Appellate Law

Supreme Court Distinguishes In re J.A.J.

By D. Todd Smith

The Texas Supreme Court issued one opinion with today’s orders.  In In re D.N.C. (No. 07-0621) (per curiam), a family law case consolidated with four others involving the same parent, the Court explained its denial of the Department of Family and Protective Services’ petitions for review.  The Department contended that the court of appeals’ reversal of a conservatorship order and a conservatorship appointment on factual insufficiency grounds was erroneous under the Court’s recent decision in In re J.A.J., (No. 07-0511), previously discussed here.

In J.A.J., the Court held that an appellant whose parental rights have been terminated must specifically assign error to the Department’s appointment as conservator, not just to the termination decision.  Unlike J.A.J., however, the trial court in D.N.C. made no specific findings to support the conservatorship appointment.  Because “the only available statutory mechanism for the Department’s appointment was as a consequence of the termination pursuant to [Family Code] section 161.207,” the supreme court held that J.A.J. did not apply and allowed the court of appeals’ complete reversal to stand.

Full post as published by Texas Appellate Law Blog on February 08, 2008 (boomark / email).