Opinion ID: 874165
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The magistrate abused his discretion in vesting legal custody in the Department.

Text: Upon concluding the adjudicatory hearing, the magistrate vested legal custody of the children in the Department. Jane Doe argues that the magistrate abused his discretion in vesting legal custody in the Department instead of placing the children in her home under protective supervision given that she was willing and able to care for the children and that John Doe was the sole abuser, had been arrested, was held in jail on a $100,000.00 bond and was the subject of a protective order. At a CPA adjudicatory hearing, if the court finds that the child comes within the court's jurisdiction, the court has the discretion to either place the child under protective supervision in his own home or vest legal custody of the child in the Department or other authorized agency. I.C. §§ 16-1619(4) to (5). In making this decision, the court shall consider any information relevant to the disposition of the child. I.C. § 16-1619(5). If the court vests legal custody in the Department, the court is instructed to make detailed written findings based on facts in the record, that . . . continuation of residence in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child and that vesting legal custody with the department or other authorized agency would be in the best interests of the child. I.C. § 16-1619(6). The court is authorized to issue or extend a protective order as part of the decree in order to preserve family unity and to protect the child's interests. I.C. § 16-1619(9). The magistrate decreed, in relevant part: It is contrary to the welfare of the children to remain in the home. It is in the best interest of the children to vest legal custody of the children in the [Department]. No safety plan was advanced by any party as to how the children could go home or remain in the home with one parent and be safe. The Court makes this finding based on the information set forth in the affidavit prepared by Carol Jeffries and dated October 1, 2009 which is incorporated by reference in this order and the testimony and exhibit at trial. The children's mother [Jane Doe] chose to invoke her 5th amendment right to not incriminate herself. She has every right to do this however, it left issues of the children's safety unresolved, these include the mother's ability or willingness to protect these children. In this case one parent horribly abused an infant child. There are no allegations or evidence that the children's mother abused the child. She has not been charged of any crime. She may well be a victim of the vicious conduct of her husband. Her apparent innocence does not stop the Court from action to protect the children. The Court orders the Department to make reasonable efforts to return the children to the mother. For the Court to allow the return home it must be assured for the Court that children will be safe and that the mother will choose the children over the influence of her husband. Jane Doe argues that the magistrate impermissibly shifted the burden on her to prove she was a fit parent. We agree. Because the right to parent one's children is a fundamental right, we presume that a parent is fit to care for their child and that it is in the child's best interest to live with their parents. In Martin v. Vincent, which involved an alleged wrongful detention of a child, this Court explained: The right of a parent to the custody, control, and society of his child is one of the highest known to the law. The family is a unit of society and is so recognized by the state. The parents of children are recognized as their natural guardians, and the presumption is that they are fit and proper persons to exercise that trust. It is incumbent upon him who seeks to invade the home and remove a child from its protection, and from the custody of its natural guardians to show facts sufficient to justify his action under the law. Parents are not required in the first instance to take upon themselves the burden of proving their fitness to have the care of their children, or that they are properly exercising their parental control. 34 Idaho 432, 435-36, 201 P. 492, 493 (1921). It seems that the magistrate failed to fully recognize the different standards for taking jurisdiction over a child pursuant to I.C. § 16-1603 and the standard for vesting custody in the Department pursuant to I.C. § 16-1619. For a child to be within the court's jurisdiction pursuant to I.C. § 16-1603(1)(a), the Department must show that a child has been abused, neglected or abandoned by his parents, and we held earlier in this opinion that the Department need only show that one parent abused the child. Whereas, when deciding whether to order protective supervision or to vest legal custody in the Department pursuant to I.C. § 16-1619, the court is to consider any information relevant to the disposition of the child in order to determine whether remaining home is contrary to the child's welfare and whether it is in the child's best interests to vest custody in the Department. I.C. § 16-1619(5) to (6). This standard puts a different burden on the Department. Evidence that the child has been abused by one parent, which suffices for jurisdiction, is not necessarily enough, by itself, to show that remaining home is contrary to the child's welfare and that vesting legal custody in the Department is in the child's best interest. In this case, there were no allegations that Jane Doe abused, neglected or abandoned her children. The magistrate recognized these facts but felt that there were not adequate assurances that the children would be safe at home without a safety plan yet in place and feared that Jane Doe would choose the children over her husband. There was no direct evidence that Jane Doe would choose her husband over her children. The magistrate seems to have inferred that Jane Doe might chose to protect her husband over the children based on Jane Doe's assertion of her Fifth Amendment rights. We note that it is generally permissible in civil cases to make inferences against someone who invokes her Fifth Amendment rights. See Baxter v. Palmigiano, 425 U.S. 308, 318-19, 96 S.Ct. 1551, 1557-58, 47 L.Ed.2d 810, 821-22 (1976) (holding that prison officials could draw reasonable inferences from prisoner's silence in prison disciplinary proceeding case, because such a case is not criminal in nature). In this case, however, any inferences that could have been drawn from Jane Doe's invocation of her Fifth Amendment rights were not enough to support a finding that it would be contrary to the children's welfare to be placed in her care. John Doe was the sole abuser, and he was in jail and subject to a protective order. The Department put forth no evidence suggesting Jane Doe could not care for her children. There was no evidence of Jane Doe's complicity in inflicting the injuries on Son or that she was aware of John Doe's violent behavior toward Son when the injuries were being inflicted, and the evidence showed she took appropriate, timely action to protect Son after he sustained the injuries. While the magistrate was rightly concerned for the children's safety in light of the horrific abuse suffered by Son, protective supervision affords sufficient protection in a case like this. Protective supervision allows the children to remain home but under the supervision of the Department. I.C. § 16-1602(29). Where a child has been placed under protective supervision of the Department, the court can order the child to be removed from the home if facts are presented showing both that continuation in the home would be contrary to the child's welfare and that vesting legal custody would be in the child's best interests. I.C. § 16-1623. At the adjudicatory hearing, the magistrate abused his discretion in vesting custody in the Department. The Department did not put forth substantial and competent evidence to support a finding that it was contrary to the welfare of the children to remain in the home and that it is was in the best interests of the children to vest legal custody in the Department. Thus, the children should have been placed in Jane Doe's care under the protective supervision of the Department.