Opinion ID: 1865017
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Ex Parte and Removal Orders.

Text: Tanya challenges the issuance of the ex parte removal order and the subsequent order affirming the removal of A.M.H. from the custody of the maternal grandparents. She urges that (1) the application for shelter care based on the guardian ad litem's request was illegal because the guardian had no authority to act for the eight-month-old child; (2) the application and order were improperly drafted pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.21, a provision relating to delinquency proceedings; and (3) the court failed to comply with the temporary removal procedures provided in Iowa Code section 232.78. Under section 232.78(1)(b), the juvenile court may enter an ex parte removal order only if the child's immediate removal is necessary to avoid imminent danger to the child's life or health. Tanya urges evidence at the hearing established that the child was healthy and had not been subjected to neglect or abuse. Because the court did not find removal necessary to avoid imminent danger, Tanya urges the court's transfer order was invalid. Statutory authority permits the juvenile court to enter an ex parte order directing a peace officer to take custody of a child before or after the filing of a petition under this chapter. Iowa Code § 232.78(1). Chapter 232 allows petitions in juvenile delinquency and CINA proceedings. Thus the juvenile court has authority to issue an ex parte order for placement of a child in shelter care provided the circumstances identified in sections 232.21 and 232.78 are present. When the child is already under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, the court has, in addition, the inherent power to temporarily, even summarily, remove a child pending a hearing on the modification. In re R.F., 471 N.W.2d 821, 823 (Iowa 1991). However, we need not decide the validity of the ex parte removal order or the order entered after hearing because this issue is moot. Following the removal hearing on March 18, the juvenile court confirmed the prior ex parte order placing temporary custody of the child with DHS and ordered scheduling of a dispositional hearing. The dispositional hearing was scheduled for April 14. Later the dispositional hearing was rescheduled and actually held on May 10 and 11. Custody of the child was placed with DHS under the dispositional order. Any error committed in granting the temporary ex parte order cannot now be remedied. We cannot go back in time and restore custody based on alleged errors in the initial removal order. In re Meek, 236 N.W.2d 284, 288 (Iowa 1975); Tucker v. Marion County Dep't of Public Welfare, 408 N.E.2d 814, 817-18 (Ind.1980).