State v. Justin L. (In re Interest of Jeremiah L.)
| Decision Date | 07 April 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. A-19-692.,A-19-692. |
| Parties | IN RE INTEREST OF JEREMIAH L., A CHILD UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE. STATE OF NEBRASKA, APPELLEE, v. JUSTIN L., APPELLANT, AND MEAGHAN L., APPELLEE. |
| Court | Nebraska Court of Appeals |
(Memorandum Web Opinion)
Appeal from the County Court for Hall County: JOHN P. RADEMACHER, Judge. Affirmed.
Mitchell C. Stehlik, of Stehlik Law Firm, P.C., L.L.O., for appellant.
James H. Truell, of Truell, Murray & Associates, for appellee Meaghan L.
Katherine J. Doering and Katherine J. Collins, Deputy Hall County Attorneys, for appellee State of Nebraska.
Grady C. Erickson, guardian ad litem.
Justin L. and Meaghan L. appeal an order of adjudication entered by the County Court of Hall County, sitting as a juvenile court, which found Jeremiah L. to be a child under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-247(3)(a) (Reissue 2016). For the following reasons, we affirm.
Justin and Meaghan are the parents of Jeremiah, born in February 2018. On January 11, 2019, the State of Nebraska filed a Juvenile Petition alleging that Jeremiah lacked proper parental care by the fault of his parents and was in a dangerous situation. Specifically, the State alleged:
Jeremiah's siblings were previously placed into DHHS custody in February 2017 because of domestic violence, dad's alcohol abuse and physical abuse. In September 2018, the older children were placed with mom while dad was incarcerated. DHHS has received reports that dad has been abusive towards the children, including shaking and throwing Jeremiah. Dad continues to drink and will not participate in court ordered treatment. Mom admits that she is not following the safety plan, which included having dad's visits with the children be supervised.
On January 11, 2019, an ex parte custody order was issued, placing Jeremiah in the custody of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). On July 2, a contested adjudication hearing was held. The following evidence was presented at the hearing.
Jennifer Whitney, a caseworker for DHHS, testified about her work with the family. Whitney indicated that Jeremiah has two older brothers who were removed from the parents' care in February 2017 after "there had been a physical altercation between Meaghan and Justin that involved alcohol use when there was a safety plan put into place." A certified copy of the juvenile case concerning Jeremiah's brothers was received into evidence.
At the time of Jeremiah's birth, Meaghan was living at Hope Harbor homeless shelter and Justin was incarcerated. DHHS had initially determined that Jeremiah was safe living with Meaghan at Hope Harbor. At the time, the two older children were in foster care. In May 2018, Meaghan left Hope Harbor, moved to a hotel for a brief time, and then obtained an apartment. Meaghan had been asked to leave Hope Harbor after leaving the children unattended and for hitting one of her older children.
In September 2018, the two older children were returned to Meaghan's care while Justin was still incarcerated. The juvenile case regarding the older children remained open. Justin was released from his incarceration approximately a week later and returned to the home to live with Meaghan and the children. Subsequently, DHHS received an intake regarding possible physical abuse by Justin towards one of the older children. The brother had sustained an injury defending Meaghan during a verbal fight she was having with Justin. A safety plan was then put into place (first safety plan). This safety plan included the provision that Meagan and Justin were not to argue in front of the children. Specifically, the plan required that if an argument began, one of the parents was supposed to leave and they were supposed to utilize text messaging to talk about the matter. Meaghan admitted to not following the first safety plan, and that she and Justin continued to have yelling arguments around the children.
In December 2018, there was another incident between Meaghan and Justin. During this incident, Justin allegedly threw Jeremiah on the couch. Meaghan and the children left the home for a period of time until Justin returned to jail as a result of a probation violation, at which time Meaghan and the children returned to the home. A new safety plan was implemented in December 2018 (second safety plan) that required that all contact between Justin and the children besupervised through providers and not Meaghan. The children were removed from Meaghan's care on January 11, 2019. Whitney testified that, based on her individual visits with the boys and with Meaghan, she determined that the safety plan was not being followed and that unsupervised contact was being allowed. Whitney testified that she believed that there was a safety threat and Jeremiah lacked proper parental care.
Miranda Wagner was employed through Owens and Associates to supervise visits between Justin and the children. At this point, all interactions between Justin and the children were supposed to be supervised. On January 10, 2019, Wagner observed an unsupervised interaction between Justin and the children when he delivered a vehicle to Meaghan and the children proceeded to get in the vehicle. Neither Meghan nor Justin were forthright in their explanations to Wagner as to why Justin was at Meaghan's apartment; nonetheless, it was obvious that Justin's presence at the apartment was planned. When Wagner confronted Justin, he told Wagner that he was leaving, stating that he had just had visitation with the children.
Rene Aranda, Justin's probation officer, testified that Justin was required to attend drug and alcohol treatments and to undergo alcohol testing. Justin had two positive alcohol tests in November 2018.
Jeremiah's older brother, Jake, also testified. Jake testified that Justin threw Jeremiah on the couch during a fight with Meaghan, who watched the incident but did not intervene. Jake testified that before this incident, Justin had been drinking beer.
Jake's therapist, Chrissy Peard, testified that she spoke to Justin about Jake's report that Justin threw Jeremiah on the couch, but Justin did not remember the incident, claiming he had drank a lot of alcohol that evening. Although he could not remember, Justin told Peard he believed Jake's claims about the night. Peard testified that she had concerns about inappropriate parenting with Jake and further concerns that if his needs were not being addressed, it may affect Jeremiah. At the time of removal, Meaghan and Justin were not attending Jake's therapy sessions.
Grand Island Police Investigator Timothy Champion investigated the December 2018 incident in which Justin allegedly threw Jeremiah on the couch. Meaghan told Champion that on December 10, 2018, she was arguing with Justin who pushed one of the children out of the house. She admitted that it was possible that Justin threw Jeremiah on the couch. She also testified that she knew Justin had been drinking, despite being on probation. Champion had watched Jake's forensic interviews about the December 2018 incident, but it was inconclusive as to whether or not Jeremiah was injured in the incident.
Prior to its rest, the State re-called Whitney. Whitney testified that Justin did not go to alcohol treatment until after the children were removed. Although DHHS had safety concerns prior to the removal, they waited until January 11, 2019, to remove the children after Wagner discovered the safety plan was not being followed. Whitney testified that DHHS did not remove the children after the December incident because they felt that Meaghan had acted appropriately, but that opinion had changed after Meaghan failed to follow the safety plan.
The parents did not offer any evidence. In an order entered on July 8, 2019, the juvenile court sustained the allegations of the petition, finding that "Jeremiah is in harm and continues to be in harm." The juvenile court concluded that Jeremiah is a child under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-247(3)(a). The court continued Jeremiah's out of home placement. Justin appealed on July 17, and Meaghan filed a second notice of appeal on July 19.
Jeremiah assigns that the juvenile court erred in finding that the State met its burden of proof that Jeremiah is as defined under § 43-247(3)(a). Meaghan has filed a "Brief of Appellee" asserting that the juvenile court erred in the same respect.
An appellate court reviews juvenile cases de novo on the record and reaches a conclusion independently of the juvenile court's findings. In re Interest of Jeremy U. et al., 304 Neb. 734, 936 N.W.2d 733 (2020). When the evidence is in conflict, an appellate court may give weight to the fact that the lower court observed the witnesses and accepted one version of the facts over the other. In re Interest of LeVanta S., 295 Neb. 151, 887 N.W.2d 502 (2016).
To continue reading
Request your trial