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Pursuant to Ind.Appellate Rule 65(D), this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing the defense of res judicata, collateral estoppel, or the law of the case.

APPELLANT PRO SE:
STEVEN L. ROBBINS

Michigan City, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
IN RE THE PATERNITY OF E.S.W., STEVEN L. ROBBINS, father, ) ) ) Appellant-Petitioner, ) ) vs. ) ) REBECCA J. SHADWICK, f/k/a REBECCA J. ) WHITED, ) ) Appellee-Respondent. ) )

No. 79A02-0609-JV-842

APPEAL FROM THE TIPPECANOE COURT The Honorable Donald L. Daniel, Judge Cause No. 79D03-9909-JP-168

July 3, 2007 MEMORANDUM DECISION - NOT FOR PUBLICATION

FRIEDLANDER, Judge

Steven L. Robbins appeals the termination of his parental rights with respect to his minor child, E.S.W. Robbins presents the following restated issue for review: Did the trial court err in concluding Robbins's consent was not required in order to grant an adoption petition involving E.S.W.? We affirm. We note that our recitation of facts is drawn primarily from the Chronological Case Summary (CCS) for the case filed in Tippecanoe Superior Court No. 3 under cause number 79D03-9909-JP-168 (the paternity case), and from such other sources in the appellate materials (e.g., correspondence, court rulings, etc.) from which facts may be gleaned. We are forced to do so because Robbins's pro se brief not only lacks a "fact" section, but also suffers the same shortcomings that many pro se briefs do, e.g., lack of clarity, failure to provide relevant facts, lack of cogent legal argument, etc. These shortcomings are compounded in this case because the appellee chose not to file a brief. Thus, we stress at the outset that our understanding of what occurred before this appeal was initiated may be imperfect, as Robbins has not provided us with a clear record in that regard. With that caveat in mind, we proceed to the merits of Robbins's appeal. The facts favorable to the judgment are that on July 14, 1998, E.S.W. was born to Robbins and Rebecca Whited, who were not married. Rebecca telephoned Robbins and informed him of the birth and asked him to file a paternity affidavit. He indicated he would do so, but never did. On September 29, 1999, the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor's

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Office filed a verified petition to establish paternity with respect to E.S.W., and a summons was issued directing Robbins to appear. Although Rebecca had spoken with Robbins by phone, she did not know where he was staying and the sheriff was unable to locate Robbins, as the house at his last known address was empty when service was attempted. The CCS for this case, i.e., the paternity case, reflects that the matter was postponed several times, presumably while the Prosecutor's Office attempted to locate Robbins in order to serve him with notice of the paternity proceeding. According to the CCS, the last continuance in the paternity case was granted on April 28, 2000, after which it appears the Prosecutor's Office took no further action in the matter. There was, however, sporadic contact between Robbins and Rebecca, as well as Robbins and E.S.W., for the next year or so. Robbins stayed at Rebecca's house for two or three days in February 1999. He left to go to Chicago on February 24. Rebecca and E.S.W. attended Robbins's parents' anniversary celebration in the spring of 2000, but Robbins was not there. In fact, it appears from the record that Rebecca did not see or hear from Robbins again until December 2001. At that time, Rebecca permitted Robbins to take E.S.W. for a day-long visit. Thereafter, Rebecca spoke with Robbins on the telephone in the early spring of 2002, and did not see or hear from him again until the adoption case was filed in 2004. For reasons not clear from the record, Robbins was incarcerated beginning in June 2002 and he remained incarcerated at the time of the adoption hearing on March 12, 2004. It is not clear whether Robbins is currently incarcerated, but we note he indicated at the 3

March 12 adoption hearing that he was at that time still in jail and awaiting sentencing for a murder conviction. At some point after April 2000, but before March 2004, Rebecca married William Shadwick. On March 12, 2004, in the Tippecanoe Circuit Court under cause number 79C01-0403-AD-008, Shadwick filed a petition to adopt E.S.W. Notice of the adoption proceeding was served upon Robbins on March 24, 2004. On April 20, 2004, Robbins filed in the Tippecanoe Circuit Court two petitions to establish paternity of E.S.W, one of them captioned "Voluntary Petition to Establish Paternity of Child and Provide for its Support." Both petitions bore the cause number of the adoption case. On September 21, 2004, a hearing was conducted in the adoption proceeding to determine whether Robbins's consent was required. Following that hearing, the court issued the following order, dated September 21, 2004: Hearing is conducted on the issue of the necessity of the alleged father's consent to the petition for adoption. The Court finds that Steven L. Robbins, the alleged father, has failed, without justifiable cause, to communicate significantly with the minor child for more than six months[ 1 ] prior to the filing of the petition. That Steven L. Robbins has not established his paternity of the minor child by court proceeding or by executing a paternity affidavit. Accordingly, the Court finds that the consent of Steven L. Robbins to the adoption of the minor child is not required. Steven L. Robbins has filed herein, on April 20th, 2004, two petitions to establish paternity of the

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It appears the trial court was commingling two separate subsections of I.C.

Download Paternity of E.S.W., Steven L. Robbins v. Rebecca J. Shadwick f/n/a Rebecca J. W

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