HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-4814JOSEPH R. PACIONI,
Plaintiff
FRANCINE J. KRANERT,
ADOPTION SERVICES, INC.,
: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
: CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
:
: CIVIL ACTION - LAW
: NO. D3 - 'qP/~ CIVIL TERM
And UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS, :
Defendants : IN CUSTODY
COMPLAINT FOR CUSTODY
Plaintiff is Joseph R. Pacioni, an adult individual currently residing at 6031 North
23r~ Place, Phoenix, Arizona.
Defendant, Francine J. Kranert, is an adult individual currently residing at 15948
West Paradise Lane, Surprise, Arizona.
Defendant, Adoption Services Inc., is a licensed adoption agency in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, having its office address at 28 Central Boulevard,
Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
Defendants, unknown individuals, are presumably adult individuals, whose address
remains undisclosed by Adoption Services, Inc., and who have physical custody of
the minor child in question.
Plaintiff and Defendant Kranert are the natural parents of one (1) child, namely,
Alyssa Addison Kranert, bom June 19, 2003.
The child was bom out of wedlock.
For the past five (5) years, or since the child's birth, the child has resided with the
following persons at the following addresses for the following periods of time:
NAME ADDRESS DATES
Undisclosed Individuals Undisclosed residence June ! 9, 2003 to
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Pennsylvania Present
The natural mother of the child is Francine J. Kranert who resides as aforesaid.
She is single.
The natural father of the child is Joseph R. Pacioni who resides as aforesaid. He
is single.
The relationship of the Plaintiff to the child is that of natural father. The Plaintiff
currently resides with his parents.
The relationship of the Defendant Kranert to the child is that of natural mother.
Defendant currently resides with her mother and with two of her minor children.
The relationship of Defendant Adoption Services, Inc. to the child is that of
Intermediary in an adoption proceeding.
The relationship of Defendant Unknown Individuals to the child is that of individuals
exercising physical custody of the child since shortly after the child's birth without
notice to, or the knowledge or consent of Plaintiff.
Defendant Kranert filed a Petition to Voluntarily Terminate her own parental rights to
the minor child, to Docket Number 70 Adoptions 2003, and an adoption hearing
scheduled for August 7, 2003, was continued at Plaintiff's request.
Defendant Kranert has voluntarily consented to the termination of her parental rights
to the minor child.
Defendant Adoption Services, Inc. holds itself out as exercising legal custody of the
minor child, although any such alledged authority has been obtained without the
knowledge or consent of the Plaintiff.
Defendant Adoption Services, Inc. has given physical custody of the child to
unknown individuals in Pennsylvania.
15.
16.
Neither Defendant Kranert nor Defendant Adoption Services, Inc. have taken any
action to involuntarily terminate PlaintiWs parental fights.
It is in the best interest and permanent welfare of the child to grant the relief
requested because:
a) Plaintiff has been and continues to be interested in becoming the primary
custodian for the parties' child;
b) Plaintiff has the ability to provide for the child's physical, emotional and
financial needs;
c) Defendant Kranert has demonstrated a lack of interest, care or control in the
child through her voluntary consent to the termination of her parental fights to
the child;
d) Defendant Kranert has not exercised legal or physical custody of the child since
the child's birth;
e) Defendant Kranert has evidenced her intent to terminate her parental fights or
otherwise not exercise her parental fights through her actions since the child's
birth;
f) Plaintiff vehemently opposes any adoption of his child and the termination of
his parental rights and has voiced this position since prior to the child's birth;
g) Plaintiff has indicated his opposition to the adoption of his child to Defendant
Adoption Services, Inc. and did so prior to the removal of the child from
Arizona, where the child was born;
h) Plaintiff has a strong family support system to assist him with the care of his
child;
i) Plaintiff desires for the child to be placed in his legal and physical custody
primarily.
17. Plaintiff does not know any person not a party to these proceedings, who claims to
have custody or visitation rights with respect to the child.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff requests your Honorable Court to schedule Custody
Conciliation Conference followed by a hearing at which time she should be granted primary
physical custody of the child.
Respectfully submitted,
Attorney fort Plaintiff
GRIFFIE & ASSOCIATES
200 North Hanover Street
Carlisle, PA 17013
(717) 243-5551
(800) 347-5552
I, Marylou Matas, Esquire, counsel for JOSEPH R. PACIONI, hereby swear and affirm
that the facts set forth in this document are true and correct to the best of my knowledge,
information, and belief. I have sufficient knowledge or information and belief as to the
averments stated in these pleadings, based upon my personal knowledge and information
obtained from my client. This statement is made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. §4904
relating to unsworu falsification to authorities.
