lvcourtsblog.com

Judge Gerald Hardcastle issued a decision this afternoon (June 22) in the matter of the parental rights of Tamara Bergeron. The State of Nevada sought to terminate Bergeron’s parental rights and severe her from her daughter Brittney. Judge Hardcastle denied the state’s request to terminate parental rights.

In an excerpt from the ruling, Hardcastle states:

The reunification process has been ended by TAMARA’s incarceration. BRITTNEY will not be physically reunified with her mother during her minority. To the degree that BRITTNEY is concerned about being returned to her mother’s care and living the life she knew prior to January 2003, that concern is satisfied. BRITTNEY will not be physically reunified with her mother.

But is it in BRITTNEY’s best interests to terminate TAMARA’s parental rights? The Department case manager says that it is not. This Court believes that it is not. BRITTNEY’s best interests are served by allowing TAMARA and BRITTNEY to continue to have a parent-child relationship, even if that relationship is other than traditional.

BRITTNEY’s love for her mother is so substantial that loss of that relationship would be detrimental to BRITTNEY. BRITTNEY’s desires for stability and safety have been assured. Her desire for a continuing relationship with her mother can be assured by denial of this Petition. It is simply not in her best interest to remove her mother from her life.

The hope is that free of the influence of the notoriety of this case, BRITTNEY and TAMARA will have a future relationship mutually agreeable to both. BRITTNEY also has the great benefit of having a truly unique foster family. Both TAMARA and the foster family love BRITTNEY. Both can be important in her life. There is no reason to choose one over the other. There is certainly no reason to exclude one over the other.

Since the mother’s rights are not terminated, there is no interest in terminating the father’s parental rights at this point.

Accordingly, the Petition is DENIED. This Decision shall constitute Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law as well as the final Judgment in this matter.

This decision comes as a result of a trial held in Dept. D of the Family Court before Judge Gerald Hardcastle which concluded on June 16, 2006.

This afternoon (April 14), Judge Gerald W. Hardcastle referred to a Nevada Supreme Court opinion as the basis for deciding to return a child to the custody of her grandmother. The child had been placed by Judge Hardcastle in the custody of foster parents; however, the Nevada Supreme Court returned the case to Judge Hardcastle in March 2006 for review.

The case, the subject of 122 Nev.Adv.Op.No.27, determined a higher standard must be followed in cases involving familial rights and concluded the District Court “failed to give Maria (the grandmother) the benefit of the familial preference for placement.” The Supreme Court also determined Judge Hardcastle had erred in giving “improper weight to the foster parents’ wishes when determining N.S.’s (the child’s) best interest.”

During today’s hearing, Judge Hardcastle ordered the State to recognize the grandmother as the child’s legal guardian. In making his decision, he concluded the State could not show a detrimental outcome would occur - taking precedence over the Supreme Court’s familial standard - if the child was removed from the custody of the foster parents and returned to the custody of the grandmother.

This morning Judge Douglas W. Herndon ruled (05-A-510196-P) on a motion filed by Clark County’s Department of Family Services seeking Declaratory Relief in regards to what can be disclosed to the public and the media about child abuse fatalities. The County sought court guidance in regards to how much information to release to the public and what types of information should be released in accordance with NRS 432B.290 and the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).

Judge Herndon ruled that the following information can be disclosed to the public under Nevada Law and in accordance with CAPTA:

The first and last initials of the name of the child;
The child’s date of birth;
The child’s date of death;
Cause of death;
Child Protective Services/Child Welfare agency response to investigations, summary of services provided, referrals for services made and the results of services, other pertinent information regarding services provided for referrals made, and;
Child Protective Services/Child Welfare agency reasons for closing case, if applicable.

Herndon also ruled that provisions for keeping certain records confidential, as outlined for instance in NRS 432B.407(4), prevent the disclosure of certain documents, and as such, these documents remain confidential and cannot be made public.

Judge Joe M. Bonaventure chose to set aside a decision on bail for defendants Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan until after a scheduled March 29 preliminary hearing. During the bail hearing, which lasted just under two hours, the prosecution proffered that the defendants should not be granted bail because a risk exists that the defendants may fail to willfully appear for future hearings and “proof is evident” and “the presumption great” that Titus and Ryan committed First Degree Murder in the December 13, 2005 death of Melissa James.

In response, the defense argued the state had not met its burden to show why reasonable bail should be denied, citing the defendants are not a danger to the community nor a flight risk.

Judge Bonaventure ruled that he did not have enough evidence to make a decision on the bail issue. He indicated he would make his decision after he hears the evidence offered by the State’s witnesses at the preliminary hearing.

Bonaventure also scheduled a March 20 hearing to consider Defendants Titus and Ryan’s motion to suppress recorded statements made on December 24, 2005 in Massachusetts.

Documents:

• Defendant Craig Titus’ Motion For A Reasonable Bail Setting
• State’s Motion To Hold Defendants Craig Titus and Kelly Ryan Without Bail & State’s Opposition To Defendant Craig Titus’ Motion For A Reasonable Bail Setting

News Links:

• Associated Press
• KLAS
• KVBC

Tags Las Vegas, Las Vegas Courts, Nevada Courts, Craig Titus