State in the Interest of J. Y. M.

STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT

JAC09-1335

STATE IN THE INTEREST OF
J.Y.M.

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APPEAL FROM THE
FOURTEENTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT,
PARISH OF CALCASIEU, NO. 22261
HONORABLE LILYNN CUTRER, DISTRICT JUDGE
HONORABLE HILLARY J. CRAIN

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J. DAVID PAINTER
JUDGE

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Court composed of Sylvia R. Cooks, Billy Howard Ezell, and J. David Painter,
Judges.

APPEAL DISMISSED IN PART; AFFIRMED IN PART.

Catherine L. Stagg, Attorney at Law
426 Kirby Street, Suite A
Lake Charles, LA 70601
Counsel for Appellant:
P.J.M. (Father)

Alberto DePuy, Attorney at Law
Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office
1020 Ryan Street
Lake Charles, LA 70601
Counsel for Appellee:
State of Louisiana

Stephen Berniard, Attorney at Law
1011 Lakeshore Drive, Suite 500
Lake Charles, LA 70601
Counsel for Appellee:
Office of Community Services

James Gaharan, Attorney at Law
700 E. College Street
Lake Charles, LA 70605
Counsel for Appellee:
Y.L.S. (Mother)

PAINTER, Judge.

P.J.M. appeals several rulings by the trial court adjudicating his minor

daughter, J.Y.M., as a child in need of care. For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

J.Y.M. is the minor daughter of P.J.M. and Y.L.S. Y.L.S. is a citizen of

Honduras. P.J.M was granted legal custody of J.Y.M. by the Honduran courts and

returned to the United States with J.Y.M.

OCS first became involved with P.J.M. and J.Y.M. in September of 2007,

following a complaint that the child was not being properly supervised. J.Y.M. was

three years old at the time. On November 14, 2007, Elizabeth Thornhill, an attorney

for the Mental Health Advocacy Service’s Child Advocacy Program, was appointed

to represent J.Y.M. and continues to represent J.Y.M. to date. J.Y.M. was placed in

foster care for approximately a year before being returned to P.J.M. in November of

2008.

During the course of those proceedings, P.J.M. was ordered to pay an expert

witness fee. See State in the Interest of J.Y.M., 09-1333 (La.App. 3 Cir.

___/___/2010), ___ So.2d ___. He was found in contempt of court for failure to

appear in court and to pay as ordered and was arrested on March 10, 2009, and

sentenced to serve thirty days. OCS obtained an instanter order on March 11, 2009,

and placed J.Y.M. in state custody. At that time, J.Y.M. was five years old.

On March 12, 2009, the State filed a petition to adjudicate J.Y.M. as a child in

need of care due to P.J.M.’s incarceration. On April 13, 2009, that petition was

amended to include allegations of mental cruelty.

Both P.J.M. and J.Y.M. were evaluated by a psychologist, Dr. John Simoneaux.

Dr. Simoneaux diagnosed P.J.M. with delusional disorder, persecutory and grandiose

type, as well as narcissistic personalty disorder and opined that this disorder had a

direct and adverse ability on P.J.M.’s ability to serve as J.Y.M.’s primary caregiver.

Dr. Simoneaux further opined that P.J.M.’s disorder had manifested itself through

P.J.M.’s belief that J.Y.M. was sexually abused, drugged, physically and emotionally

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abused while in state custody. Dr. Simoneaux concluded that P.J.M. was “quite ill”

and that his actions toward his daughter constituted emotional abuse. Dr. Simoneaux

also stated that the disorders which P.J.M. had were very difficult to treat because

people with these disorders see no need for treatment and because medications do not

typically help.

An adjudication hearing was held May 6-8, 2009, and J.Y.M. was adjudicated

as a child in need of care.1 P.J.M. filed a motion for new trial, which was dismissed

as being untimely filed. A motion to reconsider the dismissal was also denied. The

disposition hearing was held on June 2, 20092, and it was ordered that J.Y.M. was to

remain in State custody. A judgment to that effect was signed on June 16, 2009.

Catherine Stagg, P.J.M.’s attorney, filed a motion to withdraw, and the order

granting her withdrawal as counsel of record was signed on June 22, 2009. In the

meantime, the judgment of disposition was served on P.J.M. through Ms. Stagg on

June 23, 2009. The judgment was served on P.J.M. personally on June 26, 2009.

P.J.M., pro se, filed two motions for appeal, one dated June 24, 2009 and another

dated July 2, 2009. The orders of appeal were signed July 1 and July 6, respectively.

Both motions for appeal are dated stamped as being filed on July 6, 2009. On appeal,

P.J.M. alleges four assignments of error:

1. The Trial Court had no authority to order (on January 21, 2009)
a child to be taken into custody in anticipation of an arrest on a
bench warrant, when the underlying offense was not in any way
related to parental fitness or moral turpitude.

