Wednesday, February 03, 2021

Momox-Caselis v. Donohue (9th Cir. - Feb. 3, 2021)

It's only five sentences in the opening paragraph of this opinion, but it nonetheless consists of a densely-packed tale of depressing woe for everyone involved:

"Sergio and Maria Momox-Caselis are the natural parents of deceased infant M.M. The Department removed M.M. and her siblings from their home in 2013 based on long-term neglect by the parents. The County removed M.M. from her initial placement after receiving a report that the foster parents had abused another foster child, and it placed M.M. with new foster parents, Joaquin and Maira Juarez-Paez (collectively, the Juarez-Paez family). A few months after her new placement, M.M. died from an overdose of allergy medication administered by her foster father. Joaquin Juarez-Paez committed suicide shortly thereafter, and his suicide note stated that he had accidentally killed M.M."

My goodness.