Jury Trial Error Waived in SAPCR Bench Trial: In re L.E.-N.N. (2026)

In the Interest of L.E.-N.N., C.J.W. and C.R.W., Children, 05-25-01645-CV, June 05, 2026.

On appeal from 304th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas

Synopsis

A parent does not preserve a complaint that a SAPCR was improperly tried to the bench merely by filing a jury demand. If the case is called for trial and the requesting party fails to appear, or appears through counsel and does not object to the bench trial, any jury-trial complaint is waived under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 33.1.

Relevance to Family Law

This opinion matters well beyond child-protection cases. For Texas family litigators handling SAPCRs, divorces with conservatorship issues, modification suits, and other jury-eligible family matters, L.E.-N.N. is a pointed reminder that perfecting a jury right is only part of the preservation analysis. The Dallas Court of Appeals treated the jury complaint like any other trial-management complaint: if no timely, specific objection is made when the court proceeds non-jury, the issue is gone.

That has immediate implications in custody litigation and divorce cases involving a jury demand on conservatorship, domicile, or other jury-submissible issues. It also has a practical spillover into property litigation in divorce. Even where a client has paid the jury fee and expects a jury trial, counsel must still make a clear record when the case is called, when the court indicates it will proceed to the bench, and when the final order recites that a jury was waived. Silence will be treated as waiver.

Case Summary

Fact Summary

The Department first filed for temporary orders requiring Mother to participate in services after an investigation into abuse and neglect concerns involving three children. The trial court found Mother had caused continuing danger or substantial risk and ordered narrowly tailored services. At later hearings, the court repeatedly noted Mother’s noncompliance, continuing domestic violence concerns, and the presence of a violent partner in the home. After finding the children remained in danger, the court appointed the Department temporary managing conservator and Mother possessory conservator.

The next day, the Department filed its SAPCR seeking protection, conservatorship, and termination-related relief. Mother answered and requested a jury trial. Later, the parties mediated and signed a binding MSA that allowed the children to return to Mother on a 180-day monitored return, and the court signed an agreed monitored-return order. But that arrangement unraveled after new reports of violence involving Mother’s boyfriend and one of the boys, along with evidence that Mother had violated a no-contact condition central to the monitored return.

Trial began on November 3, 2025, as a bench trial. Mother’s court-appointed counsel appeared, but Mother did not. On the resumed setting, counsel advised the court that Mother had communicated by email, had been informed of each setting, and had made clear she wanted to represent herself and did not want counsel to represent her. Counsel further stated Mother had asked what would happen if she did not show up. The trial proceeded without Mother, without a jury, and without any objection that the case was being tried to the bench rather than to a jury.

At the conclusion of trial, the court appointed the girl’s father as her permanent managing conservator, appointed the Department as permanent managing conservator of the boys, and appointed Mother possessory conservator with supervised access restrictions. The final order expressly recited that a jury was waived and that all fact and law questions were submitted to the court. Mother appealed, arguing the trial court erred by conducting a bench trial rather than a jury trial.

Issues Decided

• Whether a parent in a SAPCR preserves a complaint about denial of a jury trial merely by requesting a jury.
• Whether failing to appear when the case is called for trial, coupled with the absence of a contemporaneous objection to a bench trial, waives any jury-trial complaint.
• Whether affirmance is required when the appellate record shows no preserved objection under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 33.1.

Rules Applied

The court relied on the familiar preservation framework rather than any novel family-law-specific exception.

• Texas Family Code § 105.002 recognizes that a party may demand a jury trial in a SAPCR, subject to the statutory limits on jury questions in family cases.
• Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 33.1 requires a timely request, objection, or motion stating the grounds with sufficient specificity, and a ruling or refusal to rule, as a prerequisite to appellate review.
• Dallas Court of Appeals precedent, including Interest of B.C.C., No. 05-21-00091-CV, 2021 WL 2948557 (Tex. App.—Dallas June 30, 2021, no pet.) (mem. op.), holds that even a party who has perfected the right to a jury trial must still act affirmatively to preserve a complaint that the right was denied.
• The court also cited Interest of J.W., No. 05-23-01049-CV, 2024 WL 1340367 (Tex. App.—Dallas Mar. 29, 2024, no pet.) (mem. op.), reinforcing that a litigant must object when the trial court proceeds without a jury.

The operative rule is straightforward: a perfected jury demand does not preserve appellate error by itself. Preservation requires a contemporaneous objection when the court actually tries the case non-jury.

Application

The court’s reasoning was practical and record-driven. Mother unquestionably requested a jury trial, so the appellate problem was not perfection of the jury right. The problem was preservation after the trial setting arrived. When the case was called, the court proceeded with a bench trial. Mother did not appear. Her attorney did appear, participated, and informed the court that Mother had been advised of the settings and had expressed a desire to proceed pro se. But neither Mother nor counsel objected that the court could not proceed without a jury.

That omission was decisive. The Dallas court treated the bench-trial complaint as unpreserved because there was no timely objection at the moment preservation mattered—when the court began and continued trying the case to the bench. The court was not willing to infer an objection from the earlier jury demand, from Mother’s absence, or from the procedural confusion regarding representation. Nor did the recitation in the final order that “[a] jury was waived” create preserved error in Mother’s favor, particularly where her attorney signed the order and the record reflected no objection to the bench proceeding.