2. The OCS had insufficient basis to seek, and the Court erred in
granting, an Instanter Order at the time of the arrest on March 10,
2009, when the underlying offense was not in any way related to
parental fitness or moral turpitude, and when no consideration
whatsoever was given to alternative placement of the child.

3. The Trial Court did not properly apply the legal definition of
“emotional abuse” or “emotional maltreatment” to the facts of this
case.

1
This hearing was conducted by the Honorable Hillary J. Crain.
2
This hearing was conducted by the Honorable Lilynn Cutrer

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4. The minor did not receive adequate legal representation in accord
with the standards set forth by the Louisiana Supreme Court, and
therefore the child in reality received no legal representation
whatsoever.

Although the State filed a brief in this matter, we note that its right to oral

argument was voluntarily waived. Further, we are aware that proceedings to

terminate P.J.M.’s parental rights went forward in March of 2010, under a different

docket number in the district court; however, issues as those proceedings are not now

before us.

DISCUSSION

We must first address the State’s argument that this appeal is untimely.

Louisiana Children’s Code Article 332 states, in pertinent part:

A. Except as otherwise provided within a particular Title of this
Code, appeals shall be taken within fifteen days from the mailing of
notice of the judgment. However, if a timely application for a new trial
is made pursuant to Paragraph C, the delay for appeal commences to run
from the date of the mailing of notice of denial of the new trial motion.

B. Notice of judgment, including notice of orders or judgments taken
under advisement, shall be as provided in Code of Civil Procedure
Article 1913.

With respect to the instanter order issued on May 11, 2009, the State argues

that the notice was mailed to it on May 12, 2009, and served on all other parties,

including P.J.M. personally and through his counsel of record, on May 12, 2009, such

that the appeal delay would have expired on May 27, 2009. No such appeal was

taken during that time frame. P.J.M. argues that the notice was never mailed as

required by the code article such that his appeal is timely, if not premature. No one

disputes the fact that P.J.M. received the notice.

This court has long recognized that “if an appellant moves for and is granted

an appeal prior to service of notice, he is deemed either to have notice or to waive

notice.” Tarver v. Anderson, 358 So.2d 1000 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1978), citing X-L

Finance Company v. Hollinger, 185 So.2d 873 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1966) and In re

Salmon, 318 So.2d 897 (La.App. 2 Cir. 1975). The fact that the clerk’s office did not

mail the notice is irrelevant in this case as P.J.M. was personally served with all of

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the notices. Thus, we agree with the State that P.J.M.’s appeal with respect to the

instanter order is untimely, and we dismiss the appeal insofar is it raises issues related

thereto. Accordingly, we will not consider P.J.M.’s first and second assignments of

error.

With respect the adjudication judgment signed June 16, 2009, we find that this

appeal was timely filed because Ms. Stagg had withdrawn as counsel of record before

the notice was served on P.J.M. through Ms. Stagg and that notice was not served on

P.J.M. personally until June 26, 2009. Therefore, he had until July 11, 2009 to file

his motion for appeal. Both motions for appeal were filed on July 6, 2009 and were

timely.

We will now address P.J.M.’s third and fourth assignments of error. P.J.M.

asserts, in his third assignment of error, that the trial court did not properly apply the

legal definition of “emotional abuse” or “emotional maltreatment” to the facts of this

case. The basis for the charge of emotional abuse is found in numerous video

recordings P.J.M. made of “interviews” with J.Y.M. over a period of some four

months. These “interviews” consisted of P.J.M. questioning J.Y.M. about her

treatment in foster care. Dr. Simoneaux opined that P.J.M. was “manufacturing”

evidence to prove his allegations that J.Y.M. was sexually and physically abused

while in foster care. Dr. Simoneaux further opined that P.J.M.’s behavior in this

regard was “paranoid and manipulative.” Dr. Simoneaux was of the opinion that this

behavior constituted emotional abuse and bordered on sexual exploitation. He could

not say with certainty whether J.Y.M. had been sexually abused because he felt that

she was an unreliable witness because of P.J.M.’s influence on her. However, Dr.

Simoneaux did note that J.Y.M. did not display any signs of distress or discomfort.

In his written reasons for judgment, Judge Crain noted that he was particularly

impressed with Dr. Simoneaux’s credentials and that Dr. Simoneaux was an

impressive witness. Judge Crain further noted Dr. Simoneaux’s conclusion that

because of P.J.M.’s influence, J.Y.M. was no longer a reliable reporter of any possible

abuse to her such that it left her extremely vulnerable to future abuse. Judge Crain

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found that P.J.M. inflicted mental injury to J.Y.M. which seriously endangered her

emotional health and that this constituted abuse under La.Ch. Code art. 603(1).

