She probably won't get out of prison before her daughter reaches adulthood, but Tamara Schmidt can still be a mother to Brittney Bergeron, Family Court Judge Gerald Hardcastle ruled Thursday.
For the second time in a year, Hardcastle denied a petition from the Clark County district attorney's office to strip Schmidt of her parental rights, even though the woman is expected to spend the next four to 12 years in prison for child neglect.
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Brittney, now 14, was left paralyzed from the waist down and her 3-year-old sister, Kristyanna Cowan, was killed in a 2003 stabbing attack that occurred while the girls were home alone in Mesquite.
Prosecutors argued in court last week that terminating Schmidt's parental rights would clear the way for Brittney to be adopted by her foster parents, something the girl desperately wants.
But in a written ruling issued Thursday afternoon, Hardcastle argued that there was no compelling reason to terminate Schmidt's parental rights because Brittney would remain with her foster parents for the rest of her childhood and would "not be physically reunified with her mother."
"Brittney's desires for stability and safety have been assured. Her desire for a continuing relationship with her mother can be assured by denial of this petition. It is simply not in her best interest to remove her mother from her life," Hardcastle wrote.
Clark County District Attorney David Roger promised to appeal the ruling because there is a slim chance that Schmidt could get out of prison before Brittney turns 18.
"We're not going to take any chances," Roger said. "We will continue fighting on behalf of Brittney Bergeron to make sure she never, ever returns to the conditions she experienced in her mother's care."
Asked about the prospect of an appeal, Schmidt's attorney, Stephen Caruso, said, "They're going to get sick of me winning eventually."
Prosecutors sought to sever Schmidt's parental rights a year ago, but Hardcastle instead ordered authorities to do everything they could under the law to reunite the mother and daughter.
A few months later, Roger's office filed criminal charges against Schmidt for felony child abuse and neglect stemming from the 2003 attack.
