In Re: Audrey B.

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REPORTED IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND No. 2369 September Term, 2008 ______________________________________ IN RE: A DOPT ION/GU ARDIA NSHIP OF AUDREY B., ADRIANA H., AND ERIC H. ______________________________________ Hollander, Graeff, Sharer, J. Frederick (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ. ______________________________________ Opinion by Sharer, J. ______________________________________ Filed: July 2, 2009 In the C ircuit Co urt for Baltim ore C ity, Division f or Juvenile Causes, the Baltimore City Department of Social Services ( BCDSS ) filed petitions for Guardianship With the Right to Consent to A doption o r Long T erm Care Short of A doption, see king to term inate the parental rights of Kellie B. to three children: Audrey B., Adriana H., and Eric H. Kellie B. filed, albeit late, objections to the petitions in each case. The BCDSS moved to strike the late-filed objections and the cou rt, after a hearing, granted the mo tion. It is that ruling that Kellie B . challenges in this appea l, contending that the juven ile court erred in ruling that statutory provisions of the Permanency for Families and Children Act of 2005, ( the Act ), 1 do not permit withdrawal of a consent to guardianship entered by operation of law.2 We shall affirm for the reasons set forth below. BACKGROUND Kellie B. is the mother of Audrey, born on September 25, 1997; Adriana, born on November 2, 1999; and Eric, born on August 12, 2005. Birth certificates indicate that Jerome H. is the father of Adriana and Eric. Although Audrey s b irth certificate do es not indica te a father, Jerom e H. is asserte d to be A udrey s putative father in the T PR Petition filed by BCD SS in h er case. 1 2 2005 Md. Laws, ch. 464 (Senate Bill 710). Specifically, in her opening brief, Kellie B. frames the question as: Whether under Family Law § 5-320 and § 5 -321 the court erred in striking appellant s objection to the TPR petition filed 32 days after she was served with the TPR petition? On October 12, 2004, for reasons not apparent in the record, both Audrey and Adriana were placed in foster care, found to be children in need of assistance ( CINA ), and committed to the custody of BCDSS. Approximately ten months later, on August 15, 2005, and three days after he was born, Eric was also placed in foster care w ith BCDSS . Thereafter, on September 9, 2005, again for reasons not apparent in the record, Eric was found to be a CINA and co mmitte d to BC DSS . On August 13, 2008, BCDSS filed TPR Petitions seeking guardianship of each of the children in case numbers T08204021 , T08 204022, and T08 20423, respe ctive ly. 3 On that same day, three Show Cause Orders were filed in the aforementioned cases: one addressed to Kellie B.; another to Jerome H.; and, the third addressed to the three children.4 Each of the Show Cause O rders consp icuously wa rned the rec ipient that: THIS IS A COURT ORDER. IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE ORDER SAYS, HAVE SOMEONE EXPLAIN IT TO YOU. YOUR RIGHT TO AN ATTO RNEY IS EXPLAINED IN PARAGRAPH 3 OF TH IS ORDER. IF YOU DO NOT MAKE SURE THAT THE COURT RECEIVES YOUR NOTICE OF OBJECTION ON OR BEFORE THE DEADLINE STATED IN PARAGRAPH 2 OF THIS ORDER, YOU HAVE AGREED TO A TERMINATION O F YOUR PARENT AL RIGHTS. Further, and pertinent to the instant appeal, the Show Cause Order advised Kellie B. as follows: 3 The Petitions were first docketed on July 22, 2008, but stamped as received by the juvenile court on August 13, 2008. 4 The Show Cause orders are marked received in the juvenile court as of August 13, 2008, but were issued, approved, and docketed on August 12, 2008. 2 2. RIGHT TO OBJECT; TIME FOR OBJECTING. If this Order is served on you by October 27, 2008, and if you wish to object to the guardianship, you must file a notice of objection with the Clerk of the Court at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center, 300 North Gay Street, Room A3320, Baltimore, Maryland, 21202 within 30 days after this Ord er is served o n you. For your c onvenie nce, a form notice of objection is attached to this Order. WHETHER THE PETITION REQUESTS ADOPTION OR GUARDIANSHIP, IF YOU DO NOT MAKE SURE THAT THE COURT RECEIVES YOUR NOTICE OF OBJECTIO N ON OR BEFORE THE DEA DLIN E STA TED ABO VE, YOU HAVE AGREED TO A TERMINATION OF YOUR PAREN TAL RIGHTS. Similar language appea rs elsewhere in the O rder, and these warnin gs conform to the requirements of Md. Rule 9-105 (e) (setting forth the form of show cause order). Com parable orders a lso we re issued to Jerom e H., as w ell as to th e childre n. On Augus t 26, 2008, K ellie B. was personally served with a copy of the Petitions and the Show Cause Orders, as well as two Notice of Objection forms. Two days later, on August 28, 2008, Jerome H. was personally served with a copy of the Petitions and the Show Cause Orders at the Balt imore City De tenti on C ente r. Th at same d ay, Jerome H. filed an objection to the guardianship petitions.5 On September 11, 2008, an attorney entered his appearance on behalf of Audrey, Adriana and Eric, and filed a Consent to Guardianship Petition. That consent ex pressly 5 On September 18, 2008, after Jerome H. apparently was released from the detention center and filed a change of address, he also filed an additional objection to the guardianship petitions. The record also indicates Jerome H. s attorney was served with a copy of the Petitions and the Show Cause Orders on August 29, 2008. Jerome H. has not filed a brief in this Court. 