May 2023 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Gary P. Strausser, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.   Opinion by Buller, J.  (8 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, finding that R.E. could not be returned to her mother at the time of the termination hearing, that reasonable efforts towards reunification were made, and the juvenile court did not err in declining to grant an additional six months to work towards reunification.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Stephen A. Owen, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  (9 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to two children.  She claims there was insufficient evidence to support a statutory ground for termination, that termination was not in the children’s best interests, and that the court should have declined to terminate based on her close bond with the children.  OPINION HOLDS:  We find clear and convincing evidence supports termination.  Termination is in the children’s best interests.  We decline to apply an exception to termination.  We affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Floyd County, Karen Kaufman Salic, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Chicchelly, P.J., Buller, J., and Gamble, S.J.  Opinion by Gamble, S.J.  (9 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights.  OPINION HOLDS: The State established a statutory ground for termination, and termination is in the children’s best interests.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jasper County, Steven J. Holwerda, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED ON BOTH APPEALS.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (10 pages)

            S.J. appeals the termination of her parental rights to two children, O.H. and J.Y.  W.H. separately appeals the termination of his parental rights to O.H.   Both parents maintain the statutory grounds are unsatisfied, termination is not in the best interests of the children, an exception should be granted due to the parent-child bonds, and a guardianship should be established.  The mother also requests an exception based on J.Y.’s placement with his father.  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our de novo review, we affirm termination of both parents’ parental rights to their respective children. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Carrie K. Bryner, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Ahlers and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (6 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights.  She claims the juvenile court violated her federal due-process rights by holding the termination hearing in her absence and without appointing counsel.  She also challenges the juvenile court’s best-interest determination and claims the parent-child bond should preclude termination.  OPINION HOLDS: The mother’s due-process claim is not preserved.  Termination is in the child’s best interests.  The mother did not preserve her claim that a permissive exception based on a parent-child bond should be applied, and, even if she had preserved it, the mother did not establish that termination would be detrimental to the child due to the claimed bond.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Carroll County, Joseph B. McCarville, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (6 pages)

            A mother appeals the dispositional order confirming her child is a child in need of assistance and removing the child from her care.  OPINION HOLDS: Because placement with the mother was not appropriate without further supervision nor in the child’s best interests, we affirm the juvenile court’s dispositional order confirming continued removal from the mother.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Stephanie Forker Perry, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Ahlers and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (4 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to four children, contending the State failed to prove the grounds for termination cited by the district court and termination was not in the children’s best interests.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the termination of the mother’s parental rights to the children.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Korie Talkington, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Ahlers and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (4 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights, arguing she should have been granted additional time to work toward reunification.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude additional time is not warranted and affirm termination.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Cheryl Traum, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (5 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights.  OPINION HOLDS: We find clear and convincing evidence of at least one statutory ground for termination and affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Hamilton County, Hans Becker, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (5 pages)

            A mother appeals the order terminating her parental rights to two children.  OPINION HOLD: We deny the mother’s request for more time because clear and convincing evidence shows that continuing the children’s placement for six months would not eliminate the need for the children’s removal.  Termination is in the children’s best interests, and there is no basis for preserving the mother’s parental rights based on the relationship between the mother and the children.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Lynn Poschner, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (3 pages)

            The juvenile court terminated the father’s parental rights to E.V., born in 2016, under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(b), (e), and (f) (2023).  On appeal, the father focuses his challenge on whether termination of his parental rights is in E.V.’s best interests.  OPINION HOLDS: E.V. needs and deserves permanency, and termination of the father’s parental rights will allow her to achieve it.  We affirm the juvenile court.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Paul D. Miller, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Schumacher and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J. (18 pages)

            Andrew Harrison appeals his conviction for second-degree sexual abuse.  He claims there is insufficient evidence to support his conviction.  He claims the child victim’s out-of-court statements should have been excluded from trial because they were hearsay.  He contends the court improperly denied his attempt to strike a juror for cause.  He also asserts the court gave an improper jury instruction pertaining to the child’s absence from trial.  Finally, he claims the court improperly allowed some statements from an expert witness.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the conviction is supported by substantial evidence.  The court properly admitted the child’s statements and denied Harrison’s motion to strike the juror for cause.  Harrison did not preserve his objection to the challenged jury instruction.  The expert testimony was admissible.  We affirm.