In re S.G.

Citations

• 2020 Ohio 5244

Syllabus

CHILDREN – EVIDENCE – PERMANENT CUSTODY – EVID.R. 801(D)(2) – COMPLAINT –DUE PROCESS: The juvenile court did not abuse its discretion in denying mother's request for a continuance of the permanent-custody hearing where mother provided no proof that she was hospitalized at the time of the hearing and mother had a history of missed hearings in the case, including a permanent-custody hearing for another of her children. The juvenile court did not deprive mother of her due-process rights by proceeding with the permanent-custody hearing in her absence where she was meaningfully represented by counsel at the hearing, a complete record was made, and mother failed to show how her physical presence would have changed the outcome of the case. The juvenile court did not err in allowing mother's statements about her drug test to be admitted into evidence in the permanent-custody hearing, because they were admissible as nonhearsay statements under Evid.R. 801(D)(2)(a). Where mother did not raise any objection to the failure of the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services to name John Doe in its complaint for permanent custody until after her child was adjudicated dependent and mother did not identify any other potential father for the child other than the person that she stipulated was the father, mother waived on appeal any argument based on defects in the complaint or in the institution of the proceedings. The juvenile court did not err in granting permanent custody of mother's child to the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services: the award was not against the manifest weight of the evidence, and clear and convincing evidence supported the court's findings that an award of permanent custody to the agency was in the child's best interest and that the child could not or should not be placed with mother where mother did not dispute the finding that her parental rights had been involuntarily terminated with respect to the child's sibling and mother faile