In re D.E. CA4/1 ( 2023 )


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  • Filed 7/28/23 In re D.E. CA4/1
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication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.
    COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DIVISION ONE
    STATE OF CALIFORNIA
    In re D.E., et al., Persons Coming
    Under the Juvenile Court Law.
    D081744
    SAN DIEGO COUNTY HEALTH
    AND HUMAN SERVICES
    AGENCY,                                                         (Super. Ct. No. NJ15881AB)
    Plaintiff and Respondent,
    v.
    R.R.,
    Defendant and Appellant.
    APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of San Diego County,
    Michael J. Imhoff, Commissioner. Affirmed.
    Liana Serobian, for Defendant and Appellant.
    Claudia G. Silva, County Counsel, Lisa M. Maldonado, Chief Deputy
    County Counsel, and Eliza Molk, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and
    Respondent.
    INTRODUCTION
    After finding it true that nine-year-old D.E. and seven-year-old A.E.
    had been exposed to ongoing domestic violence between their parents, the
    juvenile court removed the children from both parents, placed them with
    their maternal grandparents, and ordered liberal, supervised visits for R.R.
    (Mother).1 Mother did not request any specific visitation order but asked the
    court to continue to vest the San Diego County Health and Human Services
    Agency (Agency) with discretion to expand her visits. The court did so and
    granted the Agency discretion to lift supervision of Mother’s visits, as well as
    to allow Mother to have overnight visits and live in the grandparents’ home
    with the children.
    Mother challenges the dispositional order, on two grounds: First, she
    asserts substantial evidence did not support the juvenile court’s removal
    order because reasonable alternatives existed to prevent the children’s
    removal from her custody. Alternatively, she asserts the court’s visitation
    order was erroneous because it set no minimum frequency or duration for
    Mother’s visits and improperly delegated “all judicial authority” to the
    Agency over Mother’s visits. We conclude the record provides substantial
    evidence to support the court’s removal order and Mother forfeited her claim
    regarding the visitation order. As a result, we affirm the court’s
    jurisdictional and dispositional orders.
    1     T.E. (Father) is not a party to this appeal.
    2
    FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
    I.
    Dependency Petitions
    In October 2022, the Agency filed dependency petitions on behalf of
    D.E. and A.E., each alleging Mother and Father failed to protect the children
    from exposure to the parents’ ongoing domestic violence, pursuant to Welfare
    and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b).2 The Agency’s
    investigation revealed the following facts.3
    On August 9, 2022, police officers responded to the family’s home when
    J.R. (Maternal Grandmother) reported domestic violence had occurred in the
    home. Mother told the officers Father threatened to break her cellphone,
    pushed her two times, and threw a roll of pennies at her, striking her in the
    chest. She had slight bruising to her right wrist and right breast. According
    to Maternal Grandmother, Father did break the cellphone. While officers
    were speaking with Mother, Father fled the home and later forcefully resisted
    arrest and tried to kick one of the officers. He was arrested for corporal
    injury to a spouse (Pen. Code, § 273.5, subd. (a)) and resisting arrest with
    force (Pen. Code, § 69). The children were at a nearby park during the
    incident but saw officers arrest Father.
    2     Undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions
    Code.
    3     “In accord with the usual rules on appeal, we state the facts in the
    manner most favorable to the dependency court’s order.” (In re Janee W.
    (2006) 
    140 Cal.App.4th 1444
    , 1448, fn. 1.)
    3
    On August 12, 2022, a three-year criminal protective order (CPO) was
    issued. It prohibited Father from contacting Mother or coming within 100
    yards of her, as well as her home, employment, or vehicle.
    Maternal Grandmother was caring for the children on the weekends as
    a result of the August 9, 2022 domestic violence. On August 22, Maternal
    Grandmother reported she encountered Father at Mother’s home when she
    dropped off the children, in violation of the CPO. Because Mother was not at
    home, she left the children in Father’s care. Maternal Grandmother told the
    Agency Father was a “heavy drinker” and she believed “the majority” of the
    parents’ domestic violence occurred when Father was intoxicated.
    On September 27, 2022, the parents engaged in another violent
    incident, eight days after both had declined voluntary services to address
    domestic violence in their relationship. This time Father threw a glass plate
    at Mother, cutting her arm. When the police responded, Mother lied to
    officers that Father was not in the home; they found him and arrested him
    for violating the CPO. Mother had three small bruises on her arm and a
    scratch on her wrist. She told the officers she received the injuries from
    “tripping” over tools.4 Mother eventually told the officers she had invited
    Father to the home to help move furniture after a pipe burst in her home.
    She did not want the CPO, nor did she want Father to be prosecuted for
    violating the CPO. She said she intended to go to court to “remove” the CPO.
    Both children were present during the September 27, 2022 domestic
    violence. D.E. reported to the Agency that her parents “ ‘got into a fight’ ”
    because her “ ‘dad thinks [her] mom is cheating on him.’ ” Father then threw
    4     A month later, Mother told the Agency Father angrily threw a plate at
    her and that it would have hit her face but she blocked it with her arm. She
    went to the hospital because she believed her wrist was broken.
    4
    a glass plate “ ‘on the ground.’ ” She said, “ ‘When he gets mad, he likes to
    throw things.’ ” D.E. reported her “ ‘mom had a cut on her wrist and it hit a
    nerve and [her] dad got a cut on his thumb.’ ” Since then, Father has called
    Mother “ ‘a few times,’ ” telling her “ ‘he misses her and he is tired.’ ” Mother
    responded by “ ‘asking when he was coming back home.’ ” D.E. said she was
    afraid when her parents fight and explained, “ ‘My grandma’s house is the
    only peaceful place I am in.’ ” A.E. reported that he “ ‘heard a glass break’ ”
    and when Father left, he saw the glass on the ground. A.E. said what
    happened made him feel “ ‘not so good’ ” and when asked how his parents
    fight, he responded, “ ‘They fight.’ ”
    Father, who was in custody, told the Agency he was not at the home on
    September 27, 2022 and denied any domestic violence had occurred with
    Mother. He denied “know[ing] anything about a plate.” He saw that Mother
    had “a cast” on because she had a cut on her arm, although he did not know
    how she was cut. The Agency spoke to him again more than a week later and
    told him “various people” had reported to the Agency about the September 27
    domestic violence. In response, Father asked if Mother was one of the people.
    Father then told the Agency “everything” it was told “ ‘was true.’ ” He
    claimed, however, Mother “ ‘attacked him’ ” because she was mad that he had
    told D.E. about Mother’s boyfriend. She grabbed a shoe and threw it at him,
    and he reacted by throwing a plate at her. He admitted he was in violation of
    the CPO.
    The parents had a documented history of domestic violence. Mother
    told the Agency she had called the police twice in the past because of “verbal
    arguments,” “ ‘nothing crazy.’ ” She denied the arguments were “physical,”
    and explained they were “just more ‘rowdy.’ ” The Agency obtained two police
    reports of domestic violence occurring on November 15, 2020 and December
    5
    1, 2021. On November 15, 2020, Mother called the police because Father spat
    twice in her face, grabbed her left arm and “flung her onto the bed,” and
    choked her with his hands. She was not able to breathe. Officers observed
    she had an abrasion to her left wrist. Mother did not want Father
    prosecuted. On December 1, 2021, Mother reported Father took money from
    her purse so she punched him twice in the forearm. Father then pushed
    Mother twice, causing her to fall back onto the couch and floor, and pulled a
    “clump” of hair from her head. Officers saw redness to her back and the
    clump of hair on the ground. Mother told the officers she had been in “ ‘four
    or five’ total domestic violence incidents” with Father.
    II.
    Detention Hearing
    At the detention hearing in October 2022, the juvenile court made a
    prima facie finding on the petitions, detained D.E. and A.E. with the
    maternal grandparents, and ordered liberal but separate, supervised visits
    for Mother and Father. It vested the Agency with discretion to lift
    supervision and allow the parents to have unsupervised and overnight visits,
    and to detain the children with the parents with the agreement of the
    children’s counsel. The court also gave the Agency discretion to allow Mother
    to reside in the maternal grandparents’ home with the children, with the
    agreement of the children’s counsel. The court ordered reunification services
    for Mother and Father, including domestic violence treatment and parenting
    classes, and referred them to a substance abuse specialist for evaluation. It
    also authorized therapy for the children
    6
    III.
    Jurisdictional and Dispositional Hearing
    The contested jurisdictional and dispositional hearing was held on
    February 10, 2023. While Maternal Grandmother was present, neither
    parent attended the hearing. The court clerk attempted to call Mother and
    Father but reached an out-of-service message for each. Counsel for Mother
    requested a continuance so Mother could attend. Noting that Mother’s last
    appearance was in October 2022, the juvenile court found Mother had
    received proper notice of the hearing and denied the continuance request.
    The juvenile court received into evidence the Agency’s reports to date
    from the filing of the petitions. The Agency’s social worker was present to
    testify, but counsel for Mother and Father chose to not cross-examine her, nor
    did they present any affirmative evidence. The court found the petitions true
    by clear and convincing evidence and assumed dependency jurisdiction over
    the children. It then found the requirements of section 361, subdivision
    (c)(1), had been met by clear and convincing evidence and removed D.E. and
    A.E. from each parent. It ordered the children be placed with relatives and
    continued all prior orders, including its order granting Mother liberal
    supervised visitation with discretion to the Agency to expand the terms of her
    visitation.
    In addition to what we have already summarized, the Agency’s reports
    provided the court with the following additional facts to support its
    jurisdictional and dispositional findings and orders:
    A.    The Children’s Progress
    D.E. had been demonstrating anxious behavior, including picking at
    her nails. She asked to talk with someone because “she had been feeling
    7
    more sad than usual.” She explained “she would see hitting” when her
    parents fought and she felt unsafe to be with them, even if they separated.
    A.E. tended to become “extremely angry” and had “difficulty calming
    himself down.” On one occasion, he scratched Maternal Grandmother when
    she tried to calm him. He reported “feeling sadder than usual because he
    miss[ed] his parents” and said things “as if he wants to die.” Maternal
    Grandmother reported he was saying “ ‘crazy stuff’’ like ‘I wish I was dead,’ ”
    and would get “extremely angry very quickly.” A.E. reported, “ ‘My dad
    always hurt my mom, he’s not safe around us. I saw him kicking her.’ ” He
    felt safe with his parents but only if they separated. If he had a magic wand
    to change anything, he said it would be to “ ‘[m]ake my parents not fight
    anymore.’ ”
    B.    Father’s Progress
    Father was living in a car that his grandmother had lent him. He had
    not started his domestic violence classes, counseling, or substance abuse
    services. Although the children clearly enjoyed their supervised time with
    Father, he was inconsistent. He had multiple missed visits and provided late
    notice to the Agency, all of which caused the children to become “distraught.”
    Father acknowledged he committed domestic violence against Mother.
    He explained he and Mother would hit each other and he had strangled
    Mother once. But in his view, Mother was the antagonist who usually started
    the physical altercations. He reported the domestic violence had only
    recently started the past two years. He believed the children were usually
    outside playing or in their room during the domestic violence, but when asked
    if the children would hide during any incident, he responded, “ ‘I guess so.’ ”
    Father denied he and Mother were in contact and asserted he was
    complying with the CPO. Father denied he had an alcohol dependency
    8
    problem, although he admitted he was charged with driving under the
    influence three times over the last 10 years. He explained he would drink
    “for a week straight” when he was depressed to “ ‘take the edge off.’ ” Father
    denied the domestic violence with Mother resulted from his drinking.