3 provides that the attorney, on behalf of the children, hereby Consents to the Petition filed by the Baltimore City Department of Social Services request[ing] Guardianship With the Right to Consent to Adoption or Long-Term Care Short of Adoption in the above-captioned case. On September 30, 2008, 35 days after she was personally served, Kellie B. filed a Notice of Objection to the Petitions and also requested appointment of an attor ney. 6 Kellie B. listed the following reasons in support of her Objection: I obje ct becaus e I fe el as thou gh th ere a re no reas ons m y children shouldn t be in my care. When I have four of my other children. I want these children returne d to me . I don t want my children placed anywhere then [sic] with me. T his has been an ongoing battle against a case that holds no substationed [sic] eviden ce. I object to the termination of parental rights. Also the adoption. On October 14, 2008 , BCD SS filed a M otion to Strike Late Objection, asking that the juvenile court strike Kellie B. s objection as untimely filed. In that motion, after informing the juvenile court that Kellie B. was served on August 26, 2008, and filed her objection on September 30, 2008, BCDSS contended: Md. Rule 9-107 provides th at a party has 30 d ays to file an ob jection if served in the [S]tate of Maryland. [Ms. B. s] objection should have been filed by the close of b usin ess o n Septem ber 2 5, 20 08 to be co nsid ered time ly. On November 19, 2008, Kellie B. filed an answer to the BCDSS s Motion to Strike Late Objection . In her answ er, Kellie B. c ontended that a failure to file a timely Notice of 6 An attorney representing Kellie B. entered her appearance in the juvenile court on October 1, 2008. 4 Objection is a voluntary consent under § 5-320 of the Family Law Article, and that such a volitional consent may be revoked.7 Therefo re, Kellie B. c ontinued, because a volitional consent may be revoked w ithin thirty days, her N otice of O bjection filed with the juv enile clerk on September 30, 2008, more than thirty but less than sixty days after she was served with the Show Cause Order, is a timely revocatio n of cons ent and satisf ies the require ments of Md. Rule 9-102 and § 5-321 of the F amily La w Art icle. See Md. Rule 9-102 (addressing consents; revocation of consent); Md. Code (2006 Repl. Vol.), § 5-321 of the Family Law Article (consent). On December 9, 2008, the juvenile court held a hearing on BCDSS s motion, at which counsel for BC DSS co ntended th at Kellie B. s Notice of Objection was untim ely and shou ld be stricken. Counsel for Kellie B. conceded that the Notice of Objection was late-filed. Howeve r, counsel su ggested tha t, under the 2 005 revisio ns to the Fa mily Law Article, the failure to timely file an objection was not a deemed consent, and that § 5-320 now se ts up this way of affirm atively an d volitio nally con senting to a term ination o f paren tal rights. In furtherance of her position, counsel for Kellie B. elaborated: Family Law Article [] 5-321(c) allows revocation by a parent of a consent to guardians hip within 30 days except when that consent is entered into befo re a judge on the record. And that is the exact wording of 321, 5-321. By carving out this exception, the one way that you can not, that it is irrevocable, and only that way, bolsters my argument that the other ways of consenting, which are listed in 5-320, can be revoked within the 30 day period. 7 All statutory references are to Md. Code (2006 Rep. Vol.), Family Law, Title 5, Children, unless otherwise indicated. 5 Acc ordingly, counsel continued, by filing her revocation more than 30 but less than 60 days after service with the show cause order, that satisfies the requirement of Family Law Article 5-321 and Maryland Rule of Procedure 9-102. And we are asking that [the juvenile court] deny the Department s motion to strike the late objection. Counsel for BC DSS respon ded firs t, that M d. Rule 9-102 applies only to written consents. As for § 5-321, BCDSS s counsel stated: That includes a waiver an d the written [sic] as under 9 -102, there s a 30 day period to reconsider and revoke the written consent. It doesn t speak, the statute doesn t speak at all to dealing w ith a default. I don t think the legislature intended to extend an objection period by 30 more days by considering a default a, some kind of c onsent. You kn ow, it says 30 days. It s very clear it says 30 days and if, you know, the writing that was actually filed with the Court is an objection f orm that was served on the mother on the 26 th of August. I don t think that that supports her argument that she was writing, she was filing a writing that was revoking her consent. I[t] basically said I object and it was filed la te therefore its [sic] not valid and I d ask the Court to strike that objection. In response to the court s inquiry, counsel for Kellie B. stated that she was referring to § 5-321(c ) where it says a person may revoke consent any tim e within the la ter of 30 days after the p erso n sig ns th e con sent or 30 days after the consent is filed as required. The cou rt then stated, [o]k ay, but doesn t th at sort of indic ate that som ething is don e, that there s either a signature of a consent or that something is filed, that there is an act? Counsel for Kellie B. disagreed and