Opinion
No. 05-14-01472-CV
02-20-2015
IN THE INTEREST OF H.F. AND C.F., CHILDREN
On Appeal from the 304th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. JD13-01148-W
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before Justices Francis, Evans, and Stoddart
Opinion by Justice Francis
Mother and Father appeal the trial court's order terminating their parental rights to their two children. Mother and Father are separately represented on appeal by court-appointed counsel, each of whom has filed an Anders brief on their client's behalf concluding that, after thorough review of the record, Mother's and Father's appeals are frivolous and without merit. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967); In re D.D., 279 S.W.3d 849, 850 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2009, pet. denied).
Each represented by separate appointed counsel and attorneys ad litem, Mother and Father entered into a mediated settlement agreement. They each agreed to the termination of their parental rights to both children. The ground for the termination was that they failed to comply with the provisions of a court order that specifically established the actions necessary for the parents to obtain the return of the children who had been in the temporary managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services for not less than nine months as a result of the children's removal from the parents under Chapter 262 for the abuse or neglect of the children. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 161.001(1)(O) (West 2014). At the hearing to prove-up the MSA, LaJuan Simon, of the Dallas County Children's Protective Services Unit of the Department of Family and Protective Services, testified that Mother and Father participated in the August 22, 2014 mediation that resulted in the agreement. The MSA was signed by all parties and contained the following language:
THIS AGREEMENT IS NOT SUBJECT TO REVOCATION. THIS AGREEMENT IS SIGNED BY EACH PARTY TO THE AGREEMENT AND EACH PARTY'S ATTORNEY WHO IS PRESENT AT THE TIME THE AGREEMENT IS SIGNED. A PARTY IS ENTITLED TO JUDGMENT ON THIS MEDIATED SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT NOTWITHSTANDING RULE 11, TEXAS RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE, OR ANOTHER RULE OF LAW.See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 153.0071(d). No evidence was presented at the hearing that either Mother or Father was a victim of family violence or that the agreement was not in the children's best interest. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 153.0071(e-1). The children's attorney and guardian ad litem stated the children were happy and healthy in their foster home, their needs were being met, and the mediated settlement agreement was in their best interest.
In reviewing an Anders brief, our duty is to determine whether there are any arguable grounds for reversal and, if there are, to remand the case to the trial court for the appointment of new counsel. Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 827 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005); In re D.D., 279 S.W.3d at 850. The Anders briefs filed by Mother's and Father's appellate counsel present a professional evaluation of the record demonstrating why there are no arguable grounds for reversal. Each counsel conducted a thorough review of the record and analysis of the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence about the grounds for termination, whether their client voluntarily entered into the settlement agreement, and whether the trial court's order was in the best interest of the children. Counsel for Mother and Father each concluded that, after diligently reviewing the record and the law, the appeals are without merit and frivolous.
Counsel delivered copies of the briefs to their respective clients and notified them of their right to seek other counsel or file a pro se response. Neither Mother nor Father responded or filed a pro se response. We have reviewed the entire record and both briefs. See Bledsoe, 178 S.W.3d at 827. We agree the appeals are frivolous and without merit. We find nothing in the record that could arguably support the appeals by either parent.
We grant counsels' motions to withdraw. We affirm the trial court's final order terminating Mother's and Father's parental rights to the two children. 141472F.P05
/Molly Francis/
MOLLY FRANCIS
JUSTICE
JUDGMENT
On Appeal from the 304th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. JD13-01148-W.
Opinion delivered by Justice Francis, Justices Evans and Stoddart participating.
In accordance with this Court's opinion of this date, the judgment of the trial court is AFFIRMED.
It is ORDERED that each party bear its own costs of this appeal.