In re Jessica G. CA4/1 ( 2021 )


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  • Filed 1/20/21 In re Jessica G. CA4/1
    NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication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.
    COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
    DIVISION ONE
    STATE OF CALIFORNIA
    In re JESSICA G., a Person Coming
    Under the Juvenile Court Law.
    D077882
    SAN DIEGO COUNTY HEALTH
    AND HUMAN SERVICES
    AGENCY,                                                         (Super. Ct. No. J520263)
    Plaintiff and Respondent,
    v.
    JESUS R.,
    Defendant and Appellant.
    APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County,
    Browder A. Willis, III, Judge. Affirmed.
    Jacques Alexander Love, under appointment by the Court of Appeal,
    for Defendant and Appellant.
    Thomas E. Montgomery, County Counsel, Caitlin E. Rae, Chief Deputy
    County Counsel, and Lisa M. Maldonado, Deputy County Counsel for
    Plaintiff and Respondent.
    Jesus R. (Father) claims that insufficient evidence supports the
    juvenile court’s jurisdictional finding (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300, subd. (a))1
    and dispositional order regarding his infant daughter, Jessica G. Father
    argues that the court improperly relied on a rebuttable presumption under
    section 355.1, subdivision (a), as to the cause of Jessica’s injuries and that he
    was not given notice and opportunity to present rebuttal evidence. We
    conclude that Father’s argument lacks merit and that substantial evidence
    supports the court’s finding and order.
    FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
    On January 14, 2020,2 two-month-old Jessica was injured while
    exclusively in her father’s care. Jessica’s mother (Mother) was at the
    laundromat when an incident occurred. According to Father, he put Jessica
    in her baby swing unstrapped, turned the swing on to its maximum speed
    (level six),3 closed the door to his bedroom, and went to the kitchen. The
    swing sat approximately one and a half feet off the carpeted floor. About 20
    minutes later, Father reportedly heard a loud cry from his bedroom, and
    upon entering his room, he found Jessica lying face down on the carpet.
    Father noticed that Jessica’s face was injured. He said he was unsure
    whether she had hit the frame of his bed or the swing, and no one else was
    home.
    1     Further unspecified statutory references are to the Welfare and
    Institutions Code.
    2     Further unspecified date references occurred in 2020.
    3      At trial, the juvenile court received Jessica’s swing in evidence without
    objection. The court found that the “speed of six was very, very gentle and
    slow.”
    2
    A few minutes later, Mother arrived home from the laundromat.
    Father told Mother that Jessica had fallen off the swing. The parents noticed
    bruising and inflammation on the left side of Jessica’s face and redness in her
    left eye. They did not seek medical attention that day because they thought
    her condition might improve on its own.
    The next day, because Jessica’s condition had not improved, the
    parents brought her to a local clinic. The clinic advised them to take the
    infant to Rady Children’s Hospital. At the hospital, Jessica was seen by Dr.
    Stephanie Schroter, the emergency room attending physician. In addition to
    facial bruising and an eye injury (“subconjunctival hemorrhage”), Dr.
    Schroter found a bruise on the infant’s abdomen, all of which was reportedly
    caused by a single fall off the swing. Dr. Schroter consulted with Dr. Premi
    Suresh, who specializes in child abuse pediatrics. Dr. Suresh shared Dr.
    Schroter’s concerns about the reported cause of Jessica’s injuries, noting that
    “[a] subconjunctival hemorrhage and bruising in an infant would be
    considered ‘sentinel injuries’ and are highly predictive of future more serious
    injury. Therefore, these injuries, while seemingly small, must be taken very
    seriously as they are likely to indicate inflicted injury. In this case, it does
    not seem plausible that the baby would get injury to both the eye and
    abdomen from this fall.”
    Social workers and police officers became involved in Jessica’s case.
    Upon questioning as to the cause of Jessica’s injuries, Father told officers the
    story of the infant’s falling off the swing. He told the same story to two
    different San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (Agency)
    social workers.
    The following day, Jessica was examined by Dr. Marilyn Kaufhold, an
    attending pediatric physician at Rady Children’s Hospital. Dr. Kaufhold had
    3
    practiced pediatrics at the hospital since 1971 and was board certified in
    child abuse pediatrics. Dr. Kaufhold’s examination of Jessica lasted for over
    an hour. The doctor spoke to the parents about Jessica’s medical history and
    circumstances of the supposed fall, asked Father to use a stuffed animal to
    demonstrate the baby’s position when he found her, took pictures of Jessica,
    conferred with a social worker and police detective, watched a video of the
    swing in motion, and prepared a report.