In other words, the appellate court separated two distinct concepts that practitioners sometimes blend together: perfecting the right to a jury and preserving a complaint that the right was denied. Mother may have done the first, but she did not do the second. Under Rule 33.1, that ended the analysis.

Holding

The court held that a complaint that a SAPCR was tried to the bench instead of to a jury is not preserved unless the complaining party makes a timely objection when the case is called for trial or when the court proceeds non-jury. A prior jury request, standing alone, is not enough.

The court further held that where the parent who requested a jury fails to appear and no objection is lodged to the bench trial, any complaint regarding the lack of a jury trial is waived. Because Mother did not preserve error under Rule 33.1, the court affirmed the final SAPCR order.

Practical Application

For family litigators, the real lesson is not about the abstract right to a jury; it is about record discipline at the point of trial. A jury demand and jury fee may secure the setting posture, but they do not insulate the issue for appeal if the court proceeds otherwise and nobody objects. This is especially important in CPS cases, modification suits, and high-conflict custody disputes where clients become difficult to manage, flirt with self-representation, fail to appear, or create ambiguity about who is actually speaking for them.

In divorce cases, the same preservation logic should guide practice whenever a jury has been requested on conservatorship, primary residence restrictions, or any jury-eligible issue. If the court indicates it will try the matter to the bench, counsel should object on the record, obtain a ruling, and if necessary clarify that the client does not waive the jury right. If the client is absent, counsel should still preserve the complaint unless strategic abandonment is intended. A silent record will usually be fatal.

This opinion also underscores the danger of muddled attorney-client status. Here, Mother wanted to represent herself, had cycled through counsel issues, and filed a revocation of power of attorney, yet counsel still appeared and signed the final order as attorney for Mother. When representation status is unstable, preservation gets harder, not easier. Trial lawyers should lock down whether they remain counsel of record, whether the client has leave to proceed pro se, and who is responsible for making objections.

Several litigation scenarios deserve special attention:

• In CPS and SAPCR jury cases, confirm on the eve of trial that the case is actually set on the jury docket and that no administrative or informal conversion to a bench setting has occurred.
• If the client does not appear, do not assume the jury demand speaks for itself. Make the objection anyway.
• If the court proceeds with evidence before a jury panel is seated, object immediately and request that the case be reset or tried to a jury.
• If the proposed final order contains a recital that the jury was waived, strike it or object to it in writing and on the record.
• In hybrid cases involving both jury and non-jury issues, specify which issues must go to the jury so the record does not suggest an across-the-board waiver.

Checklists

Preserving a Jury-Trial Complaint in a Family Case

• File a timely jury demand.
• Pay the jury fee within the required time.
• Confirm the case is actually placed on the jury docket.
• When the case is called, announce ready for jury trial on the record.
• If the court proposes to proceed to the bench, make a timely and specific objection.
• State clearly that the party does not waive the previously requested jury trial.
• Obtain a ruling on the objection.
• If the objection is denied, continue to note that participation is subject to the jury objection.
• Review the final order for any recital that a jury was waived and object if inaccurate.

Handling the Absent or Uncooperative Client

• Document every notice of trial setting sent to the client.
• Confirm in writing whether counsel remains attorney of record.
• If the client seeks self-representation, obtain a clear court ruling before trial.
• If the client fails to appear, still appear unless excused by the court.
• Make all necessary preservation objections despite the client’s absence.
• Create a record of the client’s notice, nonappearance, and counsel’s continuing objection to a non-jury trial.
• Avoid statements that could be construed as acquiescence to a bench trial.

Cleaning Up Representation Status Before Trial

• Determine whether any motion to withdraw, substitute, or proceed pro se has been granted.
• Do not rely on docket entries alone if the record is otherwise unclear.
• Ask the court to clarify on the record who represents the party at trial.
• If serving only in an advisory capacity, define the scope of that role on the record.
• Confirm who has authority to waive rights, agree to orders, and make trial decisions.
• Before signing the final order, ensure the order accurately reflects the trial posture and any preserved objections.

Responding When the Court Proceeds Without a Jury

• Object before evidence begins, if possible.
• Reurge the objection if the case resumes on a later date without a jury.
• Request that the jury panel be seated or that the trial be reset on the jury docket.
• If the court overrules the objection, request that the ruling be expressly recorded.
• Avoid participating silently in a manner that appears to accept a bench trial.
• If a written order later states that the jury was waived, file a written objection or motion to modify.

Appellate Record Protection

• Ensure the reporter’s record captures the jury demand issue at the trial setting.
• Make specific references to the prior jury request and fee payment.
• Tie the objection to Rule 33.1 preservation requirements.
• Include any written objections to the form of judgment or final order in the clerk’s record.
• After judgment, evaluate whether a motion to modify or motion for new trial is needed to reinforce the preservation record.

Citation

In the Interest of L.E.-N.N., C.J.W. and C.R.W., Children, No. 05-25-01645-CV, 2026 WL ___ (Tex. App.—Dallas June 5, 2026, no pet.) (mem. op.).

Full Opinion

Read the full opinion here

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