Date:
squire
JOSEPH R. PACIONI
PLAINTIFF
V.
FRANCINE J. KRANERT, ADOPTION
SERVICES, INC., AND UNKNOWN
INDIVIDUALS
DEFENDANT
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
:
03-4814 CIVIL ACTION LAW
:
: iN CUSTODY
ORDER OF COl[JRT
AND NOW, Thursday, September 18, 2003 , upon c ortsideration of the attached Complaint,
it is hereby directed that parties and their respective counsel appear before Hubert X. Gilroy, Esq. the concihator,
at 4th Floor, Cumberland Count~ Courthouse, Carlisle on Friday, October 17, 2003 at 8:30 AM
for a Pre-Hearing Custody Conference. At such conference, an effort will be made to resolve the issues in dispute; or
if this cannot be accomplished, to define and narrow the issues to be heard by the court, and to enter into a temporary
order. All children are five or older may also be l~resent at the conference. Failure to al~pear at the conference may
provide grounds for entry of a temporary or permanent order.
The court hereby directs the parties to furnish any and all existing Protection from Abuse orders,
Special Relief orders, and Custody orders to the conciliator 48 hours prior to scheduled hearing.
FORTHECOURT.
By: /s/ Hubert X. Gilroy. Esq.
Custody Conciliator
The Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland County is required by law to comply with the Americans
with Disabilites Act of 1990. For information about accessible facilities and reasonable accommodations
available to disabled individuals having business before the court, please contact our office. All arrangements
must be made at least 72 hours prior to any hearing or business before the court. You must attend the scheduled
conference or hearing.
YOU SHOULD TAKE THIS PAPER TO YOUR ATTORNEY AT ONCE. IF YOU DO NOT
HAVE AN ATTORNEY OR CANNOT AFFORD ONE, GO TO OR TELEPHONE THE OFFICE SET
FORTH BELOW TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU CAN GET LEGAL HELP.
Cumberland County Bar Association
32 South Bedford Street
Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013
Telephone (717) 249-3166
JOSEPH R. PACIONI,
PLAINTIFF
: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
· CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
FRANCINE J. KRANERT,
ADOPTION SEEVICES, INC. AND
UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS,
DEFENDANTS ·
· 03-4814 CIVIL TERM
ORDER OFCOURT
AND NOW, this ~ day of November, 2003, the within petition for
special relief, IS DENIED. The proceedings on this case will proceed as scheduled on
November 20, 2003.
Marylou Matas, Esquire
For Plaintiff
Stuart Sacks, Esquire
For Defendant
Francine J. Kran~rt, Pro se
Bythe Co ,
E ga~'~. I~a-yl{y, J..
:sal
JOSEPH R. PACIONI,
Plaintiff
V
FRANCINE J. KRANERT,
ADOPTION SERVICES, INC. and
UNKNOWN INDIVIDUALS,
Defendants
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL ACTION - LAW
NO. 2003 - 4814 CIVIL
IN CUSTODY
COURT ORDER
AND NOW, this i~ day of November, 2003, upon consideration of the attached
Custody ConciliationiReport, it is ordered and directed as follows:
A custody hearing is scheduled in the above case on November 20, 2003 in
CourtrOom No. 2 of the Cumberland County Courthouse. This custody
hearing is schedule to immediately begi.n, at the conclusion of the Petition for
Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights hearing which is scheduled at
DocketlNumber 70 Adoption 2003 to commence on November 20, 2003 at 8:45
a.m. At the conclusion of the termination hearing, this court will determine at
that tinge whether it wants to proceed and take testimony with respect to the
custod3~ issues. All parties should be present in the Courthouse and prepared
to proceed with matters relating to the custody issues in the event the court
determines that testimony on that issue will be taken subsequent to the
adoptioh termination hearing.
o
In ligh! of the fact that at least one of the parties anticipates reouestin~
telephone testimony in lieu of personal appearance in court of som~ of th~
witness~ from Arizona, counsel for the parties shall coordinate between
themselges and the court in advance of the hearing how telephone testimony
will be taken.
CC:
~/James D. FlowSr, Jr.
,/'Marylou Mata~, Esquire
~/~tuart S. Sacks~ Esquire
Edgar B. Bayl~y, ~
JOSEPH R. PACIONI,
Plaintiff
FRANCINE J. KRANERT,
ADOPTION SERVICES, INC. and
UNKNOWN INDIVI])UALS,
Defendants
Prior Judge: Edgar B. Bayley, Jr.
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
CIVIL ACTION - LAW
NO. 2003 - 481.4 CIVIL
IN CUSTODY
CONCILIATION CONFERENCE SUMMARY REPORT
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY CIVIL RULE OF
PROCEDURE 191523-8Co), the undersigned Custody Conciliator submits the following
report:
The pertinent !information pertaining to the child who is the subject of this litigation
is as follows:
Alyssa Addison Kranert, born June 19, 2003.
A Conciliation Conference was held via a telephone conference call on October 30,
2003, involving Attorney James D. Flower who represents undisclosed adoptive
parents and A~torney Marylou Matas who represent the Father, Joseph R. Pacioni.
This is a rathe~ complicated case. The minor child was born in Arizona. The Father
is Joseph R. pacioni represented by Attorney Marylou Matas. The Mother is
Francine J. l~ranert who is represented by Stuart S. Sacks pursuant to his
representation iof Adoption Services, Inc. in connection with an adoption matter.
Upon the birlh of the minor child, the natural Mother signed a Consent for
Adoption. Th~ child was placed with the unnamed parents in Pennsylvania who are
represented byiAttorney James Flower. It was anticipated that the Father would not
object to an adoption at that point even though the Father had refused to sign a
Consent.
Adoption proceedings have been started in Cumberland County at Docket Number
70 Adoption 2003. At or about the same time, Father initiated a custody action in
Cumberland (~ounty naming the Mother as the Defendant along with Adontion
Services, Inc. and Unknown Individuals who are the petitioners in the adoption c'ase.
The conciliator conducted a number of telephone conference calls with the attorneys
for the parties, except Attorney Sacks was not involved in these conference calls as
Attorney SaclCs being more involved in the adoption rather than the custody issues.
The conciliator felt that this matter should go to a hearing on the involuntary
termination issue involved in the adoption case and, in the event the court denies the
petition to terminate the Father's rights, the issue would then be a matter of custody
for the minor child involving the parents and, perhaps, the Unknown Individuals
who may assert that they have standing in loco parentis.
Accordingly, the conciliator recommends the court schedule a custody hearing to be
commenced a{, the conclusion of the termination hearing in the adoption case, with
the parties to I~e prepared to proceed with testimony on custody subject to the court's
direction afterlthe termination hearing.
Attorney FloWer understands that in the event the termination of the Father's
parental right~ is not granted, the Mother would then seek custody of the minor child
over that of th~ Father.
It should be noted that Attorney Flower has identified a potential venue issue in the
event the couR gets to the custody issues. However, the conciliator notes that the
minor child is ~urrently in Pennsylvania and has resided in Pennsylvania since shortly
after her birth in June of this year and, at a minimum, Pennsylvania certainly has
jurisdiction to issue an interim custody order while any jurisdictional issues would be
worked out.
The conciliato~ recommends the entry of an order in the form as attached.
IN RE:
ADOPTION OF
ALYSSA ADDISON KRANERT
: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
: CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
: 03-0070 ADOPTIONS
: 03-4814 CIVIL TERM
IN RE: PETITION TO TERMINATE FATHER'S
PARENTAL RIGHTS AND FATHER'S PETITION
FOR SPECIAL CUSTODIAL RELIEF
ORDER OF COURT
AND NOW, this ~"~ day of December, 2003, IT IS ORDERED:
(1) At 03-0070 Adoptions, the parental rights of Joseph Pacioni to Alyssa
Addison Kranent, born June 19, 2003, ARE TERMINATED.
(2) At 03-4814 Civil Term, the petition of Joseph Pacioni for special custodial
relief, IS DISMISSED.
