Respondent appealed from the circuit court’s order finding her minor child neglected due to an injurious environment under section 2-3(1)(b) of the Juvenile Court Act and a subsequent order adjudicating the minor as a ward of the court. The appellate court affirmed, finding that respondent was not denied the effective assistance of counsel where counsel’s arguments were a strategic decision and where the trial court likely would have reached the same result absent counsel’s strategic decision, that the trial court did not commit plain and obvious error in the consideration of a report that was not admitted at trial where the trial court had wide latitude to consider evidence relevant to its decision, and that the trial court’s findings were not against the manifest weight of the evidence. (FITZGERALD SMITH and COGHLAN, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Juvenile Court Act