suggested tha t § 5-321 sh ould be rea d in conjunction with § 5-320, which provides three ways a parent ma y consent to guardianship. Counsel contend ed th at on ly a § 5-320(b) conse nt, knowingly and vo luntarily on the record 6 before the juvenile court, is irrevocable. Counsel suggested as an underlying purpose: And the, you know, by doing that it, and the p urpose, of course, is to protect, if you will, parents from making kind of rash or hasty decisions about such an important right to consent and so on. And that s why, only when it s done in the court, and I guess because the court would make inquiry and make sure and so on, all the things that you do, w hen the pa rent does th is, consents on the record in front of a jud ge. That s the only way, the only thing that s irrevoc able. And of course w henever you do that you tell them this is it, this is it if you change your mind. T he tw o oth er w ays that s not so because they haven t been, you don t have those safeguards to make sure that its volitional and make sure its exactly what the person wants to do. And one of those ways is this failure to file a timely notice of objection. The court disagreed and found good cause to grant BC DSS s m otion to strike th e late objection, stating: [Its] an interesting argument. Unfortunately I don t agree with it. I don t think that 5-321(c) is re ally relevant or rela tes to a situation which is basically a default situation so I m going to grant the Department s motion.8 On December 11, 2008, Kellie B. filed a Notice of Appeal to this Court from the December 9, 2008, ruling granting BCDSS s motion to strike late objection.9 8 The court s written order reads: The Court having considered the request of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services for motion to strike mother s late objection and there appearing to be good cause therefore, the request is hereby granted. 9 On January 13, 2009, Kellie B. filed a Petition to Stay TPR Proceedings, which was granted the same day. The next day, January 14, 2009, the juvenile court scheduled a Settlement Conference for April 15, 2009, and scheduled the Termination of Parental Rights Hearing in these cases for May 19-20, 2009. Subsequently, the court rescheduled the Settlement Conference for May 20, 2009, and the merits trial for June 8, 2009. This Court set this case for oral argument for May 8, 2008; however, prior to that date, the parties submitted on brief pursuant to Maryland Rule 8-523(a)(1). 7 DISCUSSION Summarizing the contentions of the parties, appellant, Kellie B., first argues that the juvenile court erred in striking h er Notice o f Objectio n to the Petition s for Gua rdianship because, u nder the A ct: (1) her failure to file a timely Notice of Objection was a volitional consent and not a dee med c onsen t , i.e., a conse nt by ope ration o f law; a nd, (2) the Leg islature has on ly provided that consen ts to guardianship entered before a judge a re irrevo cable. Appellee BCDSS responds that Kellie B. has conceded that she did not timely file a Notice of Objec tion to the Pe titions, and that, under the reasoning of In re Adoption /Guardia nship No. 93321055, 344 M d. 458 ( constru ing the e arlier statu te), cert. denied sub nom. Clemy P. v. Montgomery County DSS, 520 U.S. 1267 (1997), as well as the legislativ e history o f the 20 05 Ac t, Kellie B . s deem ed con sent is irre vocab le. Lastly, the children, by counsel, also assert that Kellie B. s deemed consent is irrevoc able. We are, therefore, presente d with an is sue of statu tory construction ; thus, we b egin our analysis with the following principles in mind: Our predom inant mission is to ascertain and implement the legislative intent, which is to be derived, if possible, from the language of the statute (or Rule) itself. If the language is clear and unambiguous, our search for legislative intent ends and we apply the language as written in a commonsense manner. We do not add words o r ignore tho se that are the re. If there is any ambiguity, we may then seek to fathom the legislative intent by looking at 8 legislative history and applying the most relevant of the various canons that courts have created. Downes v. Downes, 388 M d. 561, 571 -72 (2005 ); see also Schisler v. Sta te, 394 Md. 519, 535 (2006) ( where an order [of the trial court] involves an interpretation and application of Maryland constitutional, statutory or case law, [the appellate court] must determine whether the trial court s conclusions are legally correct under a de novo standard of review ). The procedures that govern guardianships are found in §§ 5-313 to 5-528 of the Family Law Art icle and their implementing rules;10 In re Adoption/Guardianship No. 93321055, 344 Md. at 477. Section 5-313(a) mandates that a petition for guardianship be filed prior to a petition for adoption. After such petition is filed, the juvenile court must issue promptly a show cause order that requires the party to whom it is issued to respond as required under the Maryland Rules. § 5 -316(a). Maryland Ru le 9-105(e) dictates the form that must be u tilized for a show cause order, requiring the show cause order to advise the recipient, inter alia, that the consequence o f the failure to file the objection w ith the court means that the recipie nt of the sho w cause order has agreed to a termination of [his or her] parental rights. M aryland Rule 9-107(b)(1 ) requires tha t, subject to exceptions not applicable in this case, no tice of objec tion to an ad option or g uardiansh ip shall be filed 10 In 2005, the General Assembly passed the Act, with an effective date of January 1, 2006. See 2005 Md. Laws, ch. 464, § 7 (SB 710). Among other changes, the Act replaced former Title 5, Subtitle 3. Adoption and Guardianship With the Right to Consent to Adoption, with: Subtitle 3. Guardianship to and Adoption Through Local Department; Subtitle 3A. Private Agency Guardianship and Adoption; and, Subtitle 3B. Independent Adoption. 