Supreme Court of California

In a case in which a father's two young surviving children were adjudged juvenile court dependents, in part because of findings under Welf. & Inst. Code section 300(f), based on evidence that, in violation of law, the father transported his third child, an 18-month-old daughter, in an automobile without securing her in a child safety seat, and she was fatally injured when another vehicle collided with their car, the Court of Appeals decision is affirmed where: 1) the lethal neglect to which section 300(f) refers does not require criminal negligence, i.e., a degree of culpable misfeasance or malfeasance that would support the parent's or guardian's criminal conviction for causing a child's death; 2) the juvenile court may adjudicate dependency under section 300(f) without any additional evidence or finding that the circumstances surrounding the parent's or guardian's fatal negligence indicate a present risk of harm to surviving children in the parent's or guardian's custody; and 3) normal concepts of legal causation apply under section 300(f).

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/05/2012
• Published 07/05/2012

Judges

• BAXTER

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel