In re Malik J. CA2/5

DISCUSSION

Notice of Appeal

Mother’s notice of appeal states she is appealing from “[a]ll dispositional orders from the February 14, 2013 hearing.” In her opening brief, mother asks us to construe her notice of appeal to include the court’s February 28, 2013 order. We construe the notice of appeal as appealing from not only the February 28, 2013 order, which addresses visitation as to Malik, but also the February 21, 2013 order, which addresses visitation as to Matthew. Because the record makes it reasonably clear that mother is appealing from the exit orders entered on February 21 and 28, 2013, and not the February 14, 2013 order, we may liberally construe the notice of appeal to include those orders. First, the error mother is appealing from does not appear until the court enters the exit orders prepared by counsel for Matthew and Malik’s fathers. Second, an appeal from the February 14, 2013 order would be untimely, regardless of whether mother was incarcerated. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.406 [notice of appeal must be filed within 60 days; In re Alyssa H.

3 (1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 1249, 1254 [declining to apply doctrine of constructive filing in juvenile dependency cases…