M.B. v. State of Utah, 2013 UT App
7, Utah Court of Appeals, January 10, 2013
M.B. moved for a stay of the trial until her competency could be
determined. The trial court denied the
motion and terminated Mother’s parental rights.
Mother now appeals.
The Court of Appeals affirmed
and found that Mother did not have a right to a competency hearing.
Further, putting her competency at issue actually could hurt her case because
incompetence is a ground for termination of parental rights. See U.C.A. §§ 78A-6-507(c) and
78A-6-503(12). Further, based on the
findings made by the trial court Mother was not incompetent. There may not had been a hearing on that
issue, but the trial court made several findings as to competency based on the
psychological evaluation submitted into evidence and Mother’s own testimony.
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