James D. Flower, Jr., Esquire
For Jonathan B. Slagel and Amy M. Slagel
By the. CoU~
v/f~l_ arylou Matas, Esquire
For Joseph Pacioni
~indsay Dare Baird, Esquire
For Alyssa Addison Kranert
~_tuart Sacks, Esquire
For Francine Kranert
:sal
)J.NNO~, ~
60,:~. ~ 3qrd ~0
IN RE:
ADOPTION OF
ALYSSA ADDISON KRANERT
: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
: CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
: 03-0070 ADOPTIONS
: 03-4814 CIVIL TERM
IN RE: PETITION TO TERMINATE FATHER'S
PARENTAL RIGHTS AND FATHER'S PETITION
FOR SPECIAL CUSTODIAL RELIEF
OPINION AND ORDER OF COURT
Bayley, J., December 10, 2003:--
On July 3, 2003, Jonathan B. $1agel and Amy M. Slagel, husband and wife, who
live in York, York County, Pennsylvania, filed a report of intent to adopt Alyssa Addison
Kranert, born June 19, 2003.~ The proposed adoption was arranged by Adoption
Services, Inc., of Camp Hill, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Alyssa was placed
with the Slagels on June 21, 2003. On July 23, 2003, the mother of Alyssa, Francine
Kranert, filed a petition to voluntary relinquish her parental rights. On October 8, 2003,
the Slagels filed a petition to involuntary terminate the parental rights of the father,
Joseph Pacioni. Pacioni objects to the termination of his rights. A hearing was
conducted on November 20, 2003.
On September 15, 2003, Pacioni filed a civil complaint seeking legal and
physical custody of Alyssa Addison Kranert.2 On the same day he filed a petition for
special relief seeking temporary legal and physical custody of Aylssa. This petition was
I 03-0070 Adoptions.
2 03-4814 Civil.
03-0070 ADOPTIONS
03-4814 CIVIL TERM
heard at the same time as the hearing on the petition to terminate his parental rights.
Francine Kranert is age 27 and Joseph Pacioni is age 42. The mother lives with
three of her children, ages 6, 4 and 2, in the home of her mother and stepfather in
Surprise, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. When Alyssa was born, the father was an
inmate in the Arizona State Penitentiary. He was released on August 7, 2003, and lives
with his parents in Phoenix. He is unmarried and has no other children. Pacioni and
Kranert met in August, 2002. Neither was employed. They gambled a lot. They
smoked and injected methamphetamines daily. Kranert became pregnant in
September, 2002. She went to an obstetrician and acknowledged her illegal drug use.
She testified that she stopped using illegal drugs in order to protect her fetus, and that
she has not used such drugs since then. She plans to finish her GED. She is currently
unemployed and will be attending job readiness classes in an effort to find employment
near where she lives.
Pacioni began using illegal drugs in his early teens. He went to a Catholic high
school in Phoenix, and then to a private school in California where he was expelled for
using marijuana. He then went to a public high school near Phoenix where he dropped
out at age eighteen. He became addicted to methamphetamines. While he has often
stayed at his parents' home he has been evicted from a half dozen places. He has
worked on and off. He is a Iow level criminal. He has been convicted of driving under
suspension at least fifteen times. His license is suspended and he is not eligible for
reinstatement until February, 2005. Since dropping out of high school, Pacioni, in his
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03-0070 ADOPTIONS
03-4814 CIVIL TERM
own words, has led a life of "no responsibility, direction or purpose."
Pacioni completed 30 days of inpatient drug treatment in the 1980s. In the eady
1990s, he completed another 30 days of inpatient drug treatment. In the mid-1990s, he
was in outpatient drug treatment for six months. In 1999, he was convicted of drug
offenses which resulted in a sentence to four years probation. He violated that
probation in 2001, and was then placed on intensive probation. He was directed to
complete inpatient drug treatment at a private facility. When he started he told an
administrator that he did not want to go through the program. The facility only was
willing to treat someone who acknowledged a need for treatment. He was asked to
leave and he left after seven days.
On November 8, 2002, Pacioni was with Kranert in a vehicle when they were
stopped and he was arrested on a warrant for violation of his probation. A search
recovered drugs and drug paraphernalia for which he was charged. He was committed
to the Arizona State Penitentiary on the probation violation for nine months to one
and a half years. The criminal charges arising out the seizure of drugs and drug
paraphernalia when he was arrested are still pending, and he is scheduled for court on
December 17, 2003. If convicted it is possible he may be sentenced to imprisonment.3
Kranert told Pacioni that she was pregnant before he went to prison. He told her
that he wanted to marry her but he never formally proposed. When he was in prison
she talked to him by phone and visited him twice. In February, 2003, she told him that
3 Pacioni has maxed out on his 1999 drug conviction.
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03-0070 ADOPTIONS
03-4814 CIVIL TERM
she had decided to have the baby adopted even though he was adamantly opposed.
