings until the court could provide a safe means for holding the termination hearing with the witnesses, the judge, the attorneys, and the parties physically present in court. The court denied the motion for a continuance and used Zoom for the termination hearing.
¶ 5 DCFS employees testified about the efforts they made to contact R.P. and W.L., the services eventually offered, and the progress R.P. and W.L. made. Both R.P. and W.L. started seriously engaging in treatment for their addictions in 2020. They had their first visit with R.L. in January 2020. The court found both parents unfit because for a period of 12 months they had shown a lack of interest in R.L. and an intent to forgo parental rights. See 750 ILCS...
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