Opinion
Case No. 20040443-CA.
Filed July 15, 2004. (Not For Official Publication).
Appeal from the Second District, Farmington Department, The Honorable Stephen A. Van Dyke.
Don S. Redd, Layton, for Appellant.
Mark L. Shurtleff and Carol L.C. Verdoia, Salt Lake City, for Appellee.
Martha Pierce, Salt Lake City, Guardian Ad Litem.
Before Judges Billings, Jackson, and Thorne.
MEMORANDUM DECISION
This case is before the court on Appellant T.S.'s Petition on Appeal, filed pursuant to rule 55 of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure. T.S. appeals the juvenile court's denial of his pro se motion to set aside judgment, pursuant to rule 60(b) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, that adjudicated S.T., S.T., and J.S. as abused, neglected, and/or dependent.
The juvenile court denied the motion on the basis that it was untimely filed and brought unreasonably late. The motion was filed approximately one and one-half years after adjudication. T.S. has not demonstrated this ruling to be an error.
The motion was prompted by Appellant's acquittal of criminal child sexual abuse charges.
Assuming T.S.'s motion had been timely, his argument that, since he was acquitted of criminal charges, it would be an injustice to allow the plea entered pursuant to rule 34(e) of the Utah Rules of Juvenile Procedure to stand is unpersuasive. The argument overlooks the fact that a different burden of proof exists in a criminal trial than in a juvenile adjudication. Therefore, the fact that he was subsequently acquitted in trial does not necessarily presume that the adjudication cannot be sustained.
Finally, the juvenile court's order can be sustained based on the children's exposure to drugs and drug paraphernalia in the home apart from the sexual abuse allegations. This finding alone is sufficient to support the juvenile court's ruling.
Accordingly, we affirm the juvenile court's ruling denying T.S.'s motion to set aside judgment based on the Petition on Appeal.
Judith M. Billings, Presiding Judge, Norman H. Jackson, Judge and William A. Thorne Jr., Judge.