    C.    Mother’s Progress
    Mother had enrolled in her domestic violence services but, for reasons
    not her fault, the classes began late (in January 2023) and her first class was
    cancelled. Mother did not have stable housing and was apparently staying in
    the homes of various friends.
    Like Father, Mother had also been inconsistent with her visits with the
    children. Although she “had significant opportunities to fully parent [them]
    given that she conduct[ed] almost all of her visits in the maternal
    grandmother’s home,” Maternal Grandmother reported to the Agency that
    she was “minimal in her interactions with the children, often late to visits,
    and often does not show up for her visits.” Mother explained she had been
    skipping visits because she was struggling with “ ‘a lot of emotions.’ ”
    Mother reported the domestic violence started five years ago in her 10-
    year relationship with Father and “it was mostly verbal altercations.” She
    acknowledged there had been “pushing” and “shoving” but described it as
    “ ‘rough housing, being too rough.’ ” Father has hit and kicked her but “that
    was years ago” and he also strangled her once. Later she said Father had
    choked her at least twice and left her neck sore for “2-3 weeks” and she felt
    like “it ‘messed up [her] vocal cords.’ ” Mother believed the domestic violence
    resulted from their inability “ ‘to control [their] emotions’ ” and the fights
    were over infidelity and “deep trust issues.” She denied starting the physical
    altercations and explained she would only shove Father back “in defense.”
    Mother loved Father but acknowledged “the fights were getting worse.” She
    9
    admitted she and Father sometimes drank together and “it would get even
    worse.”
    D.    Reported CPO Violations
    On November 15, 2022, Maternal Grandmother called the police
    because Father was seen across the street going into her apartment complex.
    Maternal Grandmother told the Agency that whenever Father called or
    texted, Mother would “always” text or call a few seconds later; she found the
    timing “strange.” She told the Agency she was upset by Mother’s behavior
    and not sure if Mother should continue to have visits with the children in her
    home.
    On February 1, 2023, Maternal Grandmother reported that although
    “things [had been] going well” with Mother, she suspected Mother was seeing
    Father again. She explained Mother had become “very inconsistent” with her
    visits with the children and felt “ ‘something shady [wa]s going on.’ ” Mother
    had been staying with friends and was usually dropped off “right in front of
    the driveway” at her home when visiting the children. But now, Mother was
    walking down the street to be picked up. Maternal Grandmother checked her
    “Ring” surveillance camera and saw an older white Toyota Rav-4. This car
    had picked up Mother “multiple times” and she suspected it was Father.
    Maternal Grandmother reported that Mother was “ ‘coming and going at
    weird times, she’s not cooking now, the routine is not as consistent’ ” and she
    had to monitor Mother to “ ‘keep[ ] the kids on track.’ ”
    On February 6, 2023, just four days before the contested hearing,
    Maternal Grandmother reported that Ra.R. (Maternal Aunt) told her she just
    saw Mother and Father walking together. Maternal Grandmother knew
    Father parked near an old apartment complex they used to live at and went
    to investigate. When she drove up to the complex, Maternal Grandmother
    10
    saw Father sitting in a white Toyota Rav-4, the same vehicle she had seen on
    her “Ring” surveillance camera. She did not see Mother in the car, but
    “assumed” she was probably hiding or had left.
    Maternal Aunt confirmed she saw Mother and Father walking “arm-in-
    arm” on the side of the road as she was driving to Maternal Grandmother’s
    home on February 6, 2023. She was “100% sure” it was Mother and Father
    because she saw their faces. The week prior, Maternal Aunt received a text
    from Mother asking her to pick Mother up at a Circle K gas station. When
    she arrived, Maternal Aunt saw Mother get out of a similar white car and, in
    hindsight, believed it was Father, who worked at a Circle K gas station.
    DISCUSSION
    I.
    Substantial Evidence Supports the Removal Order
    On this record, we disagree with Mother’s contention that there was
    insufficient evidence to support the juvenile court’s removal order because
    reasonable alternatives existed to prevent the children’s removal from her
    custody.
    “A child may not be taken from a parent’s physical custody during
    juvenile dependency proceedings, except for a temporary detention period,
    unless clear and convincing evidence supports a ground for removal specified
    by the Legislature.” (In re Henry V. (2004) 
    119 Cal.App.4th 522
    , 525.)
    Section 361 is the governing statute, and it imposes restraints on the juvenile
    court’s authority to remove a child from a parent’s physical custody. (§ 361,
    subd. (c).) It provides that “[a] dependent child shall not be taken from the
    physical custody of his or her parents, . . . unless the juvenile court finds clear
    and convincing evidence” that “[t]here is or would be a substantial danger to
    the physical health, safety, protection, or physical or emotional well-being of
    11
    the minor if the minor were returned home, and there are no reasonable
    means by which the minor’s physical health can be protected without
    removing the minor from the minor’s parent’s . . . physical custody.” (§ 361,
    subd. (c)(1).) The statute further provides “[t]he court shall consider, as a
    reasonable means to protect the minor,” the option of removing the offending
    parent from the home (§ 361, subd. (c)(1)(A)), and whether the nonoffending
    parent “presents a plan acceptable to the court demonstrating that he or she
    will be able to protect the child from future harm (§ 361, subd. (c)(1)(B)).
    “In determining whether a child may be safely maintained in the
    parent’s physical custody, the juvenile court may consider the parent’s past
    conduct and current circumstances, and the parent’s response to the
    conditions that gave rise to juvenile court intervention.” (In re D.B. (2018) 
    26 Cal.App.5th 320
    , 332.) “The parent need not be dangerous and the minor
    need not have been actually harmed before removal is appropriate. The focus
    of the statute is on averting harm to the child.” (In re T.V. (2013) 
    217 Cal.App.4th 126
    , 135–136.) The court has broad discretion in selecting a
    disposition that serves the child’s best interests. (In re Nada R. (2001) 
    89 Cal.App.4th 1166
    , 1179.)
    We review a dispositional order removing a child from a parent for
    substantial evidence, “ ‘keeping in mind that the trial court was required to
    make its order based on the higher standard of clear and convincing
    evidence.’ ” (In re I.R. (2021) 
    61 Cal.App.5th 510
    , 520.) “[A]ppellate review of
    the sufficiency of the evidence in support of a finding requiring clear and
    convincing proof must account for the level of confidence this standard
    demands.” (Conservatorship of O.B. (2020) 
    9 Cal.5th 989
    , 995.) In applying
    this standard of review, “the question before the appellate court is whether
    the record as a whole contains substantial evidence from which a reasonable
    12
    fact finder could have found it highly probable that the fact was true.” (Id. at
    pp. 995−996.) We view the record in the light most favorable to the
    prevailing party and give due deference to how the trier of fact may have
    evaluated the credibility of witnesses, resolved conflicts in the evidence, and
    drawn reasonable inferences from the evidence. (Ibid.) Here, Mother, as the
    party challenging the juvenile court’s order, has the burden to show there is
    insufficient evidence to support the court’s decision. (In re Lana S. (2012) 
    207 Cal.App.4th 94
    , 103.)
    As noted, section 361 restrains a juvenile court from removing a child
    from the physical custody of her parents unless there is clear and convincing
    evidence of two conditions: (1) “[t]here is or would be a substantial danger to
    the physical health, safety, protection, or physical or emotional well-being” of
    the child if she is returned home, and (2) “there are no reasonable means by
    which the [child’s] physical health can be protected without removing” her
    from the parent’s physical custody. (§ 361, subd. (c)(1).) Mother does not
    challenge there was sufficient evidence to support the court’s finding that
    there was or would be substantial danger to D.E. and A.E. if they were
    returned to her custody.5 Instead, she contends only that there was
    insufficient evidence of the second condition.
