SUMMARY: The Nebraska Supreme Court overturned a Court of Appeals decision upholding termination of a mother’s rights even though the medical condition that had prompted the initial adjudication had resolved. The Court stated that the fact a child has been in out of home placement for 15 of the most...

SUMMARY: Jurisdiction over a truant juvenile was continued even though she had attended all her classes at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center. The court ruled that “the simple fact that [she] ha[d] not been truant… [was] not enough to terminate the court’s jurisdiction, because the...

SUMMARY: The Court of Appeal determined that the State failed to prove its claim that “the children [were] likely to be injured without intervention by the juvenile court” after their parents were involved in an altercation, because the state provided no evidence of prior domestic violence, no...

SUMMARY: The Court of Appeals upheld the termination of a mother’s parental rights where continued alcohol abuse prevented her from providing “necessary parental care and protection” and caused her conduct to be “seriously detrimental to the health, morals, or well-being of” her children. Further...

SUMMARY: A DHHS recommendation that a father be allowed to return to the family home did not have the best interests of the children as its “paramount concern” when the father’s behavior had failed to make “significant and measured improvement” and the evidence indicated a continuing psychological...

SUMMARY: A juvenile court is not required to terminate jurisdiction over a minor child even though the basis for acquiring jurisdiction no longer exists. Majority Opinion On April 25, 2005, Kevin was adjudicated under § 43-247(3)(b) for being habitually truant from school. The court ordered Kevin to...

SUMMARY: While “expert opinion testimony” regarding the credibility of witness statements should be excluded, in this case, the officer’s statement, “read in context,” was not to vouch for the credibility of a witness, but simply explained her departure from the standard interview form, and thus was...

SUMMARY: Termination of an incarcerated parent’s rights was in the best interests of the children because the incarceration prevented the parent from providing a “nurturing and structured environment,” and the parent’s continual perpetuation of crimes cast doubt on his ability to make the permanent...

SUMMARY: The trial court had the authority to prohibit therapy with a particular therapist based on evidence that the therapist was unable to understand why an adjudicated sex offender should be under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. The trial court also properly declined to adopt DHHS’s plan...

SUMMARY: Retaining jurisdiction over the children was in their best interests because “the permanency goal ha[d] not been met and the family’s lack of financial stability is directly related to their inability to care for their home and children.” The recommendations of the LB1184 team, which...

SUMMARY: “A court must instruct the jury on a lesser-included offense if: (1) the elements of the lesser offense for which an instruction is requested are such that one cannot commit the greater offense without simultaneously omitting the lesser offense and (2) the evidence produces a rational basis...

SUMMARY: “An adoption cannot be vacated under NICWA where the tribe’s entry into the proceedings is untimely.” The biological mother of Kenten H, relinquished her parental rights to Kenten H to the Department of Health and Human Services. She later petitioned the county court to vacate the adoption...

SUMMARY: The court found that the father’s “failure to intervene, when he was provided with substandard information, [did] not constitute abandonment,” and that the father’s use of the “automatic withdrawal payment process for child support” was not “a token effort, nor [did] it someone negatively...

SUMMARY: Termination of a mother’s parental rights was in the child’s best interest because the mother failed to meet case plan requirements, and the child had formed a positive relationship with a foster family willing to adopt. Further, signed reports prepared by caseworkers were acceptable and...

SUMMARY: The court found that the father’s “failure to intervene, when he was provided with substandard information, [did] not constitute abandonment,” and that the father’s use of the “automatic withdrawal payment process for child support” was not “a token effort, nor [did] it someone negatively...