P.J.M. argues that the recordings of the “interviews” show that J.Y.M. is fully

clothed, bouncing around, is not uncomfortable with her father, and that he is not

mean or threatening to her. He further argues that neither the State nor the court

clarified what actions of his constituted abuse. Counsel for J.Y.M. argues that

“P.J.M.’s continued insistence that J.Y.M. suffered no harm is a clear indication of

how little he values his daughter’s credibility and her safety.” We note that it is the

continued pattern of conduct, as evidenced in the video recordings, and his mental

disorders that both the State and the trial court found to constitute abuse.

We review the juvenile court’s findings of fact under the manifest error

standard of review, we cannot set aside such findings of fact in the absence of

manifest error or unless those findings are clearly wrong. In re A.J.F., 00-0948

(La.6/30/00), 764 So.2d 47. In State ex rel. D.H., 04-2105, pp. 7-8 (La.App. 1 Cir.

2/11/05), 906 So.2d 554, 560, the first circuit noted that:

[I]t is important that the appellate court not substitute its own opinion
when it is the juvenile court that is in the unique position to see and hear
the witnesses as they testify. Id. at 62. Where there is conflicting
testimony, reasonable evaluations of credibility and reasonable
inferences of fact should not be disturbed upon review, even when the
appellate court may feel that its own evaluations and inferences are as
reasonable as those of the juvenile court. Id.; see Rosell v. ESCO, 549
So.2d 840 (La.1989). If the juvenile court’s findings are reasonable in
light of the record reviewed in its entirety, the appellate court may not
reverse, even though convinced that had it been sitting as the trier of
fact, it would have weighed the evidence differently. Id.; see
Pinsonneault v. Merchants & Farmers Bank & Trust Co., 2001-2217
(La.4/3/02), 816 So.2d 270.

In order to reverse a fact finder’s determination of fact, an
appellate court must review the record in its entirety and (1) find that a
reasonable factual basis does not exist for the finding, and if such a basis
does exist, (2) further determine that the record establishes that the fact
finder is clearly wrong or manifestly erroneous. See Stobart v. State,
through DOTD, 617 So.2d 880 (La.1993). If there are two permissible
views of the evidence, the fact finder’s choice between them cannot be
manifestly erroneous or clearly wrong. Id.

At the adjudication hearing, the State has to prove, by a preponderance of the

evidence, that the child is a child in need of care. La. Ch.C. art. 665. Based on Dr.

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Simoneaux’s findings and testimony, Judge Crain found that the State met its burden.

Contrary to P.J.M.’s assertions, the record contains sufficient evidence to support the

trial judge’s findings that P.J.M.’s behavior in conducting numerous questionable

interviews of J.Y.M. contributed to the J.Y.M.’s emotional and psychological harm

as described by Dr. Simoneaux. We cannot say that the trial judge misapplied the

legal definition of emotional abuse. We find no manifest error therein.

In his fourth assignment of error, P.J.M. argues that J.Y.M. did not receive

adequate representation of counsel. P.J.M. argues that J.Y.M. has expressed her

desire to return to live with her father to Dr. Simoneaux, the case worker, and to Ms.

Thornhill. He further argues that Ms. Thornhill has been derelict in her duty to

represent the child’s wishes as required by the Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XXXIII

concerning legal representation of children in child in need of care cases.

Louisiana Children’s Code article 607(A) provides:

In every proceeding under this Title, the court shall appoint
qualified, independent counsel for the child, including a referral to the
district public defender. If attorneys are available through the Child
Advocacy Program, the court shall contact the office of the program and
request the assignment of an attorney who shall be appointed. Neither
the child nor anyone purporting to act on his behalf may be permitted to
waive this right.

Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XXXIII, Subpart II, Standard 4, provides, in

pertinent part, that the attorney appointed to represent the child has a basic duty to:

6) Determine the client’s desires and preferences in a
developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive manner;

7) Advocate for the desires and expressed preferences of the child
and follow the child’s direction throughout the case in a
developmentally appropriate manner[.]

The record reflects that Ms. Thornhill was present all relevant times, including

this appeal, and that she provided adequate representation of the child’s wishes in this

case. She has also indicated that, in this case, the child is only five years old. She has

also indicated her belief that there was no factual basis on which to file an opposition

to the adjudication on behalf of the child. Thus, we find no merit in this assignment

of error.

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DECREE

For all of the foregoing reasons, we dismiss that portion of the appeal dealing

with the trial court’s instanter order issued on May 11, 2009. With respect to the trial

court’s adjudication that J.Y.M. is a child in need of care whose custody must be

maintained with OCS, we affirm.

APPEAL DISMISSED IN PART; AFFIRMED IN PART.

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