Anthony People v. Super. Ct. CA2/5

I. INTRODUCTION

Anthony P., the alleged father of 10 month-old A.P. (the child), has filed an extraordinary writ petition pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 8.452.1 Anthony seeks to set aside an April 7, 2015 dispositional order which set the matter for a Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26 parental rights termination hearing.2 Anthony contends the juvenile court’s failure to determine whether he is the child’s biological father requires reversal of the order setting the matter for a parental termination rights hearing. We conclude the juvenile court did not err. But if there was error, it was harmless. Accordingly, we deny the petition.

II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The child was born in September 2014 with drugs in her system. Learning of the child’s positive toxicology test, the Department of Children and Family Services (the department) detained her in the hospital and filed a section 300 petition. The department then placed the child in the home of a nonrelative extended family member who was caring for two of the youngster’s half-siblings. The mother, A.R., reported that Anthony was the father. Anthony had been incarcerated since being arrested…