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Name: In re Jaheim B.
Case #: D053121
Opinion Date: 01/07/2009
Court: CA Court of Appeal
District 4 DCA
Division: 1
Citation: 169 Cal.App.4th 1343
Summary

California had emergency jurisdiction over abandoned minor. The Department filed a dependency petition after the minor was abandoned by his mother in a parking lot near a relative’s home. Mother said she had moved to California from Florida five months earlier. Father, an Alabama resident who was incarcerated until 2028, appealed the order declaring the minor a dependent and removing him from his custody. Father contended that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). The appellate court rejected the argument, finding that California had temporary emergency jurisdiction because the minor was present in California when the neglect occurred, and the court’s action was necessary to protect the minor from immediate harm. Absent any action in Florida for protection of the minor, California had jurisdiction to act.