Contra Costa County Children & Family Sevices Bureau v. Stephanie R.

Stephanie R. (Mother) has filed an untimely notice of appeal from the order terminating her parental rights as to Ryan R. The notice of appeal contains the following declaration from Mother’s counsel below explaining how the notice came to be filed a day late: “The 60th day fell on Sunday, July 11, 2004. I, Mary Pryor, received a voice mail message at approximately 4:00 p.m., after I returned from court on July 12, 2004, from mother that she wished to file an appeal. The voice mail message was left by mother on my voice mail machine at 2:08 p.m. on July 12, 2004. The clerk’s office closes at 3:00 p.m. The clerk’s office was closed when I received the voice mail message. I am filing this notice of appeal on the next court date.”

We issued an order to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed as untimely, and Mother has filed a responsive brief advancing two *598 arguments to avoid that result. Given children’s special need for finality in adoption related proceedings (see, e.g., In re Alyssa H. (1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 1249, 1254 [ 27 Cal.Rptr.2d 809 ]), the deadline for appealing from orders terminating parental rights should be firmly applied, and Mother has…