2005 Md. Laws, ch. 464, p. 2582-83. 9 within 30 days after the show cause order is served. There is no dispute that Kellie B. was properly and timely served, or that her notice of obje ction was not timel y filed. The Petitions and Show Cause Orders were filed on August 13, 2008, pursuant to §§ 5-313 and 5-316. The Show Cause Orders contained the warnings required by Md. Rule 9-105(e). Kellie B. was personally served on August 26, 2008. On September 30, 2008, five days beyond the deadline provided in Md. Rule 9107(b)(1), Kellie B. filed her Notice of Objection to the Petitions. Kellie B. conceded in the juvenile court tha t her obje ction was untimely, and mak es a similar co ncession in this Court. The question here presented concerns the viability of the untimely objection. The parties agree that the answer lies in the interpretation of Sections 5-320 and 5-321.11 Section 5-320 provides the c ircumstanc es for the co urt s authority to gr ant a guardianship: (a) Consent and acquiescence or best interests. A juvenile court may grant guardianship of a child only if: (1) (i) the child d oes not ob ject; (ii) the local dep artment: 1. filed the petition; or 11 Maryland Rule 9-102 is the corresponding rule governing consents and revocation of consent. We note here that Md. Rule 9-102 (b) (1) suggests that the consent of a parent to a public agency guardianship shall be substantially in the form set forth in Form 9-102.1. Additionally, Md. Rule 9-102 (c) (1) states that the applicable time for revocation of consent by the parent is as set forth in FL § 5-321. 10 2. did not ob ject to the other pa rty filing the petition; and (iii) 1. each of th e child s living parents con sents: A. in writing B. knowingly and voluntarily, on the record before the juvenile court; or C. by failure to file a timely notice of objection after being served w ith a show cause ord er in accord ance with this subtitle[ .] § 5-320(a)(1). Section 5-321(c), in turn, provides the following with respect to revocation of co nsent: (c) Revocation period; waiver. (1) Subject to pa ragraph (2 ) of this subsection, a person m ay revoke co nsent to guardianship any time within the later of: (i) 30 days after the person signs the consent; or (ii) 30 days after the consent is filed as require d under th is section. (2) Consent to guard ianship under subsec tion (a) (2) of this section is irrevocable. § 5-321 (c). The plain language of § 5-320(a)(1)(iii)(c) instructs that failure to file a timely notice of objection in this case amou nts to a consent to guardian ship. Turning to § 5-32 1(c), however, we cannot determine from the plain language whether a consent entered by operation of law is revocable. Subsection 5-321(c)(1 ) permits revocation of a consent any time within the later of 30 days after a person sig ns the con sent or afte r the conse nt is 11 filed as required under this section. See § 5-321(c)(1 ). Subsection 5-321(c)(2 ), in contrast, provides that a co nsent to guardi anship pursua nt to § 5 -321(a )(2), i.e., before a judge on the record , is irrevo cable. See §§ 5-321 (a)(2),(c)(2); see also § 5-320 (a)(1)(iii)(B) (providing that a pa rty may con sent on the reco rd befo re the juv enile co urt). Neither of these provisions speak to a failure to act, and, as the court observed during the motions hearing, § 5-321 (c) sort of indicate[s] that something is done, that there s either a signature of a consen t or that something is filed, that there is an act[.] Indeed, § 5-321(c) simply does not address whether a deemed consent is revocable. Even as counsel for BCDSS acknowledges, [t]he language of the statute, as a w hole, mak es no refer ence to deemed consents, and, consequently, the revocation portion of the statute makes no reference to deemed consents. We conclude, therefore, that it is unclear w hether § 5-3 21(c) app lies by its plain langua ge to a deem ed con sent , i.e., a consen t occurring b y failure to timely file a notice of objection to a show cause order. When a statute is am biguous, w e must look beyond plain language to disce rn the leg islative in tent. Melton v. State, 379 Md. 471 , 477 (2004). [W ]e resolve that ambiguity by looking to the statute s legislative history, case law, and statutory purpose. Barbre v. Pope, 402 Md. 15 7, 173 (2007). Acc ordingly, we continue our analysis as the parties have suggested, by considering the opinion o f the Cou rt of App eals in In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 93321055, supra, ( Clemy P. ) concerning the prior consent and revocation of consent provisions of the 12 Family L aw A rticle. In Clem y P., the Court of Appeals granted certiorari in five separate cases to consider issues relating to untimely objections to show cause orders.12 In the case of primary conc ern to the Court, Clemy P ., the Department filed petitions for guardianship of Stephon and Alphonso P. in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County on April 21, 