Jessica C. v. Sup. Ct.
Filed 6/13/06 Jessica C. v. Sup. Ct. CA4/3
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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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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 THREE
| JESSICA C., Petitioner, v. THE SUPERIOR COURT OF ORANGE COUNTY, Respondent; ORANGE COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICES AGENCY et al., Real Parties In Interest. | G036918 (Super. Ct. Nos. DP-010682, DP-010683) O P I N I O N |
Original proceedings; petition for a writ of mandate/prohibition to challenge an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Carolyn Kirkwood, Judge. Petition denied.
Juvenile Defenders and Alyssa Saks for Petitioner.
No appearance by Respondent.
Benjamin P. de Mayo, County Counsel, Dana J. Stits and Paula A. Whaley, Deputy County Counsel, for Real Parties in Interest.
Law Office of Harold LaFlamme and Martina Stevens for the Minors.
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Jessica C. (mother) seeks an extraordinary writ to overturn the juvenile court's order at the 18-month review terminating reunification services and setting a permanency hearing (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 366.26; all further statutory references are to this code) for six-year-old L.T. and his half-sister, 10-year-old A.P. Mother contends the juvenile court erred in concluding return of the children to her physical custody would pose a risk of substantial detriment to their physical and emotional well-being. (§ 366.22, subd. (a).) Minors' counsel opposes the writ petition. Mother has filed no reply brief. Substantial evidence of mother's drug relapses during and after the birth of a third child and her continued entanglement with alcohol and a new spouse prone to violent outbursts all support the court's conclusion. We therefore deny the petition.
I
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
In August 2004, Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) and Huntington Beach Police detained then four-year-old L.T. and eight-year-old A.P. after mother's arrest for possession of a methamphetamine pipe. Police found the pipe after responding to a call from mother's housemates who had grown frustrated at failed attempts to evict the 25-year-old. A fight that morning between mother's boyfriends was the last straw. L.T.'s father, A.T., newly-freed from jail, discovered mother asleep in her car outside the residence with her current beau, Sean S. The two men exchanged punches and A.T., attempting to make good on earlier threats to kill his rival, dragged Sean from the car in a chokehold. Sean escaped to the hospital, where police arrested him for a parole violation. He gave the police his true name only after being caught in a lie. Sean at first told investigators he and mother had only been drinking in her car, but then admitted they also used methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, mother passed a few hours with A.T. before he departed on an errand, whereupon she visited Sean in the hospital. Still later in the day, when police contacted A.T. in mother's car, mother's consent to a search revealed the methamphetamine pipe. Mother tried to protect A.T. by telling police her housemate, not A.T., had assaulted Sean, but her inconsistent and false account lacked credibility.
Mother's marijuana addiction dated back at least eight years, but she claimed her foray into methamphetamine use was recent. She admitted using both drugs while the children were in her care, rationalizing that they â€
