In re Jose C.

Filed 10/9/23 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SEVEN

In re JOSE C., a Person Coming B317838 Under the Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 21CCJP04738A-C) LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

JOSE C.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Linda Sun, Judge. Dismissed as moot. Marsha F. Levine, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Dawyn R. Harrison, County Counsel, Kim Nemoy, Assistant County Counsel, and Avedis Koutoujian, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

On December 2, 2021 the juvenile court sustained the petition filed by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (a) and former (b)(1), 1 alleging that Maira H. and Jose C., the parents of now-nine-year-old Gael C., five-year-old Matias C. and three-year-old Jocelyn C., had a history of engaging in violent physical and verbal altercations in the presence of the children and describing a September 9, 2021 incident in which Maira repeatedly struck Jose and Jose forcefully pushed Maira onto a couch and struck her in the face with his fist. 2 At disposition the court declared the children dependents of the court, removed them from Jose’s care and released them to Maira, allowing Jose to have unmonitored visitation in a public setting. Jose appealed the December 2, 2021 findings and orders. Maira did not. On September 22, 2022, prior to Jose’s filing of his opening brief on appeal arguing the evidence did not support the juvenile court’s findings, the juvenile court terminated its jurisdiction and issued custody orders, based on the parents’ mediated agreement, providing for joint legal and physical custody of the children with

1 The Legislature amended Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, effective January 1, 2023, in part by rewriting subdivision (b)(1) to now specify in separate subparagraphs various ways in which a child may come within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court as a result of the failure or inability of the child’s parent or guardian to adequately supervise or care for the child. 2 The violent incident on September 9, 2021 was apparently precipitated by Maira’s discovery that Jose was communicating with multiple women in Mexico and had a three-year-old son in that country.