In re D.B.

Summary

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed an order prohibiting a father from visiting his daughter after finding clear and convincing evidence that he had sexually abused the daughter and her sister. The court held that hearsay was admissible in the visitation proceeding and rejected the father’s due process, prior-conviction, and missing-record arguments. The court concluded that no error warranted reversal.

Holdings

1. Hearsay was admissible because the proceeding was not a statutory factfinding hearing concerning the neglect petition, and no applicable statute or court rule prohibited hearsay in the visitation inquiry.
2. The court did not reverse on M.W.'s due process claim because the claim was not preserved and M.W. could not establish plain error.
3. The trial court did not commit reversible error in allowing M.W.'s prior sodomy conviction to be used to test the character witness's knowledge, and any error in considering it substantively was harmless.
4. The reconstructed record was adequate to permit meaningful appellate review, and the missing videotapes did not warrant reversal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether hearsay evidence was admissible in a hearing determining the visitation rights of a noncustodial parent of a neglected child.
2. Whether reliance on hearsay to prohibit visitation violated M.W.'s procedural due process rights.
3. Whether the trial court improperly considered M.W.'s prior sodomy conviction, including an allegedly mistaken belief about the victim's age.
4. Whether the reconstructed appellate record was inadequate because the videotaped child interviews were missing.

Disposition

affirmed