robertlathamesq.org

Author: Robert Latham

  • Nexus and Gender

    The Fourth DCA has issued another gender-based nexus opinion in A.J. v. DCF. From the face of the opinion, the home consisted of three girls and two boys. Two of the girls were directly sexually abused. The Fourth DCA upheld the TPR of all the girls (including the third one who wasn’t directly abused) but…

  • G.H. is PCA’d, No Bread Crumbs

    As predicted, the Third DCA pca’d G.H., finding nothing worth commenting on in the argument that child hearsay hearings should happen prior to a trial or that failing to rule on them prior to the defense’s case is fundamental error. The audio-muddled OA is here.

  • OA on Acosta v. DCF – Residency and RTI

    Congratulations to CYLC Alumna Seida Wood on her first OA. She did a phenomenal job! Also congrats to CYLC Alumnus Brian Stewart for writing an outstanding brief and for going above and beyond by coming back to help with the moot and preparation for OA; and to prior CYLC intern Kristina Mills for laying a…

  • OA Teaser: Acostas v. DCF – RTI Residency Requirements

    As a teaser of things to come, the Children and Youth Law Clinic has OA in the First DCA next week on Michael Acosta v. DCF and Joseph Acosta v. DCF. The issue is the RTI residency requirements for two brothers who moved out of state. Stay tuned.

  • OA on Child Hearsay – G.H. v. DCF

      [Note: the audio sync issues happened during the recording. Sorry about that.] Court: Florida Third District Court of Appeal Judges: Cortinas, Rothenberg, Fernandez Attorneys: Kevin Colbert for the Father; Karla Perkins for DCF; Hillary Kambour for GAL Program Issues: whether it is fundamental error for a court to not rule on a child hearsay motion…

  • Sufficiency of the Evidence and Appearing by Phone

    (1) The Fourth DCA stands by its rule that sufficiency of the evidence arguments must be preserved at the trial level. E.G. v. DCF, — So.3d —-, 2012 WL 3965121 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012). (2) The telephone appearance rule is as strong as ever. N.L. v. DCF, — So.3d —-, 2012 WL 3965124 (Fla. 4th…

  • This week in appellate law

    The First DCA limits FDLE’s disclosure of juveniles’ records. G.G. v. FDLE, — So.3d —-, 2012 WL 3870608 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012). Florida still uses the Frye test, and still kind of hates it. Brewington v. State, — So.3d —-, 2012 WL 3822109 (Fla. 2nd DCA 2012).    

  • Oral Arg Preview: Child Hearsay Showdown

    The Third DCA has placed G.H. v. DCF on calendar for oral argument for September 18th at 10:30am. While the details aren’t known at this time, rumor is that the case deals with the child hearsay rule, including whether the hearing must be held pre-trial and what constitutes sufficient corroborative evidence. These are important matters.…

  • #dcfsummit underway today

    Today is the first day of the Florida Dependency Summit, which last year was the “Pathway to Independence Summit,” and this year is the “Child Protection Summit.”  Keep at that name guys, I’m sure something will stick eventually. I can’t be there this year, which brings me much sadness. Hopefully people will Tweet the event…

  • Retroactivity and 39.806(1)(l)

    In re A.R. — So.3d —-, 2012 WL 3709010 Fla.App. 2 Dist.,2012. August 29, 2012 (Approx. 2 pages) We review de novo the trial court’s interpretation of section 39.806(1)( l ), and we conclude that the trial court erred as a matter of law in determining that it was precluded from considering out-of-home placements that…