    Specifically, Mother argues there were reasonable protective measures
    “less drastic” than removing the children from her custody, including an
    order that Mother reside in the maternal grandparents’ home with the
    5      The record demonstrated the children’s exposure to the pattern of
    volatility and violence in their parents’ relationship was, at minimum,
    emotionally harmful to them. The negative impact on both D.E. and A.E.
    was evident in the fear they expressed for their own safety and the mental
    health issues they were exhibiting, including comments by A.E. that arguably
    suggested thoughts of self-harm.
    13
    children under the court’s supervision, while Father is ordered out of the
    home. She contends this arrangement, combined with other measures such
    as unannounced visits, periodic interviews of the children and Maternal
    Grandmother, and conditioning the placement on Mother not permitting
    Father to have unsupervised or unauthorized access to the children outside
    the Agency’s scheduled visits, would adequately protect the children from the
    defined risk of harm⎯exposure to the parents’ pattern of ongoing domestic
    violence. We are not persuaded.
    Mother and Father had a documented history of serious and continuous
    domestic violence that posed a substantial danger to the children’s safety and
    well-being. Even Mother recognized she needed to “not have [Father] around
    the home” in order to make it safe for the children to return to her care. She
    acknowledged the court’s “main concern” in the dependency case was “the
    CPO being broken.” Despite articulating this insight, Mother repeatedly and
    willfully disregarded the CPO and failed to comply with her dependency case
    plan, which required compliance with all court orders. A juvenile court could
    reasonably determine, based on a parent’s prior violations of court orders
    including a restraining order, that a child could not be safely placed in the
    parent’s custody in the hope the parent would comply with court orders or
    Agency supervision. (See In re John M. (2012) 
    212 Cal.App.4th 1117
    , 1127.)
    On appeal, Mother neither admits nor denies having contact with Father in
    violation of the CPO. She argues instead that “even if this was true,” the
    contact was peaceful with no reported arguments and occurred away from the
    children. Mother’s continuing attempt to excuse the parents’ violations of the
    CPO only further supports the juvenile court’s finding that no reasonable
    alternatives existed to protect the children short of their removal from her
    custody.
    14
    Mother’s suggestion that removing Father from “the home” was
    another option to protect the children is also unpersuasive. While the
    juvenile court is required to consider removal of the offending parent from the
    home as a reasonable means of protecting a child, Mother’s reliance on
    section 361, subdivision (c)(1)(A), overlooks that, at the time of the contested
    hearing, Father was living in a car, not in the home with the children. It also
    overlooks that even after Father had been removed from the home pursuant
    to the CPO, Father and Mother continued to have contact which resulted in
    another domestic violence incident on September 27, 2022. This time the
    violence occurred in the presence of the children and again resulted in injury
    to Mother.
    There is also substantial evidence to support a finding that allowing
    Mother to live with the maternal grandparents, even with unannounced
    visits, was not a viable option. In the months before the contested hearing,
    Mother was taking calculated steps to see Father in secrecy, away from the
    maternal grandparent’s home. Mother’s behavior upset Maternal
    Grandmother. It caused her to lose confidence that Mother was prioritizing
    the children’s safety and she no longer supported Mother’s visits with the
    children in her home.
    In sum, we conclude substantial evidence supports the juvenile court’s
    removal order.
    II.
    Mother Forfeited Her Challenge to the Visitation Order
    Mother contends that if we affirm the removal order, the juvenile
    court’s visitation order must be reversed because it did not set a minimum
    frequency or duration for her visits and improperly delegated “all judicial
    15
    authority” over her visits to the Agency. On this record, we conclude Mother
    has forfeited this issue.
