IN RE: M.J. (CHILD CUSTODY)

Statutes cited

Key holdings

Practitioner summary

The court dismissed sua sponte for lack of appellate jurisdiction. The challenged order established temporary custody under NRS Chapter 432B and set the matter for further proceedings. Citing In re Temporary Custody of Five Minor Children, 105 Nev. 441, 443, 777 P.2d 901, 902 (1989), the court reiterated that temporary orders in NRS 432B actions are not final and therefore are not appealable. Because no appellate jurisdiction attached, the court did not address the merits and took no action on the appellant's motion to proceed in forma pauperis.

In plain language

A mother, Amy Gray, tried to appeal a district court order that placed her minor child in protective custody under Nevada's child-welfare statutes (NRS Chapter 432B). The Nevada Supreme Court did not reach the merits of her challenge. Instead, it concluded it had no power to hear the appeal at this stage. The reason is procedural. The order Gray challenged was a temporary one - it set custody on an interim basis and scheduled the case for further proceedings in the district court. Under longstanding Nevada law, only final orders in this type of case can be appealed; temporary orders cannot. Because the order Gray appealed was temporary rather than final, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The court also declined to act on Gray's request to proceed without paying filing fees, noting that the dismissal made that request moot.