NOS. 24837, 24838, 24839, AND 24840
IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
OF THE STATE OF HAWAI`I
No. 24837
In the Interest of JOHN DOE,
Born on April 5, 1990
(FC-S No. 99-05822)
and
No. 24838
In the Interest of JOHN DOE,
Born on April 18, 1996
(FC-S No. 99-05824)
and
No. 24839
In the Interest of JANE DOE,
Born on January 21, 1989
(FC-S No. 99-05821)
and
No. 24840
In the Interest of JANE DOE,
Born on April 5, 1994
(FC-S No. 99-05823)
APPEAL FROM THE FAMILY COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT
SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Watanabe, Acting C.J., Lim, and Foley, JJ.)
Mother-Appellant (Mother) appeals from the following decisions and orders entered by the Family Court of the First Circuit (the family court), Judge Paul T. Murakami presiding, in four separate cases that were consolidated on appeal, pursuant to which Mother's parental rights in her four children were terminated: (1) the November 26, 2001 "Decision, Re: Trial of November 14 & 20, 2001[,]" granting the State of Hawai`i, Department of Human Services (DHS) permanent custody of Mother's four children (the November 26, 2001 Decision); (2) the December 11, 2001 "Orders Concerning Child Protective Act[,]" denying Mother's December 7, 2001 Motion for Reconsideration of the November 26, 2001 Decision; (3) the December 10, 2001 "Order Awarding [DHS] Permanent Custody" of all four children; and (4) the May 8, 2002 "Order Denying Mother's Motion for Reconsideration of Order Granting [DHS's] Motion for Permanent Custody Filed on November 26, 2001[.]"
The Hawai`i Supreme Court has stated that " the family court is given much leeway in its examination of the reports concerning a child's care, custody, and welfare, and its conclusions in this regard, if supported by the record and not clearly erroneous, must stand on appeal." In re Doe, 101 Hawai`i 220, 227, 65 P.3d 167, 174 (2003) (brackets and internal quotation marks omitted). Moreover, in appeals involving family court decisions to terminate parental rights,
the question on appeal is whether the record contains "substantial evidence" supporting the family court's determinations, and appellate review is thereby limited to assessing whether those determinations are supported by "credible evidence of sufficient quality and probative value." In this regard, the testimony of a single witness, if found by the trier of fact to have been credible, will suffice.In re Doe, 95 Hawai`i 183, 196, 20 P.3d 616, 629 (2001) (citations omitted).
Upon careful review of the extensive record, the briefs submitted by the parties, and the statutory and case law relevant to the issues on appeal and having duly considered the arguments and issues raised by the parties in light of the standards discussed above, we conclude that there is substantial evidence in the record to support the family court's decisions and orders. Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the decisions and orders challenged by Mother on appeal are affirmed.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai`i, August 14, 2003.
On the briefs:
Carl F. Debo for
mother-appellant.
David McCormick and
Mary Ann Magnier, Deputy
Attorneys General, State
of Hawai`i for Department
of Human Services.