Opinion ID: 1205942
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Utah Code Ann., 1953, § 78-3a-48 allows the State to terminate parental rights under certain enumerated circumstances. Section 78-3a-48, as constituted at the time of trial, [1] provided: (1) The court may decree a termination of all parental rights with respect to one or both parents if the court finds: (a) That the parent or parents are unfit or incompetent by reason of conduct or condition seriously detrimental to the child; or (b) That the parent or parents have abandoned the child. It shall be prima facie evidence of abandonment that the parent or parents, although having legal custody of the child, have surrendered physical custody of the child, and for a period of six months following such surrender have not manifested to the child or to the person having the physical custody of the child a firm intention to resume physical custody or to make arrangements for the care of the child... . The State must prove the parent's unfitness or abandonment by clear and convincing evidence. In re J.P., 648 P.2d 1364, 1377 (Utah 1982); Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 102 S.Ct. 1388, 71 L.Ed.2d 599 (1982). We have reviewed the record and agree with the trial court that the State proved by clear and convincing evidence that the Andersons were unfit or incompetent and had abandoned the children. In opposition to the evidence set forth above, the Andersons proffered testimony that the Gilgens and the Larsens had not fully cooperated in allowing them to see the children and that the Andersons always desired custody of the children. The trial court's ruling against them is amply supported by the record. We agree with the trial court that J.C.O. and E.J.A. were abandoned. In In re J. Children, 664 P.2d 1158 (Utah 1983), we set forth the standard of review in abandonment cases and the definition of abandonment. We stated: In relation to this subject [abandonment], the clear and convincing test concerns both evidentiary support for a finding of fact and the level of persuasion on the reasonableness of a conclusion.... Our scope of review of a reasonableness determination such as this was defined in Hall v. Anderson, Utah, 562 P.2d 1250, 1251 (1977), quoted with approval in McKinstray v. McKinstray, 628 P.2d [1286] at 1288, as follows: [I]f evidence is such that reasonable minds may differ as to the conclusion to be drawn therefrom, it is the prerogative of the trier of facts to make the determination; and this Court should not interfere with that prerogative by disagreeing with the determination thus made. Id. at 1161. In In re J. Children, we defined abandonment as conduct on the part of the parent which implies a conscious disregard of the obligations owed by a parent to the child, leading to the destruction of the parent-child relationship. Id. at 1159 (citing Summers Children v. Wulffenstein, 560 P.2d 331, 334 (Utah 1977)). Abandonment may be proven by either objective evidence of the parent's conduct or by the expressed, subjective intent of the parent. Id. at 1159. This definition of abandonment is supplemented by U.C.A., 1953, § 78-3a-48(1)(b), which states that it is prima facie evidence of abandonment that a parent with legal custody surrenders physical custody of the child for six months without manifesting a firm intention to resume custody or make arrangements for the care of the child. The trial court was well within its prerogative in determining that J.C.O. and E.J.A. were abandoned. E.J.A. was in the Andersons' care only seventeen days before he was placed with the Larsens. The Andersons have never provided financially for the needs of either child, nor have they taken anything but the most superficial interest in the children's welfare. In short, there is no evidence upon which the trial judge could rely, except the Andersons' assertions that they have not abandoned the children, in holding that the prima facie evidence of abandonment had been rebutted; further, the evidence, unaided by the presumption, indicates that the Andersons had so consciously disregarded the children that any existing or potential parent-child relationship was destroyed by their behavior. The trial court's finding that the Andersons were unfit or incompetent is also amply supported by the record. The record indicates that J.C.O. was severely abused and neglected while in the Andersons' care; E.J.A. was clearly neglected during the seventeen days he spent under Marjorie's supervision. Further, the Andersons have at no time relevant to this proceeding maintained a stable home. They changed residences eighteen times between June 1980 and the trial of this action in October 1984. Paul has held innumerable jobs. Marjorie has been only randomly employed. Although at one point the pair claimed to have an income of over $2,000 a month, they have not paid anything toward the support of the children. The Andersons have been convicted of a number of criminal offenses, including welfare fraud. The fraud conviction was based on representations that J.C.O. and E.J.A. were living in the Andersons' home after the children had been placed with the Gilgens and the Larsens. Paul was in jail at the time of trial. An expert witness for the State testified that the Andersons are incapable of developing acceptable parenting skills. An expert witness presented by the State testified that Paul is a sociopath.