Opinion ID: 1215955
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Propriety of Habeas Corpus.

Text: The Court of Appeal committed several procedural errors when it treated the belated appeal as a petition for writ of habeas corpus. Initially, there is the problem of jurisdiction. (1) A timely notice of appeal vests jurisdiction in the Court of Appeal. ( Estate of Hanley (1943) 23 Cal.2d 120, 122 [142 P.2d 423, 149 A.L.R. 1250]; 4 Cal.Jur.3d, Appellate Review, § 155, p. 229.) Nicoleta never filed a notice of appeal from the judgment denying her petition to withdraw consent. The judgment was appealable, but Nicoleta did not appeal. Nor did she purport to file a petition for writ of habeas corpus with the Court of Appeal. As a result, although the Court of Appeal had jurisdiction to address Nicoleta's appeal from the judgment denying the father-child relationship, it never gained jurisdiction to address the final judgment denying her petition to withdraw consent. Once the Court of Appeal had addressed the issue of the father-child relationship, it should have stopped there and not addressed Nicoleta's belated claims. The Court of Appeal also appears to have overlooked Government Code section 68081, which provides in pertinent part: Before ... a court of appeal ... renders a decision ... based upon an issue which was not proposed or briefed by any party to the proceeding, the court shall afford the parties an opportunity to present their views on the matter through supplemental briefing. If the court fails to afford such an opportunity, a rehearing shall be ordered upon timely petition of any party. (Italics added.) The Court of Appeal suggested in oral argument that habeas corpus might be applicable to this case. On January 7, 1987, following oral argument but prior to the filing of the Court of Appeal's opinion, counsel for Mr. and Mrs. H. requested an opportunity to submit supplemental briefing, pursuant to Government Code section 68081, on the question of habeas corpus relief if the court deemed habeas corpus applicable to the case. The court denied the request. In denying the request by Mr. and Mrs. H. to submit supplemental briefing, the Court of Appeal's ruling clearly did not comport with the first part of Government Code section 68081. Although Mr. and Mrs. H. did not petition for rehearing, this omission does not relieve the Court of Appeal of its duty upon timely request to allow supplemental briefing before it renders a decision which was not proposed or briefed by any party. The Court of Appeal also erred in substituting habeas corpus relief for the available remedy of appeal. (2) It is well settled that habeas corpus cannot serve as a substitute for an appeal, and, in the absence of special circumstances constituting an excuse for failure to employ that remedy, the writ will not lie where the claimed errors could have been, but were not, raised upon a timely appeal from a judgment.... ( In re Dixon (1953) 41 Cal.2d 756, 759 [264 P.2d 513].) Although represented by counsel at the time, Nicoleta does not assert any excuse for her failure to file a timely notice of appeal from the judgment denying her withdrawal of consent. The Court of Appeal therefore erred in substituting habeas corpus on these facts. In addition, the Court of Appeal also ignored explicit habeas corpus procedures in fashioning relief. (3) Although Courts of Appeal have original jurisdiction in habeas corpus proceedings (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 10), they must abide by the procedures set forth in Penal Code sections 1473 through 1508. An application for habeas corpus relief must be made by verified petition. (Pen. Code, § 1474.) In this case, the Court of Appeal granted a writ of habeas corpus in the absence of a verified petition. Moreover, Nicoleta never even requested habeas corpus relief in any of her briefs. (4) In addition, if a petition for habeas corpus makes a prima facie showing, then the opposing side must be given an opportunity to file a return to the petition. (Pen. Code, § 1480; In re Collins (1907) 151 Cal. 340, 342 [90 P. 827, 91 P. 397].) Here, the court not only issued the writ sua sponte, but also denied the request by Mr. and Mrs. H. to file a return. The foregoing discussion enumerates the various procedural errors committed by the Court of Appeal in treating Nicoleta's belated appeal as a petition for writ of habeas corpus. We recognize that there is an exception to the procedural requirements which we have outlined above. It has been held that a court may entertain a belated appeal from a final judgment where a constitutional claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is alleged. ( People v. Munoz (1975) 51 Cal. App.3d 559, 563 [124 Cal. Rptr. 322]; People v. Glaser (1965) 238 Cal. App.2d 819, 821-824 [48 Cal. Rptr. 427].) Moreover, in one criminal case involving a constitutional claim that the defendant was never warned of the risks of self-representation, an appellate court treated a belated appeal as a petition for writ of habeas corpus even though the judgment had become final and the briefs had not been verified. ( People v. Barlow (1980) 103 Cal. App.3d 351, 360-364 [163 Cal. Rptr. 664].) (5) However, even where a court treats a belated appeal as a petition for writ of habeas corpus, it is necessary to provide the opposing parties with notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matter. Mr. and Mrs. H. were denied such protection. Moreover, Nicoleta never raised the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel in her appellate briefs. Finally, there is another reason why Munoz, Glaser, and Barlow do not provide authority for the Court of Appeal's holding in this case. Those cases were criminal actions. It is important to distinguish habeas corpus relief in a criminal case, where the defendant has been unlawfully deprived of his or her liberty, from the appropriateness of habeas corpus in adoption cases. As we shall explain, there are compelling reasons for prohibiting a collateral attack by habeas corpus in an adoption case where such an attack would only result in additional delay, uncertainty and potential harm to the prospective adoptee.
