In Re: Parental Rights as to D.L.S., A.C.s, I.C.W. ( 2015 )

 appellant's petition to terminate Ire's parental rights as to I.C.W.
Appellant appeals. 2
"[W]hen petitioning the district court to terminate a parent's
parental rights, a petitioner must demonstrate by clear and convincing
evidence that termination is in the child's best interest and that parental
fault exists." In re Parental Rights as to C.C.A., 128 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 15,
273 P.3d 852, 854 (2012); see NRS 128.090(2); NRS 128.105. This court
will uphold the district court's termination order when it is supported by
substantial evidence. In re C.C.A., 128 Nev. Adv. Op. 15, 273 P.3d at 854.
Appellant first argues that the district court abused its
discretion because it failed to find that Ire's felony convictions rendered
him an unfit parent, thereby establishing parental fault. See NRS 128.018
(defining "unfit parent"); NRS 128.105(2)(c) (providing that parental
unfitness is grounds for a finding of parental fault). NRS 128.106(6)
provides that when determining parental unfitness, the court shall
consider, among other things, a parent's felony conviction if the facts of
the crime indicate that the parent is unfit to care for the child. Here, the
district court did consider Ire's felony convictions in compliance with NRS
128.106(6), as indicated by the record on appeal and the district court's
findings that Ire's convictions did not involve conduct related to abuse or
2Although it does not affect the disposition of this appeal, we note
that appellant's appendix is inappropriately attached to the opening brief.
See NRAP 30(c). Also, the citations in appellant's brief reference the page
of the transcript rather than the page number of the appendix as required
by NRAP 28(e)(1), and the brief is not double-spaced as required by NRAP
32(a)(4). We caution appellant's counsel that all future filings must
comply with the pertinent appellate rules.
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neglect of the child, the natural mother, or any caregiver of the child. 3
Additionally, the record contains substantial evidence supporting the
district court's conclusion that appellant otherwise failed to present clear
and convincing evidence of Ire's parental unfitness. See In re Parental
Rights of J.L.N., 118 Nev. 621, 629, 55 P.3d 955, 960 (2002) (holding that
the separation between parent and child due to a parent's time spent in
prison and the obstacles the remaining prison sentence posed to
reunification were insufficient grounds to establish parental fault).
Appellant also challenges the district court's finding that
terminating Ire's parental rights was not in I.C.W.'s best interest.
Appellant points out that during the hearing, I C W testified that she
would like to be adopted by her maternal grandmother because she enjoys
living with her. The record, however, also makes clear that I.C.W. did not
want Ire's parental rights terminated, and that I.C.W. was not aware that
in order for her grandmother to adopt, Ire's rights would be terminated.
The record indicates that I.C.W. may continue living with her
grandmother regardless of the outcome of appellant's petition. The record
also supports the district court's findings that Ire maintained a strong
bond with the child and that I.C.W. wanted her father to continue to
remain an integral part of her life. We conclude that clear and convincing
evidence supports the district court's finding that terminating Ire's
parental rights was not in I.C.W.'s best interest. See In re Parental Rights
to Q.L.R., 118 Nev. 602, 608, 54 P.3d 56, 59-60 (2002) (holding that it was
not in a child's best interest to terminate her incarcerated father's rights
3 The record before this court does not indicate that appellant
presented any further evidence of the facts of the crime.
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when nothing indicated that the two could not form a loving and
supportive relationship in the future, and noting that Nevada's statutory
scheme does not support termination based solely on the duration of
incarceration).
For the reasons discussed above, we
ORDER the judgment of the district court AFFIRMED.
P C04..XCL
Parraguirre
j.
ttrf , J.
Cherry
cc: Hon. Cynthia N. Giuliani, District Judge, Family Court Division
Clark County District Attorney/Juvenile Division
Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP/Las Vegas
Special Public Defender
Eighth District Court Clerk
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