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APPEAL
FROM THE CRAWFORD COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 17JV-17-115],
HONORABLE MICHAEL MEDLOCK, JUDGE
Tabitha McNulty, Arkansas Public Defender Commission, for
appellant.
Ellen
K. Howard, Jonesboro, Office of Chief Counsel, for appellee.
Chrestman
Group, PLLC, by: Keith L. Chrestman, attorney ad litem for
minor children.
OPINION
N. MARK
KLAPPENBACH, Judge
Appellant Charles Joslin appeals the October 2018 order of
the Crawford County Circuit Court that terminated his
parental rights to his three daughters, KJ (born in 2002), AJ
(born in 2004), and EJ (born in 2006).[1] Joslin does not
challenge the circuit courts finding that the Department of
Human Services (DHS) proved multiple statutory grounds on
which to terminate his parental rights. On appeal, Joslin
challenges (1) the circuit courts finding that termination
of his parental rights was in the childrens best interest
and (2) the circuit courts evidentiary ruling that Joslin
would not be permitted to call EJ as a witness during the
termination-of-parental-rights hearing. We affirm.
Pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated section 9-27-341(b)(3)
(Supp. 2017), an order forever terminating parental rights
shall be based on a finding by clear and convincing evidence
that (1) there are one or more statutory grounds and (2) it
is in the best interest of the juvenile, including
consideration of the likelihood that the juvenile will be
adopted and the potential harm to the health and safety of
the child if returned to the custody of the parent. We review
termination-of-parental-rights orders de novo but will not
reverse the circuit courts findings of fact unless they are
clearly erroneous.
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Harjo v. Ark. Dept of Human Servs., 2018 Ark.App.
268, 548 S.W.3d 865. A finding is clearly erroneous when,
although there is evidence to support it, the appellate court
is left on the entire evidence with the firm conviction that
a mistake has been committed. Id. We must defer to
the superior position of the circuit court to weigh the
credibility of the witnesses. Ewasiuk v. Ark. Dept of
Human Servs., 2018 Ark.App. 59, 540 S.W.3d 318. On
appellate review, this court gives a high degree of deference
to the circuit court, which is in a far superior position to
observe the parties before it. Id. Termination of
parental rights is an extreme remedy and in derogation of the
natural rights of parents, but parental rights will not be
enforced to the detriment or destruction of the health and
well-being of the child. Id.
In this
case, the circuit court found that there were multiple
statutory grounds on which to terminate Joslins parental
rights, which Joslin does not challenge on
appeal.[2] The circuit court also found that it
was in these childrens best interest to terminate parental
rights. Under the umbrella of the childrens best interest,
the circuit court specifically considered that the girls were
adoptable and found that there was potential harm to the
girls if their father was given custody. Joslin concedes that
the circuit court technically complied with the mandate to
consider these two best-interest factors. Joslin argues,
however, that the overall evidence does not support that it
is in the best interest of these girls to terminate their
fathers rights and extinguish the familial relationships.
This, he argues, goes against the statutory purpose in the
Juvenile Code to "preserve and strengthen the juveniles
family ties when it is in the best interest of the
juvenile" to do so. Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-302(2)(A)
(Repl. 2015). We are not left with a distinct and firm
impression that the circuit court made a mistake in its
findings on the childrens best interest.
KJ, AJ,
and EJ went into DHS custody after Joslins arrest in May
2017 for domestic battery, domestic assault, public
intoxication, and interfering with emergency communications.
He was arrested because he hit all the girls, and he dragged
KJ on the floor by the hoodie she was wearing, which choked
KJ.[3] Joslin had custody of AJ and EJ, so
DHS took emergency custody of those two children. Joslins
ex-wife had custody of KJ, but DHS took emergency custody of
KJ in June 2017 because the mother was using drugs, she left
KJ with improper supervision, and the home was in squalor. In
July 2017, the paternal grandmother petitioned to intervene,
asserting she had been CJs primary caretaker for most of
CJs life, that her parents had a very limited relationship
with CJ, and that CJ should stay in the only home she had
ever known.[4]
KJ was
placed in the foster care of Glen Jorgensen and his wife, EJ
was placed with her maternal aunt Janice Stanier, and AJ was
placed sometimes with the Jorgensens and sometimes in a
sub-acute therapeutic facility. Over the next year, Joslin
was ...