San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency v. Antonia M.

This case requires us to address the question of who is a “sibling” within the meaning of the so-called sibling exception to adoption in dependency cases. (Welf. & Inst. Code, 1 § 366.26, subd. (c)(1)(E).) In this case the trial court determined that an older half sister of the children involved in these proceedings was no longer a “sibling” because she had been adopted by the maternal grandmother. Consistent with this determination the trial court excluded all evidence regarding the sibling exception and ruled the exception inapplicable as a matter of law.

We will conclude the trial court erred in narrowly defining the term “sibling” as used in the statute and thus improperly excluded the proffered evidence. Since the court excluded all evidence and refused to consider the issue, we cannot apply a harmless error analysis to this case. We find this outcome particularly troublesome because from what is in the record the potential sibling bond may not have been sufficient to overcome the benefits to these children of the permanence of adoption. Accordingly, we will reverse the termination of parental rights and remand the case for a new permanency planning hearing. At that…