SCDSS v. Sonya G.

THIS OPINION HAS NO
PRECEDENTIAL VALUE.  IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY
PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

South Carolina
Department of Social Services, Respondent,

v.

Respondent, Defendants,

Of whom Sonya G.
is the, Appellant.

In the interest of a minor under the age of 18.

Appeal from Kershaw County

Dana A. Morris, Family Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2012-UP-077

Submitted February 1, 2012 – Filed
February 8, 2012   

AFFIRMED

Thomas M. Neal, III, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Princess Faith Henryhand Hodges, of Columbia, for Respondent.

Zack Owen Atkinson, of Camden, for Guardian ad Litem.

PER CURIAM: Sonya
G. (Mother) appeals an order of the family court requiring her to submit to
psychological and physical examinations, arguing the family court did not have
jurisdiction or authority to order her to submit to these evaluations prior to
a finding of abuse or neglect.  We affirm.[1] 
This is an issue of the family court's authority, not its jurisdiction.[2] 
The family court has exclusive original jurisdiction over abuse and removal
proceedings.  S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-1610(A) (2010).  Although Mother's brief
argues the family court's ruling was made over her objections, no objection or
post-trial motion appears in the record.  Because the record does not show that
Mother raised this issue to the family court, we find this issue unpreserved.  Wilder
Corp. v. Wilke, 330 S.C. 71, 76, 497 S.E.2d 731, 733 (1998) ("It
is axiomatic that an issue cannot be raised for the first time on appeal, but
must have been raised to and ruled upon by the trial judge to be preserved for
appellate review."); see also Medlock v. One 1985 Jeep Cherokee
VIN 1JCWB7828FT129001, 322 S.C. 127, 132, 470 S.E.2d 373, 376 (1996)
("The appellant has the burden of providing this court with a sufficient
record upon which to make a decision."). 

AFFIRMED.

HUFF, PIEPER,
and LOCKEMY, JJ., concur.

[1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to
Rule 215, SCACR.

[2] We further note that the child at issue reached the
age of majority during the pendency of this appeal and any further proceedings
may be moot.