In re Jane DOE 10.
No. 02-0376.
Supreme Court of Texas.
April 29, 2002.
19 S.W.3d 338
Justice RODRIGUEZ delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Chief Justice PHILLIPS, Justice ENOCH, Justice OWEN, Justice BAKER, Justice HANKINSON, Justice O‘NEILL and Justice JEFFERSON joined.
Jane Doe is a pregnant, unemancipated1 minor who wishes to have an abortion. Under the
Doe was represented by an attorney, and the trial court also appointed a guardian ad litem. See
The trial court denied Doe‘s application. It indicated its decision on a form by placing the word “No” next to “The applicant is mature and sufficiently well informed to make the decision to have an abortion performed without notification to either of her parents, her managing conservator or guardian” and next to “Notifying either of the applicant‘s parents, managing conservator or guardian would not be in her best interest.” The court left blank the space next to “Notifying either of the applicant‘s parents, managing conservator or guardian may lead to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of the applicant.” The trial court then placed a check mark next to “The application is denied.” Although the form provides lined space under each ground for the court to write findings of fact supporting its decision, the trial court wrote nothing in that space.2 The trial court thus made no ruling and no findings of fact or conclusions of law on the third basis for a judicial bypass—whether notification may lead to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of the minor. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court‘s judgment, with one justice dissenting.
Doe filed a confidential appeal to this Court, arguing that the trial court‘s ruling must be reversed and the application deemed granted because of the trial court‘s failure to comply with Chapter 33‘s requirement that the court “shall rule on an application submitted under [section 33.003] and shall issue written findings of fact and conclusions of law not later than 5 p.m. on the second business day after the date the application is filed with the court.”
I.
The Legislature requires that the trial court “shall issue written findings of fact and conclusions of law.”
As noted, the Legislature has mandated that the trial court must both rule on an application and issue written findings of fact and conclusions of law not later than 5 p.m. on the second business day
II.
At trial, Doe presented evidence concerning both possible physical and emotional abuse, but not sexual abuse. Doe‘s parents are divorced, and she lives with her mother. She testified that her father has a drinking problem and that he has hit her and her siblings. Specifically, she testified that he once beat her sister for wetting the bed, leaving bleeding bruises on her thighs, that he grabbed her sister by the throat and threw her into the back of the closet, and that he hit her other sister with his fist across her face, leaving blood on the wall. She also stated that her father has “violent tendencies” and “little things make him snap.”
With regard to her mother, Doe testified that she had a conversation with her mother about the consequences of her becoming pregnant. She testified that the “conversation basically went, if I were to—if I was ever pregnant, I might as well not come home. I‘d have no place to stay. I‘d have no freedom, no liberties. My car would be taken away. My cell phone would be taken away. I wouldn‘t have all the luxuries that I do now.” Later, when Doe was asked whether she felt certain that her mother would ask her to leave the house if she found out Doe was pregnant, Doe answered, “Yes. She probably wouldn‘t ask me to leave, she‘d, like, tell me to leave, I‘m pretty sure.” In addition, Doe testified that she would have no financial support at that time. Doe testified that she was not employed and was completely financially dependent on her parents. We view this evidence in a light that tends to support the finding of possible abuse and disregard all evidence and inferences to the contrary. See Bradford v. Vento, 48 S.W.3d 749, 754 (Tex. 2001).
Chapter 33 does not define “emotional abuse” or “physical abuse” and we have not defined these terms in our earlier opinions.4 We need not define these terms today because we conclude that, under any definition of abuse, Doe has presented some evidence that notification may lead to her physical or emotional abuse. Some evidence exists if there is more than a scintilla of evidence that notification may lead to Doe‘s abuse. See City of Fort Worth v. Zimlich, 29 S.W.3d 62, 69 (Tex. 2000). Doe‘s testimony that her father had abused her and her sisters and that “little things set him off” is more than a scintilla of evidence that notifying her father may lead to Doe‘s physical abuse by him. Further, Doe testified that notifying her mother would cause her mother to banish her from her home. In In re Jane Doe 4, 19 S.W.3d 322 (Tex. 2000), we held in the context of considering the minor‘s best interests prong that, as a matter of law, a minor‘s well-being would be “adversely affected if her parents withdrew support and severed all contact with her.” Id. at 325. Consequently, there is at least some evidence that notifying her mother may lead to emotional abuse.
There was no evidence to controvert Doe‘s testimony on these issues, and the trial court made no findings of fact regarding Doe‘s credibility. Given the low evidentiary standard of “some evidence,” we can only conclude that there is at least some evidence that, regardless of which parent she notifies, notification may lead to Doe‘s abuse, and thus the trial court‘s failure to issue findings of fact and conclusions of law requires us to deem the omitted element in Doe‘s favor. Therefore, under the Legislature‘s mandate in section 33.003(i), the application must be deemed to be granted on the ground of possible abuse. Accordingly, we reverse the court of appeals’ judgment and render judgment granting Doe‘s application for a judicial bypass.
