IN THE INTEREST OF N.S., J.S., J.L.B. AND J.J.S.
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A Florida appellate court affirmed a trial court's order terminating parental rights of an incarcerated mother whose children had been in foster care for 5.5 years following removal by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. The court held that the trial court did not err in failing to appoint counsel for the mother at a prior dependency proceeding where she was not implicated and the evidence from that proceeding was not used to support termination.
The trial court did not err in failing to appoint counsel because: (1) no constitutional right to counsel existed at the dependency proceeding since neither permanent termination of parental rights nor criminal charges were at issue; and (2) the Belflower rationale, which requires reversal when evidence from a prior proceeding is used in termination, does not apply because the mother was not implicated in the dependency proceeding and its findings were not used in the termination order.
[1] A constitutional right to counsel does not exist in a dependency proceeding where neither permanent termination of parental rights nor criminal charges against the parent…
[2] The failure to appoint counsel in a prior dependency proceeding does not mandate reversal of a subsequent termination of parental rights order if the dependency proceedin…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“There was clearly no constitutional right to counsel at that proceeding, in that neither permanent termination of parental rights, nor criminal charges against the mother, were at issue.”
Establishes the constitutional framework—no right to appointed counsel at dependency proceedings absent termination or criminal charges.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe mother was incarcerated in Missouri for murder and had three children placed with a Jacksonville couple in 1983 at her request. In February 1986, …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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JOANOS, Chief Judge.
This is an appeal from an order of the trial court terminating parental rights. We affirm.
The mother of the children herein is incarcerated in Missouri for the murder of the father of three of those children. At the time of her December 1983 arrest in Jacksonville, Florida, the children were placed, at her request, in the custody of a Jacksonville couple. In February 1986, the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services removed the children from these custodians based on evidence of abuse and neglect. In April 1986, the children were adjudicated dependent based on the custodians’ conduct, in which the mother was not implicated. The children spent the next 5V2 years in various foster care and juvenile homes, culminating in the order of permanent termination of parental rights herein appealed.
The mother raises several issues on appeal, only one of which merits discussion, i.e., the failure of the trial court to appoint counsel for her in the April 1986 dependency proceeding. There was clearly no constitutional right to counsel at that proceeding, in that neither permanent termination of parental rights, nor criminal charges against the mother, were at issue. In Interest of D.B. and D.S., 385 So. 2d 83, 91 (Fla.1980). However, in Belflower v. HRS, 578 So. 2d 827 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991), the court reversed an order terminating parental rights based on a failure to advise the mother of her right to counsel at the prior dependency proceeding.
In Belflower, the evidence and findings adduced at the dependency proceeding were eventually used to adjudicate the termination of parental rights. In this case, the April 1986 dependency proceeding did not involve allegations against the mother, but rather against the appointed custodians. Further, the findings and evidence adduced in that proceeding were not used to adjudicate the eventual termination of parental rights. Therefore, we find that the Belflower rationale does not apply, and the trial court did not err in failing to appoint counsel for the mother in the April 1986 dependency proceeding.
Affirmed.
BARFIELD, J., and WENTWORTH, Senior Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- In the Interest of D. B. and D. S., 385 So. 2d 83 (Fla. 1980)
- Belflower v. Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 578 So. 2d 827 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)