Orange County Social Services Agency v. O.M. (164 Cal. App. 4th 914, 2008)

Opinion

FYBEL, J.

Introduction

The minor, A.M., was taken into protective custody in November 2006 based on allegations she had been abused by her father, O.M. (Father). In December 2007, the juvenile court issued jurisdiction and disposition orders sustaining the allegations of the petition, vesting sole physical custody with A.M.’s mother (Mother), and terminating jurisdiction with visitation orders granting Father monitored visits. A final custody order was entered in January 2008.

Father challenges the jurisdiction and disposition orders on a single ground: He contends the juvenile court erred by denying his requests to represent himself in propria persona.

We hold that in deciding whether to grant a parent’s request for self-representation in a juvenile dependency proceeding, the juvenile court must consider the child’s right to a prompt resolution of custody status. The juvenile court has discretion to deny the request when it is reasonably probable that self-representation will unduly delay the proceedings, impairing the child’s right to a prompt resolution of custody status. The parent’s disruptive behavior may be sufficient, but is not necessary to deny the request.

Applying that standard, we conclude the juvenile court did not abuse its discretion in denying Father’s requests for self-representation because it was reasonably probable granting them would have led to undue delay that would have impaired A.M.’s right to a prompt resolution of custody status. We therefore affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

I. Facts Leading to A.M. ’s Detention

On November 20, 2006, the Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) detained A.M., then 13 years old, based on allegations Father had physically abused her. A.M. had reported that Father had hit her on the head and arms with a hardcover book, causing her to fall, and that Father had slapped her across the face on numerous occasions as a form of discipline. A.M. ¿so had reported Father had brought her to the United States from Egypt in 2005 without Mother’s knowledge and that Father had refused to allow A.M. to have any contact with Mother. The social worker stated that A.M. “demonstrated severe fear of her father.”

The social worker interviewed A.M. on November 20, 2006, and reported: “A[.M.] stated that she was not in the United States against her will, but her father never allowed her to say good bye to her mother and he has refused to allow her to have any contact with her mother since she has been in California .... A[.M.j stated that she has been volunteering at Fountain Valley Library and it is there that she has been able to e-mail her mother with her current location and where she attends school. A[.M.] stated that she is fearful for her father to find out that she has been communicating with her mother for fear of him becoming physically violent towards her. A[.M.] stated that her father disciplines her by yelling at her, screaming insults at her and then insulting her mother. A[.M.] stated that on several occasions her father has slapped her across the face with an opened hand. A[.M.j reported that on or about November 19, 2006, she was reading a book and her father requested her to complete some chores. A[.M.] stated that she told her father she was tired and she continued to read her book. A[.M.] stated that her father told her to go to sleep or complete the chores, but to stop reading. A[.M.] stated that she went into the bathroom where she took the book and finished what she was reading. A[.M.] reported that when she came out of the bathroom her father was waiting for her and he grabbed the book and started beating her in the head with the book, which was a hard covered novel, according to A[.M.] A[.M.] stated that she put up her arms to deflect her father from hitting her in the head and she ended up lying on the floor. . . . A[.M.] stated that her father has a propensity for violence and she has witnessed her father become violent towards her sister in Egypt. A[.M.] stated that she witnessed her father hit her sister all over her body with his fists. A[.M.] also reported that she has witnessed her father being violent towards her mother.”

The social worker also met with Father on November 20, 2006. He denied abusing A.M., denied he had ever slapped her face, and denied ever hitting her with a book. The social worker described Father as “argumentative” and stated he did not directly answer the questions asked. Father provided different home addresses to the social worker, the police, and A.M.’s school.

The United States Department of State confirmed Father and A.M. were United States citizens and A.M. was in California legally.

Police officers interviewed A.M.’s brother at his high school. He “denied any type of abuse” and “denied being fearful of his father.” He stated he saw Father with a book and A.M. on the floor, but “did not give any information as to seeing his father hit A[.M.] with the book.” The officers decided the brother did not need to be brought into protective custody, was not a victim, and “would not make a good witness.”

