IN THE INTEREST OF L.K., Minor child, K.L.K., Mother, Appellant.
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 6-767 / 06-1303
Filed October 25, 2006
IN THE INTEREST OF L.K.,
Minor child,
K.L.K., Mother,
Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Thomas J.
Straka, Associate Juvenile Judge.
A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights. AFFIRMED.
Nicholas J. Klenske of Reynolds & Kenline, L.L.P., Dubuque, for appellant.
Stuart G. Hoover, Dubuque, for appellee father.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kathrine Miller-Todd, Assistant
Attorney General, Fred H. McCaw, County Attorney, and Jean A. Becker,
Assistant County Attorney, for appellee State.
Mary Kelley, Assistant Public Defender, Dubuque, guardian ad litem,for
minor child.
Considered by Sackett, C.J., and Vaitheswaran, J., and Robinson, S.J.*
*Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206 (2005).
2
VAITHESWARAN, J.
Kerri appeals the termination of her parental rights to Lexi, born in 2005.
She contends her consent to termination “was not made intelligently” and “[s]ince
the termination of her parental rights, [she] has gained regular employment and
has gotten her mental health issues under control.”
The transcript reveals that Kerri’s attorney questioned her about a “release
of custody” she signed. Specifically, she asked Kerri, “Do you believe that you
are able to make a knowledgeable and intelligent choice regarding the
termination of your parental rights?” Kerri answered, “Yeah.” The attorney also
established that Kerri was not under the influence of street drugs or alcohol, and
the drugs she was taking to address her mental health issues made her thoughts
clearer. We conclude Kerri’s consent to termination was made intelligently.
As for Kerri’s contention that her circumstances have improved since the
termination ruling, we cannot consider facts outside the record. See Rasmussen
v. Yates, 522 N.W.2d 844, 846 (Iowa Ct. App. 1994) (noting we do not consider
issues based on information outside the record).
We affirm the juvenile court’s order terminating Kerri’s parental rights to
Lexi.
AFFIRMED.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
