An appeal was premature where the father was not yet aggrieved by a premature setting of a 12-month review hearing. A petition was filed regarding the minors on November 8, 2007, and a detention hearing was held. Neither parent appeared at the detention hearing, and the minors were ordered detained. The parents made their first appearance in juvenile court on May 7, 2008. The department filed an amended petition, which was sustained. The court ordered reunification services and set a 12-month review hearing for December 17, 2008. The court reasoned that it was a 12-month, and not a 6-month review hearing because the time began running when the minors were detained in November 2007. Father appealed, contending that the juvenile erred when it began the time period running at the detention rather than from the time the minors were placed in foster care at the disposition hearing. The department requested dismissal of the appeal since the alleged error was prospective only and not ripe for appellate review. The appellate court agreed and dismissed the appeal. The father was not currently aggrieved. As of the date of the order from which the father appealed, the juvenile court had not committed the error complained of by the father. If and when the father is denied services to which he would be entitled under the proper statutory provision, he would be aggrieved and may appeal that order.
Case Summaries