    Dr. Kaufhold documented her medical examination and described the
    extent of Jessica’s injuries, including a subconjunctival hemorrhage in the
    left eye, bruises on the left forehead and eyebrow area, a bruise on the left
    upper thigh,4 and a bruise on the “left lower quadrant of the abdomen. . . .
    amorphous in shape with no particular pattern.” In her notes, Dr. Kaufhold
    wrote, “Per [Father], [Jessica] fell out of the same swing about a month ago
    as well but she was fine afterwards.”
    In Dr. Kaufhold’s assessment, “Jessica has bruises on different areas
    and planes of her body that are unlikely to have been caused by the fall from
    the swing her father describes. The subconjunctival eye hemorrhage is a type
    of bruise that in this case was probably caused by the direct trauma that
    resulted in the adjacent forehead/eyebrow bruise. It is a finding that when
    present is often associated with inflicted trauma . . . . Although it can be seen
    in other conditions (infectious, oncologic, hematologic and severe valsalva),
    Jessica does not have any of these diagnoses. Appropriate studies were
    done to rule them out in the emergency department[.]”
    On January 24, the Agency filed a petition on behalf of Jessica, alleging
    she had suffered, or there was a substantial risk she would suffer, serious
    4      Dr. Kaufhold initially noted that the mark on Jessica’s left upper thigh
    was a “possible” bruise because it could have also been a vein. The mark was
    later confirmed as a bruise when it disappeared, i.e., healed.
    4
    physical harm inflicted nonaccidentally. (§ 300, subd. (a).) The petition
    specifically alleged that Father had “subjected the child to serious physical
    harm, including but not limited to, this infant child was found to have a
    subconjunctival hemorrhage, facial bruising, and bruising on the abdomen.
    The child was in the father’s exclusive care when the injuries occurred[,] and
    medical professionals have determined the child’s injuries are not consistent
    with the father’s explanation and are indicative of inflicted trauma, including
    but not limited to rough handling or forceful grabbing.”
    Thereafter, the Agency filed its detention report, containing the
    statements of each of Jessica’s treating physicians at Rady Children’s
    Hospital and attaching Dr. Kaufhold’s examination report. According to Dr.
    Kaufhold, Jessica’s abdomen could not have been bruised by falling off the
    swing as Father described; bruising to the abdomen is usually caused by a
    “deep indenting blow.” Abdominal injuries can be life threatening.
    At the detention hearing, the juvenile court appointed counsel for
    Father and detained Jessica with Mother on the condition that Father
    remain outside of the home.
    On the date set for the jurisdictional and dispositional hearing in
    February, Father requested a trial set on the truth of the allegations.
    Jessica’s counsel (minor’s counsel) stated that she would not be joining
    Father’s trial set, but she wished to cross-examine the “child abuse expert.”
    This began a colloquy on the issue of expert testimony. The Agency’s counsel
    said that Dr. Kaufhold would be testifying and requested “that if the parents
    are going to retain an expert for their case, that [the] name of that individual,
    as well as any report they plan on authoring, be given by the [pretrial status
    conference], that way our expert has a chance to review it and be prepared for
    testimony so there [will] be no continuance.” The juvenile court agreed,
    5
    admonishing the parents that if they intended to provide “expert testimony to
    contest the Agency’s expert, you must provide the curriculum vitae and
    reports at the time of the pretrial settlement conference. [¶] It’s called
    reciprocal discovery. . . . It’s very important that you discuss whether or not
    you’re going to bring in your own experts or anything of that nature well
    ahead of time with the attorneys . . . .”
    Meanwhile, Father was having supervised visits with Jessica, which
    progressively increased in quantity and length of time. He behaved
    appropriately during these visits. Father also participated in services. The
    contested jurisdictional and dispositional hearing was continued due to the
    COVID-19 global pandemic and ultimately reset for August.
    At two pretrial status conferences, the issue of expert testimony was
    again discussed amongst the court and counsel. In June, Father’s counsel
    reported that he was requesting a continuance so that Father’s expert could
    review Jessica’s medical records. The court found good cause to grant
    Father’s request.
    At the August pretrial status conference, Father disclosed the name of
    his expert witness—Dr. Stephen Carson. Likewise, the Agency confirmed Dr.
    Kaufhold as its expert witness. The court advised the parties of its practice
    to conduct a “402 hearing” in chambers directly before trial.
