Date: 11-13-2024

Case Style:

In the Interest of L.E. and L.E., Minor Children, J.E., Mother

Case Number:

Judge: Mark F. Schlenker

Court: District Court, Warren County, Iowa

Plaintiff's Attorney: Warren County, Iowa District Attorney's Office

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description:

Indianola, Iowa family law lawyer represented the mother in a parental rights termination case.

Lu.E. a ten-year-old male, and Li.E., a thirteen-year-old female, came to the attention of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the summer of 2022 because of substance use by their mother. The children were removed from the mother's custody in early June 2022 and placed in the legal custody of their father, where they have remained throughout the proceedings. The children's mother and father are divorced.

Both children were previously under the court's jurisdiction from June 12, 2018, through April 14, 2019. The first case was similarly initiated for substance use by the mother after she was arrested for operating while intoxicated and possession of cocaine. The mother revealed she was using marijuana and methamphetamine when she was arrested. The combined length of the cases has resulted in Lu.E. being under the court's jurisdiction for nearly one-third of his life; Li.E. has been under the same jurisdiction for nearly one-fourth of her life. At the time of the termination hearing, Lu.E. was entering sixth grade and Li.E. was entering eighth grade.

Both children were adjudicated to be a child in need of assistance for a second time in September 2022. After the children's removal, the mother eluded a warrant for her arrest following the filing of a probation violation. She absconded from probation from August 2023 to the time of her arrest for shoplifting in November. The mother was not in contact with her children or HHS during this period.[1]

While on the run, the mother was a victim of a theft, as a man staying with her at a hotel stole her phone and $3000. She engaged in a relationship with an individual on the sex offender registry who assaulted her. The mother was sentenced to a twenty-year prison term in January 2024. The State moved to terminate the mother's parental rights in April. Following a contested hearing, the district court terminated the mother's parental rights in July. The mother's first possible release date is January 2025, six months after the termination order was filed. The mother testified that while incarcerated she has not received substance-use or mental-health treatment. The mother has not seen the children in ten months but does exercise short phone calls from prison with the children.

In re L.E., 24-1263 (Iowa App. Nov 13, 2024)

Outcome: Affirmed

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: