V.B. v. Indiana Department of Child Services
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The Supreme Court affirmed the finding of the trial court that five children were children in need of services (CHINS), holding that the doctrine of res judicata applies to bar a repeated filing of a CHINS petition based on evidence that could have been produced in the first filing but that the issue was not properly raised in the trial court in this case.
The Department of Child Services (DCS) filed a petition alleging that the children in this case were CHINS but failed to present sufficient evidence of the parents' alleged substance abuse. The day after the trial court dismissed the case without prejudice DCS filed a second petition alleging the children were CHINS without any new or substantially different evidence. After the court considered evidence and testimony that could have been presented during the first proceeding, the court adjudicated the children CHINS. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the doctrine of res judicata was not properly raised in the trial court and that there was no fundamental error in the proceedings below.
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