2018 Ohio 2349
Ohio Ct. App.2018Background
- Mother (D.W.) has three children: A.E. (b. 2010), A.H. (b. 2012), and R.H. (b. 2013). LCCS intervened after bruising on A.E. and findings Mother used excessive physical discipline.
- Complaints filed January 29, 2016: A.E. adjudicated abused; all three adjudicated neglected/dependent; children placed in temporary custody of relatives and under LCCS supervision.
- Case plan required Mother to complete parenting classes and obtain psychological/psychiatric assessments; Mother attended parenting classes and some counseling but did not obtain the required assessments or consistently implement learned parenting techniques.
- At dispositional hearing, LCCS moved for legal custody to relatives: A.E. to paternal grandmother (Grandmother); A.H. and R.H. to Father H.; magistrate recommended legal custody to those relatives and unsupervised visitation for Mother.
- Trial court adopted magistrate’s custody recommendations but issued internally inconsistent parenting-time provisions for A.E., ordering both supervised weekly visits and at least three hours of unsupervised visits.
- Mother appealed pro se; later counsel raised three assignments: ineffective assistance of trial counsel, error in visitation order for A.E., and error in child support/health-insurance order.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ineffective assistance of counsel (failure to object to hearsay, request new GAL, file timely objections) | Counsel’s failures prejudiced Mother and deprived her of meaningful review | Rules of evidence do not strictly apply at dispositional hearings; Mother cannot show prejudice because evidence overwhelmingly supported relatives’ legal custody | Overruled: Mother failed to show deficient performance caused prejudice under Strickland |
| Visitation order inconsistency for A.E. (both supervised and unsupervised ordered) | Trial court erred by issuing internally inconsistent parenting-time provisions | Trial court had adopted magistrate but then altered the schedule for A.E., producing inconsistency | Sustained: Remanded for clarification of Mother’s visitation with A.E. |
| Child support/health-insurance calculation under R.C. 3119.32 | Trial court failed to follow statutory procedure for calculating support | Trial court did not require Mother to pay support; medical expense order made parents jointly/severally responsible and Mother has not shown prejudice or that she is aggrieved | Overruled: Mother not shown to be aggrieved or prejudiced by support/insurance order |
Key Cases Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes ineffective-assistance-of-counsel deficiency and prejudice standards)