    The contested jurisdictional and dispositional hearing proceeded as
    scheduled. The Agency’s reports, which were received in evidence without
    objection, contained the assessments of Jessica’s physicians that her injuries
    in January were inconsistent with Father’s falling-off-the-swing story, and
    instead, were consistent with Father’s inflicting a direct blow and/or roughly
    grabbing the infant while she was in his care. The Agency noted that the
    parents had maintained throughout the case that Jessica’s injuries were
    6
    caused by her falling off the baby swing and had not at any time offered an
    alternative explanation.
    The Agency called Dr. Kaufhold as a witness. The parties stipulated,
    and the court found, that she was an expert in pediatrics and child abuse
    pediatrics. Dr. Kaufhold affirmed her assessment and opinion that Jessica’s
    injuries were not caused as Father maintained. The expert discussed the
    different mechanics of producing a bruise and the various bruises found on
    Jessica’s body. Dr. Kaufhold explained how a fall from the swing, as Father
    described, was “not likely, at all” to cause the bruise to Jessica’s abdomen.
    According to the doctor, “children fall from a variety of places and in a variety
    of ways, [but] they generally don’t get bruises on their abdomen. And in this
    case, even given that supposedly she fell over this bar, the bar alone is not
    enough and can’t produce enough of an indentation to produce that bruise on
    her lower abdomen.”
    Dr. Kaufhold further testified, “I think that [Jessica] was roughly
    handled because bruises are the result of trauma[,] and normal handling of
    an infant does not cause bruises[,] and to have so many bruises in different
    locations that can’t be accounted for in a single event of a fall are my reasons
    for saying that this child was likely subjected to inflicted injury.”
    Father’s expert, Dr. Carson, testified next. The doctor’s three-page
    “child abuse consultation report” was admitted in evidence. The parties
    further stipulated, and the court found, that Dr. Carson was an expert in
    pediatric medicine. He testified to his belief that Jessica’s injuries occurred
    from her accidentally falling out of the swing because “the bruising was even
    throughout all the pictures that I observed” on the left side of Jessica’s body
    and there was no bruising on her right side. He also opined that the “vast
    majority” of subconjunctival hemorrhages he had seen in practice were
    7
    “accidental in origin.” Dr. Carson acknowledged he had never spoken to
    Father, had not seen his reenactment of the supposed fall, and had not
    examined Jessica in person.
    After Dr. Carson’s testimony, the Agency recalled Dr. Kaufhold back to
    the witness stand for rebuttal. As to the issue of bruising on the left side of
    Jessica’s body, Dr. Kaufhold pointed out that there was different “tissue”
    underneath the areas where Jessica was bruised, and it was “unlikely that
    the same force used to produce one of the bruises would produce all of the
    bruises.” Furthermore, the bruises “[were] not perfectly lined up.” Jessica’s
    face alone was bruised on different planes and could not have been hit by the
    same bar on the swing. Dr. Kaufhold noted that Jessica had not exhibited
    signs of a bruising or bleeding medical condition, to date. Finally, even
    though subconjunctival hemorrhages can occur accidentally, such as from a
    pressurized sneeze or cough, if that had been the case for Jessica, she would
    not have also been accidentally bruised in the eye area. Based on the
    constellation of symptoms, Dr. Kaufhold opined that Jessica was not
    accidentally injured. In the doctor’s view, Jessica’s case was not a “close call.”
    At Father’s request, the juvenile court admitted Jessica’s baby swing in
    evidence without objection. The court’s later ruling reflects that the court
    “plugged in the swing and watched it swing at the [maximum] speed and
    noted that the speed was surprisingly very slow. In my mind, I wanted to
    know what that sixth speed was because it seemed like it would be an
    incredible inertia and I was quite surprised that that speed of six was very,
    very gentle and slow.”
    The Agency and minor’s counsel urged the court to make a true finding
    on the petition’s allegations and order Father to remain outside the home for
    the time being. The Agency supported the initiation of unsupervised visits
    8
    and recommended as a reasonable dispositional measure that the Agency be
    given discretion to allow Father to return to the family home, with
    concurrence of minor’s counsel.
    After considering the evidence and arguments of counsel, the court
    made a true finding on the petition, discussing at length why it found that
    Jessica’s injuries were “not accidental.” The court summarized the evidence
    it had considered, including the medical findings from various physicians at
    Rady Children’s Hospital, Dr. Kaufhold’s opinion, the swing, the infant’s age
    and abilities in January, Father’s statements contained in Agency reports,
    and Dr. Carson’s opinion.
