In re A.G.

Filed 9/14/06 In re A.G. CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. James C. McGuire, Judge. Dismissed.

James Charles Husen for Defendant and Appellant.

Ronald D. Reitz, County Counsel and Dawn M. Messer, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Jennifer Mack, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Minor.

INTRODUCTION

A juvenile dependency petition under section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code[1] alleged that A.G., then almost 16 years old, had been sexually abused by her stepfather, Martin R. Martin, who had raised A. since she was a young child, denied the allegations and asked to participate in the proceedings. At the juvenile court's suggestion, Martin filed a formal request for de facto parent status, which was denied without a hearing. A.'s mother, Magdalena H., thereafter submitted on the petition, and the court found the allegations to be true. About a year later, with the assistance of Magdalena's newly retained counsel, Martin filed a motion for presumed father status, which was granted. However, the court denied his request for a new jurisdictional hearing to challenge the allegations of the petition, which he still adamantly denied, finding that it would be detrimental to A.'s best interests to relitigate the issue at that late date. Martin challenges the court's ruling on appeal, insisting that the failure to afford him a jurisdictional hearing was a denial of due process.

While this appeal was pending, A. turned 18. We informed the parties that we were therefore considering dismissing the appeal as moot and directed them to submit points and authorities addressing the question of mootness. Having considered the parties' letter briefs, we shall dismiss the appeal.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A., born in May 1988, was two months old when her mother, Magdalena, met Martin. In February 1990, Martin and Magdalena began living together, along with A. and her older brother, Adolfo. In 2001, Martin and Magdalena married.

A. is hearing impaired and communicates using American Sign Language. She is a student at the California School for the Deaf, in Riverside.

The dependency petition, which names Martin as A.'s stepfather, was filed in March 2004. It alleged under section 300, subdivisions (b) and (d), that A. had been sexually abused by Martin â€