Assignment 9

To:ParalegalFrom:Supervising AttorneyRe:Loya v. Department of Child Safety;termination of parental rights

Our client, Ollie Loya, has sought our firm's representation in a termination of parental rights matter. Mr. Loya was released last year from prison after serving a two-year sentence for battery. He was out of custody for six months before being convicted of aggravated battery (with a deadly weapon). His release date would be in six years.

Mr. Loya's son was 18 months old when Mr. Loya was first incarcerated. He was 3- years old at the time of Mr. Loya's most recent release. The son would be ten years old when Mr. Loya is released from the most recent conviction.

The mother of the child had custody of Mr. Loya's son while Mr. Loya was first incarcerated. The Department of Child Safety (DCS) recently took the child from the mother because of abuse and neglect charges. DCS initiated termination proceedings against the mother and Mr. Loya, and the mother voluntarily surrendered her rights.

Mr. Loya was present in the home with the child prior to the first period of incarceration. However, there are multiple police reports indicating violence between Mr. Loya and his son's mother, and Mr. Loya has candidly admitted there was violence in front of the child in that period.

DCS has presented us with documentation that Mr. Loya has not provided financial support for his son since his first incarceration. Mr. Loya has provided us with documentation of sending letters and cards to the child while he was incarcerated. DCS has a paternal family relative willing and approved to adopt the child.

Please analyze whether there are sufficient facts to lead a court to find clear and convincing evidence there is a basis to terminate Mr. Loya's parental rights to his son.

To complete Part 1, draft and submit the Header, Statement of Assignment, Issue, Brief Answer, and Facts.

Rule of Law:Arizona statutes section 8-533(B) allows a superior court to terminate parental rights upon clear and convincing evidence of at least one of several grounds listed in the statute. Section 8-533(B)(4) allows termination on the basis "that the parent is deprived of civil liberties due to the conviction of a felony if the felony of which the parent was convicted is of such a nature as to prove the unfitness of that parent to have future custody and control of the child including . . . the sentence of that parent is of such a length that the child will be deprived of a normal home for a period of years."

Case Law: A court opinion discussing length incarceration as the basis for termination isErik T. v. Department of Child Safety,S.T., 1-CA-JV-2015-0274 (filed Jan. 28, 2016) (seeAppendix A of the textbook).