In re D.W. CA2/8

Filed 6/8/15 In re D.W. CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

In re D.W. et al., Persons Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. B258882

LOS ANGELES COUNTY (Los Angeles County DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND Super. Ct. No. DK06632) FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

L.J.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Philip L. Soto, Judge. Affirmed.

Nicole Williams, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Mark J. Saladino, County Counsel, Dawyn R. Harrison, Assistant County Counsel, Stephen D. Watson, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent. ________________________________

L.J. (Mother) appeals from the juvenile court’s jurisdictional order which declared her two daughters dependents of the court under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300.1 We find Mother’s appeal not to be justiciable and affirm the challenged order. FACTS Mother and Michael S. (Father) have a child together, M.S. Mother also has a daughter, D.W., from a prior relationship. M.S. and D.W. lived with Mother while Father lived separately. The family came to the attention of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) when it received a referral on June 6, 2014, alleging Mother and Father engaged in a physical altercation on March 30, 2014, which resulted in a half-inch laceration on Mother’s lip and the nail on her right index finger being torn off. In several interviews with the children’s social worker, Mother was reluctant to cooperate with the investigation, refusing to allow the social worker into her home. She denied either of the children were present at the time of the incident, stating 13-year-old D.W. was at a friend’s house and 9-month-old M.S. was being cared for by Father’s relative. She admitted she called the police on March 30, 2014, but adamantly denied Father hit her. She said she merely wanted the police to escort Father out of the house. She and Father had been drinking and she became upset that day. She yelled and screamed in Father’s face and he put his hands up to prevent her from hitting him. She fell and hit the wall, injuring her lip when she bit it. The police report for the March 30 incident showed Mother reported Father had too many drinks and they argued. Mother told Father to leave and pushed him with both hands. Father became enraged and struck Mother with his right forearm approximately five times on the chest and one time in the face, resulting in a half-inch laceration on the