    “Visitation is a necessary and integral component of any reunification
    plan.” (In re S.H. (2003) 
    111 Cal.App.4th 310
    , 317.) Section 362.1,
    subdivision (a)(1), provides that visitation “shall be as frequent as possible,
    consistent with the well-being of the child.” “At the same time, visitation
    orders must provide for ‘flexibility in response to the changing needs of the
    child and to dynamic family circumstances.’ ” (In re Brittany C. (2011) 
    191 Cal.App.4th 1343
    , 1356.) “It is the juvenile court’s responsibility to ensure
    regular parent-child visitation occurs while at the same time providing for
    flexibility[.]” (In re S.H., at p. 317.)
    “A visitation order may delegate to a third party the responsibility for
    managing the details of visits, including their time, place and manner.” (In
    re T.H. (2010) 
    190 Cal.App.4th 1119
    , 1123.) However, the discretion to decide
    whether any visitation occurs at all must remain with the court. When the
    court abdicates its discretion in that regard and permits a third party,
    whether social worker, therapist, or the child, “ ‘to determine whether any
    visitation will occur, the court impermissibly delegates its authority over
    visitation and abuses its discretion.’ ” (In re Korbin Z. (2016) 
    3 Cal.App.5th 511
    , 519; In re S.H., supra, 111 Cal.App.4th at pp. 317–318.)
    After the juvenile court made its jurisdictional findings, the court
    invited counsel’s positions on the appropriate disposition. Mother’s counsel
    submitted on the Agency’s recommendation that the children remain in
    Maternal Grandmother’s placement and that Mother continue with
    supervised visitations and not be allowed to live with the children in
    Maternal Grandmother’s home. Mother did not ask for a more specific in-
    person visitation order, or that the court specify the frequency or duration of
    16
    her visits. Instead, she requested only that “all discretions for expansion be
    in place.” The court so ordered. Mother cannot complain now for the first
    time on appeal that the court erred in its visitation order by failing to set a
    minimum frequency or duration for her visits, or by vesting the Agency with
    discretion to expand her visits. We conclude she has forfeited the claim.6 (In
    re Marriage of Davenport (2011) 
    194 Cal.App.4th 1507
    , 1528 [argument not
    raised below is forfeited on appeal]; In re A.S. (2018) 
    28 Cal.App.5th 131
    , 151
    [failure to object in the juvenile court forfeits the issue on appeal].)
    6      Although we conclude Mother has forfeited her challenge to the
    visitation order, we note that throughout the dependency proceeding, Mother
    was able to visit with the children regularly except for times she did not show
    up for her visits. She does not claim, and there is nothing in the record
    indicating that she was precluded or prevented from visiting the children at
    any time for any reason, or that this would change going forward. The
    visitation order here also does not delegate to any party the ability to veto
    Mother’s visits. (Compare with In re T.H., supra, 190 Cal.App.4th at
    pp. 1122–1123 [concluding that ordering the father to have supervised
    visitation “ ‘to be determined by the parents’ ” was an abuse of discretion
    where the mother, who was the custodial parent had objected to the father
    having any visitation at all and “could conceivably agree to only one visit a
    year or less without violating the letter of the court’s order”]; and In re S.H.,
    supra, 111 Cal.App.4th at pp. 318–319 [where the mother’s sons had refused
    visits and all the children were fearful of the mother, reversing visitation
    order that stated “ ‘if the children refuse a visit, then they shall not be forced
    to have a visit’ ” because the order granted the children “de facto veto
    power”].)
    17
    DISPOSITION
    The juvenile court’s February 10, 2023 jurisdictional and dispositional
    orders are affirmed.
    DO, J.
    WE CONCUR:
    DATO, Acting P. J.
    CASTILLO, J.
    18
    

Document Info

Docket Number: D081744

Filed Date: 7/28/2023

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 7/28/2023