In re A.G.

Summary

The Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals affirmed the juvenile court’s denial of A.H.’s request for a continuance in a permanent-custody proceeding involving his three children. The court held that the request was made without good cause on the day of the hearing, after multiple prior continuances, and that an arraignment under Juv.R. 29(B) was not required for the dispositional hearing.

Holdings

1. The juvenile court did not abuse its discretion by denying A.H.'s request for a continuance because the request was made on the day of the hearing, was based only on A.H.'s unexplained absence, followed multiple prior continuances, and lacked a specific requested duration, good cause, or a showing of diligence.
2. Juv.R. 29(B), which governs arraignments in juvenile court, does not apply to a dispositional hearing in a child-custody case.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the juvenile court abused its discretion by denying A.H.'s last-minute request for a continuance when A.H. failed to appear at a noticed dispositional hearing, his counsel was present, the case had previously been continued multiple times, and no specific duration, good cause, or diligence was shown.
2. Whether Juv.R. 29(B)'s arraignment requirement applied to the dispositional hearing on the agency's motion to modify temporary custody to permanent custody.

Disposition

affirmed