Opinion ID: 1377577
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Reliance on Texas Case Law

Text: In holding that our error preservation rules do not preclude the court from reviewing the parents' jury-charge complaints raised for the first time on appeal, the court of appeals relied on two cases. 57 S.W.3d at 71-72 (discussing In re A.P., I.P., 42 S.W.3d 248 (Tex.App.-Waco 2001, no pet.) and In re S.R.M., 601 S.W.2d 766 (Tex.Civ.App.-Amarillo 1980, no writ)). But these cases do not support the court of appeals' conclusion. In S.R.M ., the evidence conclusively showed the mother's parental rights should not be terminated for the ground alleged. In re S.R.M., 601 S.W.2d at 768-69. However, the trial court rendered a judgment terminating the mother's parental rights based on grounds not pleaded. Id. at 769. The mother argued the court of appeals should reverse the trial court's judgment, because it relied on unpleaded grounds to terminate her parental rights. Id. The paternal grandparents seeking termination argued the mother impliedly consented to a trial on unpleaded grounds, because she did not specially except or object to the introduction of evidence related to the unpleaded grounds. Id. Because the Family Code mandates that the petition set forth the statutory grounds for termination to afford the parents due process, and because the record showed the mother had no notice that the trial court would consider terminating on unpleaded statutory grounds, the court of appeals reversed the trial court's judgment. Id. at 770. Here, unlike the circumstances in S.R.M . in which the mother had no notice of the trial court's action, the parents knew about the jury charge and had an opportunity to object. See Id. In fact, though the parents' attorney did not object to the omission or placement of the best interest instruction, he did object to the definition of the clear and convincing evidentiary standard in the charge. And, because the trial court considered objections to the charge before the parents rested, their attorney specifically requested that everyone agree the objection would not be considered waived if he did not urge it again before closing arguments. Their counsel said, I just don't want at some future time someone to write that I waived that objection. Thus, the parents had notice and an opportunity to object to the charge and acknowledged the consequences if they failed to do so. In A.P., the court of appeals was asked to review unpreserved factual and legal sufficiency complaints about the grounds for termination and whether termination was in the best interest of the child. 42 S.W.3d at 254-55. The court of appeals cited S.R.M . as precedent for considering unpreserved error and held that terminating parental rights without appellate review of an unpreserved sufficiency complaint is a due process violation. 42 S.W.3d at 255. Then, the court of appeals referred to criminal cases, which have held that a defendant does not have to preserve for appellate review a complaint that the evidence is factually or legally sufficient. 42 S.W.3d at 255-56 (citing Chesnut v. State, 959 S.W.2d 308, 311 (Tex.App.-El Paso 1997, no pet.); Davila v. State, 930 S.W.2d 641, 649 n. 7 (Tex.App.-El Paso 1996, writ ref'd)). Because criminal cases and termination cases both require heightened burdens of proofbeyond a reasonable doubt in criminal cases and clear and convincing in termination casesthe A.P. court concluded it a logical extension to review unpreserved sufficiency issues in termination cases. 42 S.W.3d at 256. But the A.P. court wholly failed to conduct a due process analysis, as the U.S. Supreme Court requires in parental-termination cases, to determine if the procedure for preserving sufficiency challenges violates parents' due process rights. See Lassiter, 452 U.S. at 27-28, 101 S.Ct. 2153. Instead, the court summarily cited S.R.M ., without recognizing its significantly distinguishable facts, to support its conclusion that it could review the unpreserved error. Moreover, the A.P. court improperly relied on criminal cases that only opine about how defendants may raise sufficiency points and, in any event, operate under different procedural rules and jurisprudence. Accordingly, A.P., which should be overruled based on its erroneous analysis and holding, does not support the court of appeals' conclusion here that due process requires appellate courts to consider unpreserved jury-charge errors.