She ceased communication with him in the middle of May. On May 21st, Pacioni filed
an acknowledgment of paternity with the Arizona State Board of Vital Static. He
received a phone call on June 11,2003, from a representative of Adoption Services,
Inc. He told the representative that he was opposed to an adoption. The
representative said that an adoption was going to proceed anyway and that he should
obtain a lawyer. Pacioni understood that the baby was due on June 23rd. He talked to
a representative of Adoption Services on June 24th, who told him that the baby was
born on June 19th, and was on the way to Pennsylvania. The Slagels flew to Arizona on
June 20th and received Alyssa at the hospital on June 21st. After obtaining custody
under the Interstate Compact, they brought Alyssa to Pennsylvania about ten days
later. They remain in Ioco parentis.
Pacioni completed several drug programs while in prison. After his release he
was required to attend thirty-six hours of outpatient counseling for substance abuse at
the New Arizona Family Clinic in Phoenix. He started on September 3, 2003. He
competed the counseling in late October and is now voluntarily attending two group
sessions a week for coping skills and anger management.4 He works in a warehouse
of a company on which his father is a member of the board of directors. He earns a
4 He has never had psychological and psychiatric care.
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03-0070 ADOPTIONS
03-4814 CIVIL TERM
little under $2,000 a month. 5 He either rides a bicycle, gets rides or takes a bus to
work. He testified that he has passed random drug tests at his place of employment,
although no corroboration was provided. He testified that he has not taken any illegal
drugs since he was arrested on November 8, 2002. His counselor at the New Arizona
Family Clinic testified that he believes Pacioni is "clean."
Pacioni's father, Ray Pacioni, operates an automobile distribution business in
Phoenix. He testified that there has been a very positive change in his son since he
was released from prison. He believes that his son is more committed to caring for his
child than to anything else he has ever been interested in. He and his wife do not
intend to raise their granddaughter, but are committed to supporting their son in any
way they can. Pacioni's middle child, Giana, age 39, is an attorney living in Monterey,
California. She is married with three children. His younger son, Ronald, age 34, works
for his father's automobile distribution business and is married with two children.
Ronald testified that his brother told him on the day he was released from prison that
the counseling he received there for his drug addiction '~vas a joke." Giana and Ronald
testified to the long period of drug use and irresponsibility of their brother. They
testified that he is not a bad person, that he loves children, but that he lacks common
sense. Each of them is of the opinion that he will not be able to care for a child and is
unfit to be a parent. Both believe that their parents are continuing to enable him under
5At time over the years he has worked for various companies in which his father is
involved.
03-0070 ADOPTIONS
03-4814 CIVIL TERM
a well meaning but misguided hope that his caring for child will finally bring about some
change.
Kranert testified that she believes that it is in the best interest of her baby to be
adopted. She consents to the termination of her parental rights conditioned upon
Pacionrs rights being terminated. Otherwise, she will seek primary custody of Alyssa.
Pacioni testified that being a father has given him responsibility that he has never had
in his life. He believes he has remedied his past problems. He has investigated child
care options in Phoenix including a nanny for the first year. He maintains that he is
able to take care of his baby with the financial, emotional and family support of his
parents. While his parents may have enabled him in the past, he believes their support
is different now because before he did not care about anything. When asked if Kranert
could care for Aylssa he stated that she "has her hands full."
During the hearing the parties agreed that Pacioni would submit to a drug test
under the auspices of Cumberland County Children and Youth Services, and that the
record would be supplemented with the results of the test. Pacioni provided urine on
November 20, 2003, that was analyzed by Scientific Testing Laboratories, Inc., of
Richmond, VA. The results from this Professional Drug and Alcohol Abuse Testing
Facility were positive at 2000 ng/ml for amphetamines.
DISCUSSION
The Slagels seek to terminate the father's parental rights to Alyssa pursuant to
the Adoption Act at 23 Pa.C.S. Section 2511 (a)(2) and (b), which provides:
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03-0070 ADOPTIONS
03-4814 CIVIL TERM
(a) General rule.raThe rights of a parent in regard to a child may
be terminated after a petition filed on any of the following grounds:
(2) The repeated and continued incapacity, abuse, neglect
or refusal of the parent has caused the child to be without essential
parental care, control or subsistence necessary for his physical or
mental well-being and the conditions and causes of the incapacity,
abuse, neglect or refusal cannot or will not be remedied by the
parent.
