Opinion ID: 2045627
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: T.J. and Amanda

Text: A judicial determination made following adjudication in a special proceeding which affects the substantial right of parents to raise their children is a final, appealable order. See In re Interest of R.G., 238 Neb. 405, 470 N.W.2d 780 (1991). See, also, In re Interest of R.A. and V.A., 225 Neb. 157, 403 N.W.2d 357 (1987), overruled on other grounds, State v. Jacob, 242 Neb. 176, 494 N.W.2d 109 (1993). We noted in In re Interest of R.G. that the definition of a special proceeding for purposes of litigation under the Nebraska Juvenile Code includes any `statutory remedy which is not in itself an action.' 238 Neb. at 413, 470 N.W.2d at 787. This definition includes the juvenile court's December 16, 1994, order. Prior to December 16, Gloria, Tabitha, T.J., and Amanda were all within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. The December 16 order was the court's modification of its prior dispositional orders, and this modification was made pursuant to the authority provided by Neb.Rev.Stat. § 43-284 (Reissue 1993). The December 16 order removed T.J. and Amanda from Lona's home, thereby effectively eliminating her right to raise these children. Thus, the Court of Appeals was correct to determine that the December 16 order was a final, appealable order. The State claims that even if the December 16, 1994, order was a final order, the juvenile court nevertheless retained concurrent jurisdiction to adjudicate whether Lona's parental rights should be terminated. As the Court of Appeals correctly noted, however, this argument offends a basic principle of jurisdiction: Once an appeal has been perfected to an appellate court, the trial court is divested of its jurisdiction to hear a case involving the same matter between the same parties. WBE Co. v. Papio-Missouri River Nat. Resources Dist., 247 Neb. 522, 529 N.W.2d 21 (1995). Finally, the State argues that even if the December 16, 1994, order was a final order, consideration of whether Lona's parental rights should be terminated was independent of the issues involved in the December 16 order and that, therefore, the juvenile court retained jurisdiction to address this issue. However, as the Court of Appeals held, under Nebraska law, a dispositional order removing children from the care of parents and a subsequent proceeding adjudicating the termination of that parent's parental rights are both governed under the juvenile code and involve the same basic subject matter. In fact, the dispositional status of a juvenile is itself potentially a basis for termination. See § 43-292(6) and (7). Clearly, such matters are not independent. Once an appeal from the dispositional order was perfected, the juvenile court lost jurisdiction to address the issue of terminating Lona's parental rights while that appeal was pending. Therefore, the Court of Appeals' holding that the December 16, 1994, order was a final, appealable order was correct with respect to T. J. and Amanda.