1993, to terminate the parental rights of Clemy P . and Sa m L. Id. at 471. S am L. c onsen ted to the petition . Id. A show cause order was served on Clemy P. on M ay 11, 19 93. Id. No objection was filed, and on October 20, 1993, the court granted the petition and entered a judgment of guardianship. Id. Clemy P. fil ed an appeal 3 2 days late r, wh ich w as str uck by the circu it cou rt as u ntim ely. Id. Eight months later, on July 25, 1994, the children requested a hearing alleging a number of problems after the judgment of guardianship was entered . Id. Three days later, Clemy P. mov ed to inte rvene. Id. at 472. The Department opposed both the childrens motion and Clemy P. s attempt to intervene. Id. A status hearing convened on August 11, 1994, b ut the rec ord did not ind icate ho w thes e motio ns we re resolv ed. Id. 12 The Court dismissed three of the five cases as the issues raised therein became moot. In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 93321055, 344 Md. at 474-75. The Court also affirmed the fourth case, concluding there was no error of law or abuse of discretion when the circuit court denied a mother s motion to vacate an enrolled judgment under Maryland Rule 2-535 (b). In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 93321055, 344 Md. at 476. Thus, the Court s opinion primarily addressed the fifth of five cases, concerning a circuit court s order granting a motion to revise under Md. Rule 2-535 (b), and vacating enrolled judgments of guardianship. In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 93321055, 344 Md. at 477-86. 13 On July 5, 1995, 21 months after the judgments of guardianship were entered, Clemy P. move d to vac ate the ju dgme nts. Id. She raised a number of contentions: that she was not aware of the need to respond to the show cause order or petition; that she received no notice of any proceedings; and that the judgments we re defective because th ey were based on her presumed consent and she was never informed of her right to revoke that consent. Id. at 473. The circuit court g ranted Cle my P. s motio n to vacate the judgments, ruling, as summarized by the Court of Appeals, that although Clemy may be deemed to have consented to the guardianships by not filing a timely objection, she retained the right to revoke that deemed consent and to receive notice of all further proceedings, including service of a ll pleadin gs. Id. After the circuit court denied the Department s motion to alter or amend the order vacatin g the gu ardians hip, the D epartm ent app ealed. Id. at 473-74. The Court of Ap peals began its analysis by summarizing the procedure generally followed in such cases: [A] child may not be ado pted witho ut the conse nt of his natural parents unless the parental rights of those parents have been terminated by a judicial proceeding. It is common for the State, when it concludes that a continuing relationship between a child and his na tural parents is lik ely to be harmf ul to the welfare o f the child, to se ek to termin ate parental rights as an in termediate measure. A judgment terminating those rights not only eliminates the need for parental consent to a subseque nt adoption but also pro vides the S tate with flexibility in seeking out adoptive persons or families and in caring for the child in the interim. Most States authorize this intermediate procedure. In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 93321055, 344 Md. at 477. 14 In some cas es, natural pa rents may con sent to guardianship voluntarily and affi rmativel y; in other cases, they do not a ffirma tively prov ide their consen t. Id. at 477-79. In cases where the parent(s) affirmatively consents to guardianship, the Court observed that § 5-317 (e), then in effe ct, perm itted a co nsentin g paren t to revo ke his o r her co nsent. See Md. Code (2004 Repl. Vol.), § 5-317(e) of the Family Law Article (repealed by 2005 Md. Laws, ch. 464, § 2, p. 2584). When the petition was originally filed in Clemy P. s case, § 5317(e) allowed a consenting parent to revoke at any time within the earlier of 30 days after the consen t was f iled, or en try of the ju dgme nt of gu ardians hip. In re: Adoption /Guardia nship No. 93321055, 344 Md. at 478. After 1994, that revocation period was lim ited to 30 days afte r the con sent w as signe d. Id. Where the parent does not affirmatively consent to guardianship, the a pplicable statu te provides that the court, upon the filing of a petition, enter and serve upon the parent a show cause order informing the parent of the petition. Id. at 478 (citing Md. C ode (200 4 Repl. Vol.) FL § 5-322(a) (repealed by 2005 Md. Laws, ch. 464, § 2, p. 2584)). Further, [t]he order explains in plain langu age that the p arents have the right to object to the g uardiansh ip but that, if they wish to object, they must file their objection with the court by the date set forth in the order. Id. at 479. The Court then cited § 5-322(d), which, at the time the petition was filed in that case, provided: (d) Failure to respond or waiver of notification. If a person is notified under this section an d fails to file notice o f objection within the time stated in the show cause order or if a person s notification has been waived under subsection (c) of this section: 15 (1) the court shall consider the person who is notified or whose notice is wa ived to have consented to the adop tion or to the guardianship; and (2) the petition shall be treated in the