Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Termination of Prisoner's Parental Rights
On January 21, 2016, a Texas court of appeals affirmed the termination of a prisoner's parental rights to his two minor children. At the time of the termination jury trial in the district court, the father was incarcerated on charges of robbery and possession of methamphetamine. He admitted using methamphetamine while the termination case was pending. He also failed to comply with a service plan given him by Child Protective Services.
The service plan was backed up by a court order, yet the father failed to undergo the psychological examination, only went to one counseling class, dropped out of his parenting class and missed approximately 19 of his 26 possible visits with the children. He failed to prove proof of income for the time he was not incarcerated, admitted not having held a job for six or seven months since 2012, and agreed that it endangered children to be around people who used drugs. Nonetheless, he argued against termination because he loved his children.
The jury terminated the parental relationship and the father appealed, claiming legal and factual insufficiency of the evidence. The court of appeals noted that an appellant must preserve a sufficiency of the evidence challenge by filing at least one of five specific motions with the trial court. The father had not done so. Therefore, there was nothing preserved for appellate review. However, the court noted that, had the issue been preserved, it would have been overruled as there was ample evidence to support termination. The trial court's judgment was affirmed. See: In the interest of S.R.-B. and T.R.-B., Tex.App.-Fort Worth, No. 02-15-00303-CV.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
Related legal case
In the interest of S.R.-B. and T.R.-B.
| Year | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Tex.App.-Fort Worth, No. 02-15-00303-CV |
| Level | State Court of Appeals |