Juvenile court’s jurisdiction finding as to mother was not supported by substantial evidence where risk of harm was no longer present at the time of the jurisdiction hearing. The juvenile court took jurisdiction over the two-year-old minor when it was discovered there was a loaded gun in an unlocked closet in a bedroom where he slept. The court placed the minor with mother and ordered monitored visits with father. On appeal, mother contended there was insufficient evidence to support the jurisdictional finding of substantial risk of future harm due to the prior presence of a gun and ammunition. The appellate court agreed, and reversed the jurisdictional finding as to mother. The gun belonged to father, and it was he who previously stored it in a location accessible to the minor. At the time of the jurisdiction hearing, father no longer resided with mother and was not welcome in her home. Father recognized that he could not keep an unlocked gun near the minor in the future. Any risk of future danger to the minor posed by father’s keeping a loaded gun in the home was entirely speculative. However, since the court still had jurisdiction over the minor, it could require mother to receive family maintenance services.
Case Summaries