II. The Juvenile Dependency Petition

On November 22, 2006, a juvenile dependency petition was filed alleging A.M. came within Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b) (failure to protect). (All further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code, unless otherwise specified.) At the detention hearing on November 27, the juvenile court ordered that A.M. be detained. The court scheduled a jurisdiction/disposition hearing for December 19, 2006. A.M. was placed with foster parents.

On December 19, 2006, Mother appeared, confirmed an Egyptian address for notice purposes, and provided a confidential address in the United States. The court continued the matter to February 5, 2007.

On February 5, 2007, the juvenile court trailed the matter to February 6. On that date, Father filed a letter asking “that I be in the lead and in charge of my own representation in the above designated case, dealing directly with the court.”

On February 6, the juvenile court continued the matter to March 20, 2007, and later continued the matter to April 10, then to May 3, and finally to May 22. On May 22, Father requested he be allowed to represent himself just for that day. After the juvenile court explained to Father he could not represent himself just for the day, Father chose to have the public defender continue to represent him “for today” and stated, “you will hear me later on if I want to speak.”

IH. The Jurisdiction/Disposition Hearing

Due to Father’s medical condition, the juvenile court ordered a series of continuances of the jurisdiction/disposition hearing. Ultimately, the hearing commenced on October 9, 2007, and continued on October 11, 12, 29, November 29, and December 6 and 7. The court received in evidence SSA’s reports dated December 19, 2006, and February 5, March 20, April 10, May 3 and 22, June 5, September 11, and October 9, 2007. Senior social worker Curtis Vaughn and senior social worker Mary Weinberg testified on October 9. Father testified on October 11 and 12. On October 16, Father’s counsel informed the court that Father was not able to be present due to illness.

When the matter resumed on October 29, Father’s counsel (the public defender) declared a conflict of interest and asked to be relieved as counsel. The juvenile court granted the request, appointed new counsel to represent Father, and continued the matter for one month to allow new counsel to prepare. Although Father wanted a three- or four-month continuance, his new counsel did not believe it would take that long to prepare.

IV. Father’s November 29, 2007 Request for Self-representation

On November 29, 2007, the juvenile court held a “Marsden-type” (People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118 [84 Cal.Rptr. 156, 465 P.2d 44] (Marsden)) hearing because Father asked the court to relieve his counsel and allow him to represent himself. After expressing concern his new counsel was “not adequately familiar with the case so far,” Father stated he needed to prepare his new counsel “to do his job right” and if that were not possible, he wanted “to fire [his counsel] and take over and get the help from the court to prepare and defend.” Father asked the court to declare a mistrial, claiming the juvenile dependency proceeding was “nothing more than a hate crime” and his prior attorney “took the sides of the social workers.” Father asked to be represented by a Muslim attorney from outside of California with no connection to SSA, then asked to defend himself because “I am the one who reads these reports, who understands the lies and the fabrications, who could answer any of these.”

During the course of the hearing, Father’s new counsel confirmed he felt competent to represent Father and proceed with trial in one week.

The juvenile court denied Father’s request to represent himself and request for a mistrial. The court told Father: “I certainly share your concern that you get a fair trial. But I do want you to understand that these cases have a certain time line that they are required to proceed under. In this case we are more than a year, I believe, into this case. That’s way past the time that it should have gone to trial. [][] I understand that you feel that the allegations are baseless and that you’re a victim of a hate crime and that there’s nothing to this and it should be dismissed. But at this point the agency has provided enough evidence to go to a trial. I understand you disagree with that, but that’s the court’s opinion at this point.”

After the Mars den-type hearing, Father’s new counsel asked for a 60-day continuance because “my client is of the opinion that much more time than one week is necessary for me to adequately express his position in a contested matter.” The court denied the request for a 60-day continuance, stating: “I know that father feels he would like to have more time so he can be intimately involved in planning the strategy of the case. I’ve already explained to him that the best we can do here is to offer a fair trial and not a perfect trial. I believe father is represented by more than competent counsel who should be able, given the continuance already granted in addition to this further one, be able to deal with the issues that are presented in this trial. And, again, it is not an extremely complicated case that requires extensive preparation time. [