same manner as a petition to which consent has been given. Md. Code (1991 Repl. Vol.; 1993 Supp.), FL § 5-322(d) (repealed by 2005 Md. Laws, ch. 464, § 2, p. 2584). Clemy P. suggested that if the judgment of guard ianship was based on her deemed consent under § 5-322(d), she had a right under § 5-317(e) to revoke that consent at any time prior to entry of the judgment. In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 9321005, 344 Md. at 480. The Court disagreed, stating that Clemy P. s argument founders on the erroneous assumption that underlies its major premise. Id. at 480-81. The Court explained: Section 5-322(d) does no t incorporate within it the provisions o f § 5-317(e). A deemed consent u nder § 5-3 22(d) ma y not be revok ed, for it is not a volitional consent but one arising by operation of law. If the parent fails to file a timely objection, no further notices need be given to the parent, prior to or upon the entry of a judgment of guardianship. This conclusion is clear from both the structure and the history of the relevant statutes and rules. In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 9321005, 344 Md. at 481. The Court, in Clem y P., looked to both the legislative history dating from 1982, as well as reports of the Court s Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, dating from 1986, in explaining its holding. In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 9321005, 344 Md. at 480-86. In fact, the Co urt observe d, a similar issue was raised in 1987 as a recommendation by the Gov ernor s Ta sk Force to Study Adoption Procedures in Maryland 16 as part of 54 measures to speed up the process of having children move fro m foster care to adop tion. In re: Ado ption/Gu ardiansh ip No. 9321005, 344 Md. at 482. The Task Force recommended that if a parent who was duly notified failed to file a timely objection to a petition, the petition shall be treated as one in which consent has been granted. Id. The Court explained that [t]he consequence of failing to file a timely objection was thus to be changed from a waiver of the requirement of consent to a statutorily deemed consent. Id. (Emp hasis ad ded). The Court ob served that th is recommendation was supported by the Maryland Department of Human R esources, as follows: In its written statement to the General Assembly, the Department observed that many parents, though recognizing that adoption would be in their child s best interest, were nonetheless unable to bring themselves to sign a consent to a termination of their parental rights but chose instead to simply take no action when served with the show cause order in effect, to allow their child to be taken from them . The D epartmen t expressed concern a bout contin uing to treat such cases as contested, requiring full evidentiary hearings and delaying the termination process. The bill was also sup ported by several foster care review boards, which ex pressed similar concern over the delay in achieving permanence for children in foster care. Id. at 483. The Court then looked to s ubseque nt amend ments to FL § 5-317(e), which shortened, to 30 days, the time to revoke a written consen t. In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 9321005, 344 Md. at 483-84. The Court stated: In light of this history, it is evident that any construction of § 5-317(e) or § 5-322(d ) that wou ld have the effect of engendering further delays or imposing additional impediments to achieving perman ent and stab le family 17 settings for children placed in foster care, usually as the result of a CINA proceeding, would be flatly inconsistent with and antithetical to the clear legislative purpose, and is to be avoided unless absolutely required. In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 9321005, 344 Md. at 484. The Court opined that the 30-day revocation period provided by then § 317(e) was clear, fixed, and easily ascertained. In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 9321005, 344 Md. at 485. That certainty would not exist if a right to revoke is attached to the deemed consent under § 5-322 . In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 9321005, 344 Md. at 485. The Court therefore held: As a matter of statutory construction, therefore, we c onclude that there is no right to revoke a statutory consent arising under § 5-322 (d). That is a consent, as we have said, arising by operation o f law, not b y volition, and it is not within th e powe r of the pare nt to revoke it. In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 9321005, 344 Md. at 486; see also In re: Adoption /Guardia nship Nos. T00130003 and T00130004, 370 Md. 250, 261 (2002) (stating that FL § 5-322 (d) indeed m eans wh at it says, and that, a bsent som e extraordin ary circum stance, the juvenile c ourt has n o authority to accept a late-filed objection but must treat the case, as to the non-objecting p arent, as though it were un contested ). 13 The 2005 Statutory Revisions As we have noted, §§ 5-317 and 5-32 2 were repealed in 2005 as part of the adoption 13 The Court of Appea ls also conc luded that c onsideration of a failure to file a timely objection as an irrevocable deemed consent offended neither due process nor equal protection of law . In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 93321055, 344 M d. at 494 -96. 