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In re Interest of J.D.

Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
Mar 17, 2021
No. 07-20-00339-CV (Tex. App. Mar. 17, 2021)

Opinion

No. 07-20-00339-CV

03-17-2021

IN THE INTEREST OF J.D. AND J.D., CHILDREN


On Appeal from the 251st District Court Randall County, Texas
Trial Court No. 68,638-C, Honorable Jack M. Graham, Associate Judge Presiding

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before QUINN, C.J., and PIRTLE and PARKER, JJ.

Appellant, O.D., appeals from the trial court's order terminating his parental rights to his children, J.D. and J.D., in a suit brought by the Department of Family and Protective Services.

To protect the privacy of the parties involved, we refer to them by their initials. See TEX. FAM. CODE ANN. § 109.002(d) (West Supp. 2020); TEX. R. APP. P. 9.8(b). The mother's parental rights were also terminated in this proceeding. However, she is not a party to this appeal.

On appeal, O.D. contends that the trial court reversibly erred by failing to appoint counsel to represent him at the termination hearing. The Department concedes that reversible error exists on this record in that O.D. was incarcerated for the entirety of the case, his location was known, he filed a letter in opposition to termination a month before the trial, and no inquiry was made to determine his indigency. In its briefing, the Department cites to this Court's opinion in In re J.M., 361 S.W.3d 734, 738-39 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Feb. 1, 2012, no pet.), and, based on our holding in that case, concedes the trial court reversibly erred.

O.D., proceeding pro se, appealed the trial court's order of termination. Because O.D. filed a statement of inability to afford costs with this Court, we abated the appeal and remanded the cause to the trial court to determine whether O.D. is indigent and entitled to appointed appellate counsel. On remand, the trial court found O.D. indigent and entitled to appointed appellate counsel. --------

After reviewing the record, we agree the circumstances presented are sufficiently similar to those in In re J.M. to require reversal here as well. Accordingly, we reverse the order terminating O.D.'s parental rights and remand the case. Our mandate shall issue forthwith. See TEX. R. APP. 18.6.

Per Curiam


Summaries of

In re Interest of J.D.

Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
Mar 17, 2021
No. 07-20-00339-CV (Tex. App. Mar. 17, 2021)
Case details for

In re Interest of J.D.

Case Details

Full title:IN THE INTEREST OF J.D. AND J.D., CHILDREN

Court:Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

Date published: Mar 17, 2021

Citations

No. 07-20-00339-CV (Tex. App. Mar. 17, 2021)