Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services v. Donald W.

I fully concur in the majority opinion in this case, except for its conclusion that the appellant was not entitled to appear at the Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26 hearing. As to that part of the opinion, I respectfully and reluctantly dissent.

It is not necessary to recite the history or full text of Penal Code section 2625, upon which the statutory right to appear is founded; these matters are set forth in the majority opinion. To me, the critical language appears in the fourth paragraph. Its command is clear and unlimited: ‘Wo proceeding may be held under Section 232 of the Civil Code or Section 366.26 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and no petition to adjudge the child of a prisoner a dependent child of the court pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (i) or (j) of Section 300” of that code shall be made, without the presence of the prisoner-parent or counsel, unless a written waiver of presence as described in the statute has been received. (Italics added.) The hearing in question was a section 366.26 hearing; the prisoner-parent was not present; and there was no statutory waiver of his presence. (In fact, he had specifically asked in writing…

I

Introduction

Donald W. appeals from orders of the juvenile court adjudging his son, Barry W., a dependent of the court and issuing guardianship letters pursuant *361 to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 et seq. (All further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise indicated.) In the nonpublished portion of this opinion, we reject appellant’s multiple claims of error directed at the September 18, 1991, jurisdictional and dispositional hearing. In the published portion of this opinion, we reject appellant’s contention that the trial court’s failure to honor his request to be present at the January 15, 1992, section 326.26 hearing compels reversal of the trial court’s order appointing guardians for his son, Barry W.

II

Factual and Procedural Summary

We provide a general summary, reserving specific details for our discussion of appellant’s arguments.

On January 17, 1990, respondent filed a petition under section 300, subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (e), (g), and (i) alleging that appellant had struck his six-month-old son, Barry W., on two occasions, inflicting multiple injuries including eight fractured ribs and a skull…