(b) Other considerations.--The court in terminating the rights of
a parent shall give primary consideration to the developmental, physical
and emotional needs and welfare of the child. The rights of a parent shall
not be terminated solely on the basis of environmental factors such as
inadequate housing, furnishings, income, clothing and medical care if
found to be beyond the control of the parent ....
In In re B.L.L., 787 A.2d 1007 (Pa. Super. 2001), the Superior Court of
Pennsylvania stated that "a party seeking termination of parental rights beam the
burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence, grounds existing for doing so."
Clear and convincing evidence means testimony that is so clear, direct, weighty, and
convincing as to enable the trier of fact to come to a clear conviction without hesitation,
of the truth of the precise facts in issue. Id. A court must initially find that the statutory
requirements for termination of parental rights have been met. Id. Only after a
bifurcated process has determined within the same proceeding that the parent has or
has not forfeited his right to parent a child, must it turn to a review of the needs and
welfare of the child. In In re Adoption of Michael J.C., 506 Pa. 517 (1984), the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania stated that the Superior Court in interpreting Section
2511(a)(2) of the Adoption Act had concluded that offensive behavior alone, absent an
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03-0070 ADOPTIONS
03-4814 CIVIL TERM
affect on the child, is not enough to terminate parental rights. The Supreme Court held
otherwise, stating:
By interpreting the statute as the Superior Court has done,
termination of parental rights would only result after a child has suffered
physical, emotional or mental damage. We cannot agree. Neither the
language of the Act, nor our case law, supports appellee's position that
Section 2511(a)(2) requires a showing that a putative parent have an
opportunity to inflict substantial physical or mental harm upon a child
before the state can intervene. Rather, a more appropriate reading of the
statute is that when a parent has demonstrated a continued inability
to conduct his or her life in a fashion that would provide a safe
environment for a child, whether that child is living with the parent or
not, and the behavior of the parent is irremediable as supported by
clear and competent evidence, the termination of parental rights is
justified. (Emphasis added.)
Adequate parenting requires capacity as well as intent. Despite Pacioni's
assertion that he has not used illegal drugs since November 8, 2002, the result of the
test of his urine provided on November 20, 2003, was positive for amphetamines. That
does not surprise us given his slurred speech and vacuous appearance during his
testimony that day. Notwithstanding his extensive past drug treatment, his forced
absence from the use of illegal drugs while in prison from November 8, 2002 until
August 7, 2003, and his stated intent to undertake responsibility for his child, he is still
succumbing to his addiction and living the lie. He has deluded his long-suffering
parents and caring counselor but not his brother and sister. Pacioni remains an active
addict dependent on others for his own welfare. The root cause of his directionless life
is continuing. Given these circumstances there is no credible evidence to support a
finding that Pacionrs self-centered and profligate lifestyle will change in any significant
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03-0070 ADOPTIONS
03-4814 CIVIL TERM
way. Weighing the credibility and weight of all of the evidence we are satisfied by clear
and convincing evidence that (1) Pacioni has lacked and continues to lack the capacity
to provide essential parental care for the physical and mental well-being of a child, and
(2) that this incapacity will not be remedied by him.
Alyssa's single mother has made the difficult decision to consent to the
termination of her parental rights as she is already raising three young children. The
Slagels, who have been in Ioco parenfis since June 21,2003, have been providing
excellent care for Alyssa and have the capacity and heartfelt desire to provide such
care for her in the future. With Pacioni lacking and continuing to lack the capacity to
provide essential parental care for a child, which incapacity will not be remedied by him,
there is clear and convincing evidence that terminating his parental rights is necessary
for Alyssa's adequate developmental, physical and emotional needs, and for her
welfare. For the foregoing reasons, pursuant to Section 2511(a)(2) and (b) of the
Adoption Act, the following order is entered.
ORDER OF COURT
AND NOW, this ~f~)'l~ day of December, 2003, IT IS ORDERED:
(1) At 03-0070 Adoptions, the parental rights of Joseph Pacioni to Alyssa
Addison Kranent, born June 19, 2003, ARE TERMINATED.
(2) At 03-4814 Civil Term, the petition of Joseph Pacioni for special custodial
relief, IS DISMISSED.
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03-0070 ADOPTIONS
03-4814 CIVIL TERM
James D. Flower, Jr., Esquire
For Jonathan B. Slagel and Amy M. Slagel
Marylou Matas, Esquire
For Joseph Pacioni
Lindsay Dare Baird, Esquire
For Alyssa Addison Kranert
Stuart Sacks, Esquire
For Francine Kranert
:sal
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