Opinion ID: 2588383
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: C.R.'s Best Interest

Text: After determining that other subsections of I.C. § 16-2005 could not provide the basis for termination, the magistrate determined termination would be in C.R.'s best interest under I.C. § 16-2005(e). He wrote: [T]he benefits of termination to [C.R.] are many. Among those benefits are public financial benefits (money) that [C.R.] would be entitled to receive upon her anticipated adoption by [C.L. and her husband]. Mike Starnes [C.R.'s case worker] testified that there are public funding benefits through Health and Welfare that are only available to children who've been legally adopted. Since [Doe] will be in prison for at least the next nine and one half years, he will be unable to provide any significant financial support for [C.R.] if his parental rights are left intact. The Court also finds that [C.R.] would benefit from a sense of finality and comparative normalcy and permanency following termination and adoption by [C.L. and her husband]. [C.R.] would then have her parents with her in her home rather than having to think of her father as being in prison in another state. While the chances of it occurring seem very remote, [Doe's] pending appeal leaves open the possibility that he could be released and have standing to request contact with [C.R.] if his parental status were still intact. As discussed, [Doe] is a child molester dwelling in denial and refusing treatment for his personal issues. As such, he represents an unacceptable risk to children, including [C.R.]. The fact that he hasn't yet molested [C.R.] is almost certainly the result of her comparative age to [A.R.], and not any indication of [Doe's] ability to control his deviant sexual impulses. The Court having considered the benefits and detriments inherent in terminating [Doe's] parental rights, it is the Court's finding by clear and convincing evidence that termination is in [C.R.'s] best interest. Doe contends the magistrate erred in the decision that termination was in C.R.'s best interest because the trial court: (1) failed to acknowledge that there had been no issue of abuse, poor parenting or abandonment of C.R.; (2) failed to recognize that the State perpetrated abuse on C.R. by making decisions regarding her welfare without considering her need to have a continued relationship with Doe; and (3) failed to consider that the Department of Health and Welfare (the Department) had done nothing to foster a continued relationship between Doe and his daughter. However, each of these arguments lacks merit; the magistrate considered each issue Doe raises and substantial and competent evidence supports his decision. First, Doe fails to recognize that the trial court considered issues of abuse, poor parenting and abandonment and carefully considered whether termination would be in C.R.'s best interest. [2] Additionally, the magistrate's memorandum opinion notes that the evidence does not support the Department's contention that Doe willfully abandoned C.R. nor does it support that Doe neglected C.R. [3] Likewise, the magistrate determined Doe had not abused C.R., not because of lack of desire to molest, but simply because of her young age compared to A.R. Moreover, after carefully considering all of the evidence presented, the magistrate noted that C.R. and Doe shared a genuinely loving relationship and that C.R. missed her father. Before looking at the benefits termination would provide C.R., the trial court concluded the only benefit she would receive from a continued relationship with her father would be a sense of satisfaction from having the court abide by her expressed desire that termination not occur. That sense of satisfaction, the magistrate determined, was outweighed by the many benefits termination would provide to C.R. Therefore, the magistrate's opinion in this instance shows that he did the exact opposite of what Doe contendsthe magistrate carefully considered the issues of abuse, neglect, abandonment and whether termination would be in C.R.'s best interest. As such, Doe is simply asking this Court to weigh the evidence differently than the trial judge. This the Court will not do. See Hofmeister v. Bauer, 110 Idaho 960, 964, 719 P.2d 1220, 1224 (Ct.App.1986). Second, the magistrate considered the issue of the lack of contact between Doe and C.R. while she was in the State's custody. The magistrate's opinion notes that Doe was not allowed to have contact with his daughter first because of a no contact order entered in his lewd and lascivious conduct case and then because the Department of Corrections forbade him from contacting C.R. Moreover, the magistrate found that the Department for good reason prevented Doe from having contact with C.R. Once again, Doe mischaracterizes the magistrate's determination in an attempt to have this Court reweigh the evidence. Therefore, we hold that the magistrate did not err in his determination that termination would be in the best interest of C.R.