San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency v. Roger S.

In March 2010, six-year-old P.A. came to the attention of the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (Agency) as a result of domestic violence between her mother, Patricia H., and stepfather, Roger S. The juvenile court found Roger was P.A.’s presumed father under Family Code section 7611, subdivision (d). (Statutory references are to the Family Code unless otherwise specified.) When genetic testing showed Alvaro A. was RA.’s biological father, the court entered a judgment of paternity in his favor, and found that judgment necessarily rebutted Roger’s presumed father status. Roger appeals, contending the court erred by entering a judgment of paternity for Alvaro without considering Roger’s competing paternity interests under section 7612, subdivision (b). Roger asserts this denied him his due process right to a fair hearing on his paternity status. We conclude that where, as here, a child has both a presumed and a biological father, the court must hold an evidentiary hearing at which it reconciles the competing paternity interests to determine which of those interests are founded on the weightier considerations of policy and logic. Accordingly, we reverse the…