As we have noted, the Court of Appeal clearly ignored procedure in fashioning habeas corpus relief. (6) Of primary concern, however, is whether habeas corpus may ever be used to collaterally attack a final nonmodifiable judgment in an adoption-related action. [7] A survey of cases permitting habeas corpus relief in child custody actions shows that it has never been used in such a manner. Witkin enumerates nine types of civil proceedings in which habeas corpus is available. (3 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (3d ed. 1985) Actions, § 21, pp. 52-53.) The Court of Appeal cited Witkin's third category to support its holding that habeas corpus is appropriate here. The third category provides that habeas corpus is available [w]here a parent seeks custody of a child living with another. ( Id. at § 21(c), p. 52.) Within this general category of child custody cases described by Witkin, our research has disclosed six separate subcategories where habeas corpus has been allowed. First, it may be used to enforce an existing right to physical custody established by prior order. ( In re Richard M. (1975) 14 Cal.3d 783, 789 [122 Cal. Rptr. 531, 537 P.2d 363]; In re Barr (1952) 39 Cal.2d 25, 27 [243 P.2d 787]; 36 Cal.Jur.3d, Habeas Corpus, § 17, p. 37.) Second, habeas corpus may be brought to determine physical custody in the first instance where no previous custody order has issued, i.e., where habeas corpus is not brought as a collateral attack. ( In re Croze (1956) 145 Cal. App.2d 492, 495 [302 P.2d 595].) Third, habeas corpus is available to modify a modifiable order. ( In re Wren (1957) 48 Cal.2d 159, 163 [302 P.2d 595].) Fourth, a parent may bring a habeas corpus action to protect a child from imminent danger. ( In re Dowell (1935) 4 Cal. App.2d 688, 689 [41 P.2d 596].) Fifth, there is authority allowing a natural parent lacking physical custody to bring an original action in habeas corpus where his or her consent to an adoption was required but not obtained. ( In re Reyna (1976) 55 Cal. App.3d 288 [308 P.2d 329].) Finally, habeas corpus may be brought to collaterally attack a prior order where the court issuing the prior order lacked jurisdiction. ( In re Barr, supra, 39 Cal.2d at 28; 36 Cal.Jur.3d, Habeas Corpus, § 17, p. 36.) This case does not fall within any of these subcategories. Category one is inapplicable because there is no prior custody order for Nicoleta to enforce in her favor. Category two is equally inapplicable because custody has already been determined in the first instance. Categories three and four are irrelevant to this case. Category five is also inapposite. Nicoleta was the petitioner of record in both the petition to withdraw consent and the petition to declare a father-child relationship. Her consent was obtained. Moreover, although Tudor did not consent to the adoption, the Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's determination that his consent was not necessary because he was not a presumed father. (See Civ. Code, § 7004; see also Michael U. v. Jamie B. (1985) 39 Cal.3d 787, 790-791 [218 Cal. Rptr. 39, 705 P.2d 362].) The judgment denying a father-child relationship was affirmed by the Court of Appeal and hence only Nicoleta's consent was required. Finally, category six is inapplicable because the trial court had jurisdiction to render its judgment denying Nicoleta's petition to withdraw consent. Habeas corpus relief has not been available in an adoption-related proceeding to collaterally attack a final, nonmodifiable judgment where the trial court had jurisdiction to make the adoption judgment. A review of the past cases shows that the Court of Appeal did not have authority to apply habeas corpus under these facts. We do not rest our decision, however, merely on the determination that the Court of Appeal's use of habeas corpus was unprecedented. Such a limited holding will not prevent the future application of habeas corpus in adoption cases under slightly different circumstances. Out of concern for the welfare of children in adoption actions, we hold that habeas corpus may not be used to collaterally attack a final nonmodifiable judgment in an adoption-related action where the trial court had jurisdiction to render the final judgment. Such a position is not without precedent in our state. In Ex parte Miller (1895) 109 Cal. 643 [42 P. 428], the trial court appointed John McComb as the guardian of a minor. The order of appointment was an appealable judgment, but the parents failed to file a notice of appeal within the 60-day limitations period specified in former Code of Civil Procedure section 1715. The judgment became final. In an effort to gain custody of the child, the parents subsequently filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus to collaterally attack the final judgment appointing the guardian. We held that habeas corpus could be brought to collaterally attack a final child custody judgment only in cases where the superior court lacked jurisdiction to make the judgment. ( Id. at 646.) In Miller, as in this case, the trial court had jurisdiction to render judgment. We therefore held in Miller that the parents' petition for habeas corpus relief was inappropriate. We believe that sound public policy offers continued justification for our Miller holding. Protracted litigation over the custody of a child may harm the child. For this reason, among others, the United States Supreme Court held that federal habeas corpus could not be used to litigate constitutional claims in child custody matters, observing that [t]he State's interest in finality is unusually strong in child-custody disputes. The grant of federal habeas would prolong uncertainty for children.... It is undisputed that children require secure, stable, long-term, continuous relationships with their parents or foster parents. There is little that can be as detrimental to a child's sound development as uncertainty over whether he is to remain in his current `home,' under the care of his parents or foster parents, especially when such uncertainty is prolonged. ( Lehman v. Lycoming County Children's Services (1982) 458 U.S. 502, 513-514 [73 L.Ed.2d 928, 938, 102 S.Ct. 3231].) The facts of this case provide a perfect example of the kind of delay that should be avoided. The adoption proceeding has now been stayed for over three years while the courts attempted to resolve the withdrawal-of-consent issue. If Nicoleta is allowed to collaterally attack the trial court's final judgment, the case will be remanded to the trial court. Following the trial court's judgment on remand, a new round of appeals will likely be brought. If the withdrawal-of-consent issue is eventually resolved against Nicoleta, still more hearings will be necessary to finalize the adoption. Meanwhile, Alexander must live with uncertainty. Such delay is made all the more intolerable by the fact that Nicoleta failed to avail herself of her right to appeal.