In Re Ashley D. - California Court Deals With UCCJEA Issue
In In re Ashley D., 2005 WL 45052 (Cal.App. 4 Dist.)(01/11/05), Mother appealed from the juvenile court's order which terminated legal guardianship for her daughter, Ashley D. (born in 1991), as well as any remaining jurisdiction over Ashley's case. Ashley also separately appealled the order. On appeal, Mother and Ashley did not contest the order terminating guardianship, they only challenged the termination of California jurisdiction, with deference to pending juvenile dependency proceedings in Oregon.
In doing so, Mother and Ashley asserted that the juvenile court erred in terminating California jurisdiction over the dependency proceedings arguing that under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (Fam.Code, § 3400, et.seq.), Oregon erred in adjudicating a petition for juvenile dependency concerning Ashley because California already had jurisdiction. Mother and Ashley further argued that the California juvenile court abused its discretion in terminating California's jurisdiction and deferring the matter to Oregon after granting the Oregon Department of Human Services's (ODHS) Welfare and Institutions Code section 388 petition terminating legal guardianship and California jurisdiction.
The California Court of Appeals foundthat there was no abuse of discretion and affirmed the judgment holding that the record sufficiently supports a reasonable finding that allowing Ashley's juvenile dependency matter to continue in Oregon, where she had been living for at least four years and had been the subject of juvenile dependency proceedings there for almost three years, was appropriate and in Ashley's best interest.
