MANUEL C. v. Superior Court

—By petition for writ of mandate, father Manuel C. challenges the juvenile court’s denial of his peremptory challenge on the ground that it was untimely pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 170.6, subdivision (a)(2). We hold that once the juvenile court terminates jurisdiction over a dependent child, a subsequent case involving the same child and parent is a new matter for purposes of the time limits for filing a section 170.6 motion. For this reason, we grant the requested relief.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY

In January 2009, a Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 petition was filed on behalf of Aura P.’s three children: two daughters, ages 17 and 12, and one son, Manuel C., Jr., age 5. Petitioner was found to be the presumed father of Manuel C., Jr., and was thus a party to that action. The case was assigned to Referee Stephen C. Marpet for all purposes, and it remained in his courtroom until Referee Marpet terminated dependency jurisdiction as to the three children with a family law exit order on October 7, 2009. Petitioner and mother were given joint legal custody of Manuel C., Jr., with physical custody to mother and unmonitored visitation to…