In re M.G. CA2/1

Filed 8/30/21 In re M.G. CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

In re M.G., a Person Coming Under B310070 the Juvenile Court Law. _________________________________ (Los Angeles County LOS ANGELES COUNTY Super. Ct. No. 20CCJP02966) DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

J.P.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Sabina A. Helton, Judge. Dismissed. Nicole Williams, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rodrigo A. Castro-Silva, County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and Aileen Wong, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

J.P. (Mother) appeals from a jurisdictional order of the juvenile court asserting jurisdiction over her four children. The court found it had jurisdiction on several bases, some involving Mother’s alleged failure to protect the children from S.C., Mother’s live-in boyfriend and father of two of her children, and some involving S.C.’s substance abuse and an incident of S.C. inappropriately disciplining one of the children. Even if Mother is correct that substantial evidence does not support the court’s finding that she failed to protect the children, the juvenile court would still have correctly taken jurisdiction over them based on the unchallenged jurisdictional findings regarding S.C.’s conduct. As such, Mother’s appeal does not present a justiciable controversy and is moot. We decline to exercise our discretion to nevertheless consider the merits of her appeal. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW A. Family Background Mother has four children: A.G. (born June 2009), M.G. (born July 2008), D.C. (born April 2014), and Se.C. (born November 2019). S.C. is the father of D.C. and Se.C. A.G. and M.G.’s father is now deceased. Mother has one prior referral to the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) for general neglect. Namely, on March 16, 2015, Mother left M.G. and D.C., then ages six and 11 months, unsupervised in an unlocked car while Mother went into a store to shop with A.G. When law enforcement arrived on the scene, the children appeared “fine and well cared for.” The referral was substantiated and closed.