Santra Clara County Department of Family & Children's Services v. L. I.

Introduction

L.I. (Mother) appeals from orders of the juvenile court terminating her parental rights to her son,. J.I., and her daughter, J.H. In her opening brief Mother contends that she received inadequate notice of the hearing at which her rights were terminated, that there was insufficient evidence to support the finding that the children were adoptable, and that the court erred in refusing to continue the hearing when she did not appear. Mother has also filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in which she seeks to bolster her contention that the court erred in refusing to continue the hearing. We ordered the habeas corpus petition considered with this appeal.

While this appeal was pending, J.I. was removed from the prospective adoptive home where he and J.H., and their half sister S.R. had been placed together. 1 The Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children’s Services (the Department) now concedes that 15-year-old J.I. is not adoptable and the order terminating parental rights as to him must be reversed to avoid his becoming a legal orphan. 2 In light of J.I.’s changed circumstances, Mother raises the additional contention that the order pertaining…