Merced County Human Services Agency v. Sandy M.

INTRODUCTION

At the conclusion of a review hearing pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 364 on October 29, 2015, the juvenile court terminated its jurisdiction over 11-year-old Armando L., who had been a dependent of the juvenile court for two years. Armando’s mother, Sandy M. (mother), contends the juvenile court improperly denied her an evidentiary hearing on the issues of Armando’s custody and whether the court’s jurisdiction should have been terminated. We agree. In doing so, we reject the arguments of Merced County Human Services Agency (agency) that the juvenile court’s denial of an evidentiary hearing was proper because mother’s objection was outside the scope of the hearing, the evidence mother wanted to introduce was irrelevant, and any error in the juvenile court’s ruling was harmless. Accordingly, the orders of the juvenile court must be reversed.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

Initial Proceedings

On October 30, 2013, a petition was filed pursuant to section 300 alleging Armando, then nine years old, had come to school with bruises on his face caused by his father hitting him. Father hit Armando because he was frustrated at not being able to repair a…