In re H/B Children

Citations

• 2021 Ohio 1109

Syllabus

CHILDREN - CUSTODY - MAGISTRATES: The juvenile court did not err in denying mother's motion for custody of her children and in granting the children service agency's motion to award custody to a family friend where, despite mother's compliance with the case plan, she still exhibited problems with mental illness and uncontrolled anger. The juvenile court did not ignore the magistrate's findings of fact the trial court is the ultimate trier of fact and the court simply gave different weight to various witnesses' testimony and disagreed with the magistrate's best-interest findings. [But see CONCURRENCE: The magistrate, as the trier of fact, is in the best position to judge the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given to the evidence, and if the juvenile court chooses to disregard the magistrate's credibility determinations, it should explain its reasoning.]