In the Interest of I.H., a Child v. the State of Texas

Summary

The Texas Court of Appeals for the Second Appellate District affirmed a judgment terminating both parents’ parental rights to their child. The court held that the father failed to preserve his due-process and due-course-of-law complaints, that the evidence was legally and factually sufficient to support termination under Texas Family Code Section 161.001(b)(1)(E), and that termination was in the child’s best interest. The court independently reviewed the mother’s Anders appeal and determined that it was frivolous.

Holdings

1. Father failed to preserve his federal due-process and Texas due-course-of-law complaints because he did not present those constitutional arguments to the trial court when requesting a continuance.
2. The evidence was legally and factually sufficient to establish that Father engaged in a voluntary, deliberate, and conscious course of conduct that endangered the child's physical or emotional well-being.
3. The evidence was legally and factually sufficient to support the finding that terminating Father's parental rights was in the child's best interest.
4. Mother's appeal was wholly frivolous after the court independently reviewed the record, and the judgment terminating her parental rights was affirmed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Father preserved his federal due-process and Texas due-course-of-law complaints concerning the denial of counsel's request for additional time to secure Father's presence at trial.
2. Whether legally and factually sufficient evidence supported termination under Texas Family Code section 161.001(b)(1)(E), based on conduct endangering the child's physical or emotional well-being.
3. Whether legally and factually sufficient evidence supported the finding that termination was in the child's best interest under Texas Family Code section 161.001(b)(2).
4. Whether Mother's appeal was wholly frivolous under Anders.

Disposition

affirmed