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Case No. 20-1644

In the Interest of J.B., Minor Child

B.B., Mother-Appellant

Attorney for Appellant Mother

Ryan D. Gerling

Attorney for Appellee State

Mary A. Triick, Assistant Attorney General

Guardian ad Litem

Reyna L. Wilkens

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
20-1644
Date Published:
Feb 17, 2021
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Emily Dean, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (8 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to two-year-old J.B.  She asks four questions on appeal.  (1) Did the State introduce a series of recorded jail calls (more than ninety minutes in all) without showing they were relevant and material?  (2) Did the State fail to prove by clear and convincing evidence that J.B. could not return home?  (3) Did the State fail to make reasonable efforts to reunify the family?  And (4) is a guardianship with his maternal grandmother the preferred placement for J.B.?  OPINION HOLDS: On the first issue, we decline to consider the contents of the recordings in our de novo review of the record.  For the other three questions, we answer “no” and decline to grant relief.  Thus, we affirm the termination ruling.

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