III.
The trial court‘s failure to issue findings of fact or conclusions of law with regard to one of the bases asserted for a judicial bypass requires that the omitted basis be deemed to have been found in the minor‘s favor if there is some evidence to support the finding. This failure to issue fact findings does not comport with the Legislature‘s directive or with this Court‘s admonishments in In re Jane Doe 1 and In re Jane Doe 2. Fact findings are necessary to demonstrate the trial court‘s careful consideration of each ground asserted for bypass, and particularized findings are essential to meaningful appellate review, at least when credibility or maturity concerns are involved. As we have said, “[T]he mere fact that the trial court has checked a box on a form does not demonstrate that it has given the careful consideration nec-
IV.
We reverse the court of appeals’ judgment and render judgment granting Doe‘s application for a judicial bypass.
Justice HECHT filed an opinion concurring in the judgment.
Justice HECHT, concurring in the judgment.
Nothing in any statute or rule governing parental notification proceedings prescribes that a minor‘s application to have an abortion without notice to either of her parents must be granted if the trial court issues a timely ruling but fails to make a finding on a ground asserted by the minor and supported by some evidence. The only relevant statutory provision states: “If the court fails to rule on the application and issue written findings of fact and conclusions of law within the [specified] period ..., the application is deemed to be granted....” 1 Plainly, an application is deemed granted by this provision only when the trial court fails both to rule and to make findings within the specified time. No statute prescribes the same result if the trial court‘s only failure is to make a timely finding. In all other civil proceedings, of course, findings can be made late, and omitted findings are presumed in favor of a trial court‘s rulings, not against them.2 One might expect similar procedures in parental notification proceedings. But from the beginning this Court has steadfastly refused to follow rules applicable to civil cases generally or to take chapter 33 of the
I did not agree with this judicial rewriting of the statute,4 but it is now quite clearly the law, and “in the area of statutory construction,” as both this Court and the United States Supreme Court have recognized, “the doctrine of stare decisis has its greatest force.” 5 This rule is not inflexible, of course; indeed, four of the JUSTICES who comprise today‘s majority refused to apply it only a few weeks ago in Utts v. Short.6 But I agree that stare decisis is important here, and therefore I
There is some evidence that the minor‘s father may physically abuse her if she were to discuss the matter with him. According to her, he has been physically abusive to her siblings over far less serious matters. There is no evidence that her mother would be physically abusive. As to whether her mother might be emotionally abusive, the minor‘s scant testimony on the subject is somewhat equivocal. In its entirety, that testimony is as follows:
Q And have you ever had a conversation with either of your parents regarding what would happen or what the consequences of your becoming pregnant would be?
A My father, no, because my father and I aren‘t very close. My mother, yes. We have had a conversation about what would happen if I were to—if I was ever pregnant, I might as well not come home. I‘d have no place to stay. I‘d have no freedom, no liberties. My car would be taken away. My cell phone would be taken away. I wouldn‘t have all the luxuries that I do now.
* * *
Q And based upon your earlier testimony, if you were to approach your mother to discuss your pregnancy and your options, do you feel certain that she would ask you to leave the house?
A Yes. She probably wouldn‘t ask me to leave. She‘d, like, tell me to leave, I‘m pretty sure.
The minor‘s two answers are hard to square. On the one hand, she fears that her mother might keep her at home without a car, cell phone, or other “luxuries“, and on the other she is concerned that her mother might expel her from home altogether. In any other kind of case I doubt a majority of the Court would say that evidence this weak can be credited towards a party‘s burden of proof. But again, this Court does not treat parental notification proceedings as other cases. I believe a fair reading of our precedents is that the testimony I have quoted, as ambiguous as it is, is enough for the minor‘s application to be granted in the absence of a finding by the trial court to the contrary. Accordingly, I agree with the Court‘s conclusion that because the trial court failed to discharge the responsibility that this Court—not the Legislature—has placed on it, the trial court‘s decision must be reversed.
Before ruling in this case, the trial court took a recess, in the judge‘s words, “to review some of the Supreme Court cases on this.” I find it hard to understand how the trial court could have done much of a review and overlooked this Court‘s insistence on detailed findings on issues raised by the minor, especially issues related to her credibility which the trial court alone is in a position to judge. I can well understand a trial court‘s thinking that a statute—even a statute related to abortion—should mean what it says, but even a cur-
construing chapter 33 of the
It should be noted, however, that a trial court is not bound to grant a minor‘s application based solely on her fear that her parents would force her out of the home if they knew she was pregnant. If that were evidence enough, then virtually every application would be granted. In ten cases, we have yet to see one in which the minor did not say that she feared her parents would throw her out. Not all such fears are justified. In one case we know of, after remand from this Court, the minor decided to tell her mother after all, and no abuse resulted.9 We must assume that most parents will do their best to support their children at least as much as the law requires.10
For these reasons I concur in the Court‘s judgment.