    With reference to Dr. Kaufhold’s testimony, the juvenile court stated:
    “The court understands, and notes for the record, that when the court accepts
    . . . a medical doctor as an expert, the court must look to determine whether
    or not the expert testimony is credible and meets a standard that would
    assist the trier of fact. I found that this doctor’s qualifications of
    longstanding pediatric practitioner with a special board certification in . . .
    pediatric abuse, was persuasive and telling[,] and when an expert’s medical
    testimony that an injury is or was inconsistent with an accident then that
    burden, that shifts the burden to the parents to prove specifically that it was
    an accident. [¶] So, the court looked at the detention report and the
    jurisdiction report, which is in evidence, to determine . . . exactly what the
    father’s position was as it relates to the injury. . . .”
    The juvenile court then recounted Father’s story regarding Jessica’s
    falling off the swing and how “very, very gentle and slow” the court found the
    swing’s movements. The court also stated that it had considered various
    points raised by Dr. Carson and weighed Dr. Carson’s opinion against Dr.
    Kaufhold’s opinion. In the end, the court was persuaded, by clear and
    9
    convincing evidence, that Jessica was a dependent child under section 300,
    subdivision (a).
    Regarding disposition, the court allowed additional comments from all
    counsel and ultimately, accepted the Agency’s recommendations. The court
    found that placing Jessica with Father would be detrimental for the same
    reasons that it had assumed jurisdiction. Jessica was placed with Mother.
    Further, the court granted the Agency discretion to allow the Father back in
    the family home, if a safety plan was in place and minor’s counsel
    concurred.5
    Father’s appeal followed.
    DISCUSSION
    I.    Substantial Evidence Supports the Court’s Jurisdictional Finding
    A.      Standard of Review
    In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal, we look to the
    entire record for substantial evidence to support the findings of the juvenile
    court. We do not pass on the credibility of witnesses, attempt to resolve
    conflicts in the evidence, or determine where the weight of the evidence lies.
    Rather, we draw all reasonable inferences in support of the findings, view the
    record in the light most favorable to the juvenile court’s order and affirm the
    order even if there is other evidence supporting a contrary finding. (In re
    Casey D. (1999) 
    70 Cal.App.4th 38
    , 52-53; In re Baby Boy L. (1994) 
    24 Cal.App.4th 596
    , 610.) We conduct our substantial evidence review bearing
    in mind the required standard of proof. (T.J. v. Superior Court (2018) 21
    5      Father’s counsel conceded that Father had likely been negligent by
    Father’s own statements. Father told Dr. Kaufhold that there had been a
    prior incident where infant Jessica fell out of her swing and then, according
    to Father, Jessica purportedly fell out again in January. Counsel argued,
    however, that Jessica was a dependent child under section “300(b),” not
    section 300, subdivision (a).
    
    10 Cal.App.5th 1229
    , 1239.) The appellant has the burden of showing there is
    no evidence of a sufficiently substantial nature to support the order. (In re
    L.Y.L. (2002) 
    101 Cal.App.4th 942
    , 947.)
    Further, we review the juvenile court’s ruling, not its rationale. We
    affirm the court’s order if supported by substantial evidence regardless of the
    trial court’s stated reasoning. (In re Jonathan B. (1992) 
    5 Cal.App.4th 873
    ,
    876.)
    B.    Section 355.1 and the Parties’ Contentions
    Section 355.1 provides that “[w]here the court finds, based upon
    competent professional evidence, that an injury, injuries, or detrimental
    condition sustained by a minor is of a nature as would ordinarily not be
    sustained except as the result of the unreasonable or neglectful acts or
    omissions of either parent, the guardian, or other person who has the care or
    custody of the minor, that finding shall be prima facie evidence that the
    minor is a person described by subdivision (a), (b), or (d) of Section 300.”
    (§ 355.1, subd. (a); In re A.S. (2011) 
    202 Cal.App.4th 237
    , 243, disapproved on
    another ground in Conservatorship of O.B. (2020) 
    9 Cal.5th 989
    , 1010, fn. 7
    (A.S.).)
    Section 355.1, subdivision (a), raises a rebuttable presumption affecting
    the production of evidence. (§ 355.1, subd. (c).) “The effect of a presumption
    affecting the burden of producing evidence is to require the trier of fact to
    assume the existence of the presumed fact unless and until evidence is
    introduced which would support a finding of its nonexistence, in which case
    the trier of fact shall determine the existence or nonexistence of the
    presumed fact from the evidence and without regard to the presumption.”
    (Evid. Code, § 604; In re James B. (1985) 
    166 Cal.App.3d 934
    , 937 (James B.)
    [discussing section 355.2, section 355.1’s predecessor].) Section 355.1,
    11
    subdivision (a), “shifts to the parents the obligation of raising an issue as to
    the actual cause of the injury or the fitness of the home.” (James B., supra, at
    p. 937, fn. 2, italics added.) If the parents raise rebuttal evidence, the Agency
    maintains the burden of proving the jurisdictional facts. (Ibid.)
    Father contends the juvenile court relied on section 355.1, subdivision
    (a), at the jurisdictional hearing, but he did not have notice and an
    opportunity to present “rebuttal evidence,” i.e., to contradict the presumed
    fact that Jessica was nonaccidentally injured. According to Father, the court
    shifted the burden to him to establish an accidental cause of Jessica’s
    injuries. Finally, Father asserts that insufficient evidence supports the
    court’s jurisdictional finding.
    The Agency responds that it did not plead or rely upon the burden
    shifting presumption (§ 355.1, subd. (a)), to establish that Jessica was a child
    described by section 300, subdivision (a). Moreover, even if the juvenile court
    implicitly relied on section 355.1, subdivision (a), the Agency argues that
    Father clearly had the opportunity to, and did, produce “rebuttal evidence” as
    to the cause of Jessica’s injuries. The Agency lastly contends that it met its
    burden of proof regarding the jurisdictional facts.
    C.    Analysis
    Based on our review of the record, the Agency correctly posits that it
    did not plead or intend to rely on section 355.1, subdivision (a), to establish
    the jurisdictional facts. (A.S., supra, 202 Cal.App.4th at p. 243.) “Section
    355.1” is not referenced anywhere in the petition or in any submissions to the
    court. Further, the petition does not include the applicable language of
    section 355.1, subdivision (a). (In re D.P. (2014) 
    225 Cal.App.4th 898
    , 904
    (D.P.).) The Agency did not request, and the court did not explicitly make, a
    prima facie finding that Jessica’s injuries “would ordinarily not be sustained”
    12
    except for abuse or neglect, to trigger the section’s applicability. (§ 355.1,
    subd. (a); James B., supra, 166 Cal.App.3d at p. 937.) The section was
    inapplicable, and the Agency was not required to give notice of it.
    Father’s argument that the court applied the presumption sua sponte
    hinges on certain remarks the court made as it rendered its ruling, about the
    burden shifting “to the parents to prove specifically that it was an accident.”
    It is unclear what the court meant by this comment. The court did not
    expressly reference section 355.1. Even if the court implicitly applied section
    355.1, that section merely raises a rebuttable presumption affecting the
    production of evidence. The section 355.1 presumption “ ‘disappears’ ” upon
    the introduction of evidence which would support a finding of its
    nonexistence, and the juvenile court must then weigh the inferences arising
    from conflicting evidence and resolve the conflict. (D.P., supra, 225
    Cal.App.4th at pp. 904-905.) That is what the juvenile court did here.
    Father was aware early on in this case that the Agency intended to call
    Dr. Kaufhold as an expert witness; counsel repeatedly conferred on the
    matter of expert testimony. The crux of Dr. Kaufhold’s testimony—that
    Jessica’s injuries were not accidental but the result of intentionally inflicted
    trauma—could be discerned from the Agency’s filed reports. Father, in turn,
    offered the testimony of Dr. Carson, “raising an issue as to the actual cause of
    [Jessica’s] injury. . . .” (James B., supra, at p. 937, fn. 2.) Dr. Carson
    explained why he believed Jessica accidentally fell out of the swing. The
    juvenile court considered and weighed all the evidence presented and found
    that the “injuries were not accidental.” The court held the Agency to the
    clear and convincing standard of proof. Thus, even if the court implicitly
    applied the rebuttable presumption under section 355.1, there is no
    reversible error.
    13
    Moreover, substantial evidence supports the juvenile court’s
    jurisdictional finding. The Agency was required to prove that Jessica “has
    suffered, or there is a substantial risk that [she] will suffer, serious physical
    harm inflicted non-accidentally . . . by [Father].” (§ 300, subd. (a).) The court
    found Dr. Kaufhold’s opinion to be more credible than Dr. Carson’s. Dr.
    Kaufhold’s testimony, supported by the assessments of other physicians at
    Rady Children’s Hospital, was that Jessica’s injuries were not caused by an
    accidental fall off the swing. Two-month-old Jessica was unable to turn
    herself over; she was essentially immobile. The swing moved very slowly.
