In re M.L.
Filed 1/29/07 In re M.L. CA2/2
NOT
TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for
publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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
SECOND
APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION
TWO
In re M.L., a Person Coming | B190443 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. CK62415)
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LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT AND FAMILY SERVICES,
Plaintiff and
v.
ORLANDO L.,
Defendant and
|
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APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.
Sherri S. Sobel, Temporary Judge. (Pursuant to Cal. Const.,
art. VI, § 21.) Affirmed.
Rich Pfeiffer, under appointment by the Court of
Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Raymond G. Fortner, Jr., County Counsel, Larry Cory, Assistant County
Counsel, William D. Thetford, Senior Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and
Respondent.
___________________________________________________
Appellant Orlando
L., an alleged father incarcerated in Nevada, received notice of a dependency
proceeding by certified mail. He did not communicate to the court or the
social worker that he wished to participate in the dependency case. The jurisdiction/disposition hearing went
forward without appellant's participation. We conclude that appellant has no
standing to appeal the dispositional order
made by the court: he was given notice and an opportunity to be heard, yet
failed to take any action to become a party to the proceeding.
FACTS
M. L., born in December 2004, is a medically
fragile child and the youngest of eight children born to Eva B. (Mother). M.L.
has a life-threatening feeding intolerance, intestinal blockage, and a
congenital heart condition that requires a pacemaker. She receives all
nutrition intravenously, and is hypersensitive to infection.
M.L. came to the attention of the Department of Children and Family Services
(DCFS) in August 2005, when a hotline referral indicated that Mother was not
providing appropriate care for M.L. A voluntary
agreement was reached that allowed M.L. to remain in Mother's care while
DCFS provided medical placement and family preservation services. During this
period of voluntary supervision, M.L. was repeatedly hospitalized, suffering
from infections. The institutions that provided M.L. with treatment and
medical equipment regularly complained that M.L.'s life was endangered by
Mother's lack of follow-through. Mother was depressed, overwhelmed, and her
vitality was compromised by lupus, which constrained her ability to execute all
of M.L.'s treatments. Due to Mother's neglect of the child's medical needs,
M.L. was detained in February 2006.
Mother informed the DCFS social worker that
appellant is M.L.'s father. She did not know appellant's whereabouts or how to
reach him. Appellant had been arrested in July 2005, and paroled in January
2006. Mother indicated that appellant uses drugs, is frequently in jail, and
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| Description | Appellant, an alleged father incarcerated in Nevada, received notice of a dependency proceeding by certified mail. He did not communicate to the court or the social worker that he wished to participate in the dependency case. The jurisdiction/disposition hearing went forward without appellant's participation. Court conclude that appellant has no standing to appeal the dispositional order made by the court: he was given notice and an opportunity to be heard, yet failed to take any action to become a party to the proceeding. |
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