18 of the Ac t. See 2005 M d. Law s, ch. 46 4, § 2, p. 2 584. Revisions to the guardianship and adoption statutes began as a result of asse ssments by Maryland s Fo ster Care Court Improvement Project ( FCCIP ).14 See Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, Floor Report on Senate Bill 710 (2 005) ( Floor Rep ort ). In a letter from Hon. Pa mela L. North, C hair, CINA Subcom mittee, FCC IP, to Sena te Judicial P roceedings Committee regarding Permanency for Families and Children Act of 2005 (Feb. 18, 2005) ( CINA Subcommittee letter ), the Bill was summarized as follows: This bill is intended to separate th e statutes regarding termination of parental rights (TPR) and adoption into three di scre te are as to clari fy the substantive legal distinctions between involuntary termination and voluntary relinquishment of parental rights. The bill includes the legal processes related to a specified procedure to facilitate ease of use. The areas are: ¢ guardians hip to and adoption though [sic] local departments of social services; ¢ private agency guardianship and adoption; and ¢ independent adoption. Floor Report p. 2-3 The purpo se of th is separa tion wa s to aff ord jud ges, masters, practitioners, and others the ability to look in one section and chronolo gically follow the legal pro cess for the type of proce eding in which they are involv ed. CINA Subco mmitte e Letter , p. 2. 14 The FCCIP is a federal grant based program focused on improving how the juvenile courts throu ghout the S tate are processing their Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) and rela ted term ination o f paren tal rights a nd ado ption ca ses. Flo or Rep ort, p. 1. 19 Pertinent to the issue herein, the Floor Report addresses consents to guardianship as follows: The bill specifies the elements of a valid guardianship petition and clarifies that a petition for guardianship must be filed prior to a child s eighteenth birthday. The bill clarifies the responsibility for adequate notice of the filing of a petition for guardians hip and es tablishes a 30 -day time limit for a parent who has consented to guardianship to revoke his or her consent. The 30-day time period is altered to run after the parent signs the consent, or after the consent is filed as required, whichever is later. However, consent to guardianship that is entered into before a judge on the record must include a waiver of the revocation period. Floor Report, p. 3. The CINA Subcommittee letter supplements this general description with detailed discussion about the two statutes at issue in this case. With respect to FL § 5 -320, Au thority to Grant Guardianship, the letter states: This section rewords the current section on Guardianship Require ments to clarify what is required to grant guardianship. It adds a new provision codifying what is currently practice in some jurisdictions, permitting parties to consent to a guardianship conditional on the child being adopted into a specific family, provided that the family is ultimately approved for adoptive placemen t. This practice has increased the timeliness of attaining permanency for children who have parents who are willing to consent if a particular family (often a relative) adopts the child. The ability to exercise this condition ends at the time of adoption which ensures that no adoptions will be disrupted by the addition of this provision. CINA Subcommittee Letter, p. 5. With respect to FL § 5-321, Consent, the letter provides: This section defines the parameters surrounding consenting to the granting of a gu ardians hip petit ion. A provision has b een added to ensu re that parents who consen t are advised about the consent in a language understood 20 by the parent. It provides for what is to occur if a parent consents prior to the filing of the petition, as well as w hat should occur if the parent consents after the filing of the petition. The local department is now required to file the consent with the court w ith copies to all parties. The revocation period provision is revised so that it begins to run based on the time of the filing of the consent with the court, instead of beginnin g to run at the time that the parent signs the consent, and provides for waiver of revocation if the consent to guardianship is made before a judge on the record. This section also addresses what is to occur if the condition of a conditional consent is not fulfilled. CINA Subcommittee Letter, p. 5. We have not discovered anything in the legislative history of the amen ded statute to suggest that the Leg islature meant to undermine or alter the holding of In re: Adoption/Gua rdianship No. 9321005, when it repealed §§ 5-317(e) and 5-322(d), and enacted new provisions with respect to consen t to guardian ship and re vocation o f consen t. Kellie B. asse rts, how ever, tha t, [a]ccording to the wording of the current statute, a nonresponse, a failure to file a timely Notice of Objection, is as much a voluntary con sent as is a written consent or a knowing and volun tary consent on the record b efore the ju venile court. That contention is rebutted by the Committee Note to Section 5-320, which provides: Subsection (a)(1)(iii)(1) of this section is derived from former FL § 5317(c)(2), as it related to CINAs, and revised to delineate the methods by which consent may be given in addition to failure to make timely objection. Subsection (a)(1)(iii)(1) is not meant to change the current meaning of deem ed conse nt . Committee Note, 2005 M d. Laws, ch. 464, § 3 , p. 2617 (emphasis ad ded). 15 We cannot, 15 Former Section 5-317 (c) (2) provided that except as provided in § 5-313 and 5(continued...) 