    The record supports that Jessica simply could not propel herself out of the
    swing with enough force to bruise several different locations on her body. It
    is reasonable to infer from the record that Father intentionally applied
    enough force to Jessica’s face to cause bruising and an eye hemorrhage and
    applied an even greater amount of force to her abdomen, causing it to bruise.
    Although Jessica’s injuries healed relatively quickly, a “court need not wait
    until a child is seriously abused or injured to assume jurisdiction and take
    steps necessary to protect the child.” (In re N.M. (2011) 
    197 Cal.App.4th 159
    ,
    165.) The court did not err in assuming jurisdiction.
    Father asserts that there was no longer a risk of harm to Jessica by the
    time of the contested hearing due to his progress in services. We disagree.
    The record does not disclose what triggered Father’s abusive conduct in
    January, and he continuously maintained that Jessica fell off the swing.
    Father’s inability to acknowledge the abuse, plus his unclear motivations,
    presented a continuing risk of harm to Jessica because she was still a baby.
    Out of Father’s custody, she suffered no injuries, accidental or otherwise. We
    note that the physicians at Rady Children’s Hospital were highly concerned
    about Jessica’s constellation of injuries; Dr. Kaufhold indicated that
    14
    intentionally inflicted trauma to the abdomen could be life threatening. We
    are persuaded the juvenile court could reasonably conclude that Jessica was
    at substantial risk of serious physical harm at the time of the hearing.
    II.   Substantial Evidence Supports the Court’s Dispositional Order
    Father contends that substantial evidence does not support the
    dispositional order entered by the court, which placed Jessica with Mother,
    precluded Father from returning home based on a finding of detriment, and
    granted the Agency discretion to allow Father to return home with
    concurrence of minor’s counsel. Father argues there was a reasonable
    alternative to removing Jessica from his custody.
    Before the court may order a child physically removed from his or her
    parent, it must find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the child would be
    at substantial risk of harm if returned home and that there are no reasonable
    means by which the child can be protected without removal. (§ 361, subd.
    (c)(1); In re Kristin H. (1996) 
    46 Cal.App.4th 1635
    , 1654.) “The parent need
    not be dangerous and the child need not have been actually harmed for
    removal to be appropriate. The focus of the statute is on averting harm to the
    child. [Citations.] In this regard, the court may consider the parent’s past
    conduct as well as present circumstances.” (In re Cole C. (2009) 
    174 Cal.App.4th 900
    , 917.)
    “The court has broad discretion to determine what would best serve
    and protect the child’s interest and to fashion a dispositional order in accord
    with this discretion.” (In re Christopher H. (1996) 
    50 Cal.App.4th 1001
    ,
    1006.) We review a dispositional detriment finding for substantial evidence,
    bearing in mind the heightened standard of proof. (In re Liam L. (2015) 
    240 Cal.App.4th 1068
    , 1087; In re John M. (2006) 
    141 Cal.App.4th 1564
    , 1569-
    1570.)
    15
    We find no error in the juvenile court’s dispositional order. As noted in
    section I., ante, substantial evidence supports that Jessica was at substantial
    risk of physical harm inflicted by Father. A reasonable alternative to
    removing Jessica from both her parents’ physical custody was placing Jessica
    with Mother on the condition that Father stay out of the home. (In re
    Michael S. (2016) 
    3 Cal.App.5th 977
    , 985.) Father insists that he should
    have been allowed to immediately return home, perhaps under stringent
    conditions. At trial, the juvenile court thoroughly considered this alternative,
    as well as others, and rejected the option of Father’s returning home
    immediately. Unlike certain cases involving excessive discipline where a
    parent admits his or her triggering conduct (e.g., In re A.F. (2014) 
    228 Cal.App.4th 820
    , 822 [spanking with a belt to discipline misbehaving child]),
    it is unknown in this case what triggered Father’s abusive conduct, he did not
    acknowledge being abusive, and both parents continued to deny that any
    abuse occurred. The court was aware of Father’s progress in services and his
    appropriate behavior during supervised visits but believed it necessary for
    Jessica’s safety that Father begin a period of unsupervised visits, and that all
    parties agree on a safety plan, before Father could move back in the family
    home. The court’s dispositional order was reasonable.
    16
    DISPOSITION
    The juvenile court’s order is affirmed.
    HALLER, Acting P. J.
    WE CONCUR:
    AARON, J.
    GUERRERO, J.
    17
    

Document Info

Docket Number: D077882

Filed Date: 1/20/2021

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 1/20/2021