Matter of Cozza

In Matter of Cozza (1912) 163 Cal. 514, the Supreme Court considered the meaning of "left" as it then was contained in section 224 of the Civil Code. As is pertinent, the statute then provided: "Any child deserted by both parents or left in the care and custody of another by its parent or parents without any agreement or provision for its support for the period of one year, is deemed to be an abandoned child within the meaning of this section. . . any abandoned child within the meaning of this section, if left in the care and custody of another person for one year or more, may, with the consent of the district attorney of the county where the person applying to adopt such child is a resident, be adopted by such person." ( Id. at p. 522.) The court stated that an abandonment under the statute required an "'actual desertion,'" and the parent must have an intention to abandon the child. ( Id. at p. 528.) The statute "contemplates a case where a child has been voluntarily surrendered." (Ibid.) Where the care and custody of the child is taken away from the parent by order of the court without the consent of the parent, there is no abandonment. ( Id. at pp. 528-529.)