21 therefore, find merit in Kellie B s proposition that her co nceded f ailure to file a tim ely objection was volitional. Kellie B. also asserts that, because the Legislature specifically provided in § 5-321(c) that: (1) consent may be revo ked within the later of 30 days after the conse nt is signed or filed; but that, (2) consent entered into before a judge is irrevocable, according to the doctrine of expressio unius est exclusio alterius, the statute now provides the sole exception to the general rule pe rmitting revoca tion of c onsen t. See WFS Financia l, Inc. v. May or & City Counc il, 402 M d. 1, 14 (200 7) ( the expression of one thing is the exclusion of an other ); accord C how v. Sta te, 393 M d. 431, 4 58 n. 17 (2006 ). The Court of Appeals has explained this maxim as follows: [t]he max im 'expressio unius est exclusio alterius' . . . meaning that the expression of one thing implies the exclusion of another thing not mentioned, is not a rule of law, but merely an auxiliary rule of statutory construction applied to assist in determining the intention of the Legislature where such intention is not manifest from the language used. It should be used with caution, and shou ld never be a pplied to override the manifest intention of the Legisla ture or a provisio n of the Cons titution. . . . Walzer v. Osborne, 395 Md. 563 , 579 (2006) (citation omitted); see also Stanford v. Maryland Police Training & C orrectional Com m n, 346 Md. 374, 383-86 (1997) (construing statute omitting termination of employment as a specific ground to recall a police 15 (...continued) 313.1 of this subtitle, the court may grant a decree awarding guardianship only: . . . (2) with the consent of each living natural parent of the child. Md. Code (2004 Repl. Vol.), § 5-317 (c) (2) of the Family Law Article (repealed by 2005 Md. Laws, ch. 464, § 2, p. 2584). 22 certification to allow automa tic revocation of certification upo n termination). Our examination of the legislative history of the Act leads us to conclu de that the Legislature did not intend to permit revocation of consents entered by operation of law. Further, we observe that F L § 5-321(c)(2), providing that a consen t entered before a judge, on the record, is irrevocable, complements FL § 5-321 (a)(2), which provides that [c]onsent to guardianship befo re a judge on the record shall include a waive r of a rev ocation period . We also d isagree w ith the notion that, because FL § 5-321 (c) does refer to deemed consents that the General Assemb ly must have p urposefu lly excluded su ch conse nts in order to cause them to be revocable. The Legislature is presumed to be aware of [] prior [appellate] holdings when it enacts new legislation and, where it does not express a clear intention to abroga te the ho ldings o f those decisio ns, to ha ve acq uiesced in those holdin gs. Allen v. State, 402 Md. 59, 72 (2007) (citatio ns omitted); see also Taylor v. Mandel, 402 Md. 109, 131 (2007) (stating that we presume that the Legislature has acted with full knowledge of prior and existing law , legislation and policy ). Although there were substantive revisions in the 20 05 legislation relating to termination of pare ntal righ ts, guard ianship and ad option , see 2005 Md. Laws, ch. 464, p. 2581, the changes to the specific statutes at issue here, conc erning revo cation of c onsent to guardians hip, were a matter of recodification, rathe r than substantive revision. M oreover, the Committee Note for FL § 5-320(a) (1)(iii)(1) carries the message that the revision was not meant to change the curren t mean ing of deem ed con sent . See Committee Note, 2005 23 Md. Laws, ch. 464, § 3, p. 2617. Further, the Committee Note to FL § 5-321(c)(1) indicates that this section is derived from former FL § 5-317(e) and revised to provide an alternative deadline based on the filing date of the consent. See 2005 Md. Laws, ch. 464, § 3, p. 2620. These changes do not sug gest that consents by ope ration of law may now be revok ed, in contravention of the holding of In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 93321055, supra. As the Court of Appeals has explained elsewhere: [R]ecodification of statutes is presumed to be for the purpose of clarity rather than change the meaning and, thus, even a change in the phraseology of a statute by a codification will not ordinarily modify the law unless the change is so radical and material that the intention of the Legislature to modify the law appears unmistakably from the language of the Code. Allen, 402 Md. at 71-7 2 (citations omitted). In sum, we find nothing in the amended statute that causes us to believe that the rationale applied by the Court in In re: Adoption/Guardianship No. 93321055, supra, does not continue to apply with equal force to the 2005 revisions to Maryland s guardianship and adoption laws. We hold that, as a matter of s tatutory construc tion, there rem ains no righ t to revoke a statutorily deemed consent entered by operation of law. 24 Acc ordingly, we conclude that the juvenile court s construction of the 2005 revisions was legally correct, and that the court did not err in g ranting BC DSS s m otion to strike K ellie B. s untimely Notice of Objection. JUDGMENTS OF TH E CIRCU IT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY, SITTING AS A JUVENILE COURT, AFFIRMED; COSTS TO BE PAID BY APPELLANT. 25

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