Court of Appeals hears challenge to juvenile court guardianship order in Kilometers case

The Utah Court of Appeals heard oral argument over an appeal in which the parents of a child identified in the record as Kilometers asked the court to reverse a juvenile court order that continued a guardianship and awarded permanent custody to a maternal aunt.

Appellant counsel told the panel that “the existence of an independent and fundamental right held by Kilometers here, the child, in favor of family life,” and argued the juvenile court failed to make required findings when it decided to continue or convert the temporary guardianship. The Guardian ad Litem’s office said the juvenile court’s findings and the adjudication phase change the parental presumption and that applicable juvenile-code provisions should control.

Why this matters: the appeal turns on whether the juvenile court applied the proper statutory standards at disposition and permanency (discussed in argument as sections “80‑3‑409,” “80‑3‑405” and “80‑3‑406”) and on how Hutchinson-style parental‑presumption factors should be considered in a…