A-22-678, In re Interest of Jessalina M.
Cheyenne County, County Court sitting as a Juvenile Court, Judge Russell Harford
Attorney for Appellant: Gregory A. Rosen
Attorney for Appellee: Amber Horn (Chief Deputy County Attorney) and Audrey M. Long (guardian ad litem for Jessalina)
Juvenile Action: Termination of Parental Rights
Action Taken by Trial Court: The county court for Lincoln County, sitting as a juvenile court, adjudicated Jessalina to be a child within the meaning of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-247(3)(a) (Reissue 2016), and subsequently granted the guardian ad litem’s motion to transfer the case to the county court for Cheyenne County over the mother’s objection. The county court for Cheyenne County, sitting as a juvenile court, later terminated Samantha M.’s parental rights to her daughter pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 43-292(2), (3), (5), (6), and (7), finding that Samantha was unfit and that termination of her parental rights was in Jessalina’s best interests.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: Samantha assigns error to the county court for Lincoln County as follows: (1) her constitutional rights were violated and the court erred when it transferred this juvenile case from its original jurisdiction to another jurisdiction, and dismissed Samantha’s court-appointed attorneys, before a hearing or ruling on a previously scheduled contested hearing on Samantha’s objection; and (2) her constitutional rights were violated and the court erred when it denied her a meaningful opportunity to cross-examine witnesses when the guardian ad litem was excused from the hearing on its own motion and affidavit. She assigns error to the county court for Cheyenne County as follows: (3) plain error occurred when the court determined parental unfitness under § 43-292(7), because Jessalina was not out of the home or in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months before the termination hearing; (4 through 7) the court erred when it found parental unfitness under § 43-292(2), (3), (5), and (6), because there was insufficient evidence; and (8) the court erred when it found that terminating Samantha’s parental rights was in Jessalina’s best interests.