Summary 2013 WY 2

Summary of Decision January 9, 2013


Justice Hill delivered the opinion for the Court. Affirmed in part. Reversed and remanded in part.

Case Name: IN THE INTEREST OF NC and AM, Minor Children, SC and FC, III v. STATE OF WYOMING, DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY SERVICES

Docket Number: S-12-0139

URL: http://www.courts.state.wy.us/Opinions.aspx

Appeal from the District Court of Park County, Honorable Steven R. Cranfill, Judge.

Representing Appellants: Timothy A. Eagler of Hallman, Eagler & Hunt, P.C., Greybull, WY and Jessica Loeper, Powell, WY.

Representing Appellee: Gregory A. Phillips, Wyoming Attorney General; Robin Sessions Cooley, Deputy Attorney General; Jill E. Kucera, Senior Assistant Attorney General; and Jared Crecelius, Senior Assistant Attorney General.

Guardian ad Litem: Dan S. Wilde, Guardian ad Litem Program, Cheyenne, WY.

Date of Decision: January 9, 2013

Facts: This appeal arose from the district court’s exercise of juvenile jurisdiction over neglect petitions filed on two Texas children whose maternal grandmother brought them to Wyoming after the children had been abused in Texas by their mother’s boyfriend. The district court adjudicated the children as neglected, and the children’s mother and her boyfriend appealed, contending that the district court did not have the subject matter jurisdiction.

Issues: The children’s mother and her boyfriend state the issue on appeal as follows:

The issue before the Court is whether the juvenile court was correct in determining that it possessed the requisite subject matter jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter in controversy.

Holdings: The neglect petitions filed with the district court in this case presented the court with an interstate child custody dispute, and the district court thus erred in exercising jurisdiction pursuant to Wyoming’s Child Protection Act. Because the district court had emergency jurisdiction under the UCCJEA to respond to the immediate threat to NC and AM, the Court affirmed the district court’s findings that the children were abused and that Mother had not protected the children from that abuse. The Court likewise affirmed the district court’s entry of protective custody orders based on those findings. The Court vacated the remainder of the court’s orders, including its formal adjudications of abuse and neglect, and its orders of disposition. The Court thus affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for proceedings consistent with the direction herein.

Summaries are prepared by Law Librarians and are not official statements of the Wyoming Supreme Court

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