Guardianship of G.S., Matter of
| Decision Date | 24 May 1994 |
| Citation | 644 A.2d 1088,137 N.J. 168 |
| Court | New Jersey Supreme Court |
| Parties | In the Matter of the GUARDIANSHIP OF G.S., III, a Minor. In the Matter of the GUARDIANSHIP OF S.A.M.M.J., a Minor. In the Matter of the GUARDIANSHIP OF C.R.S. and K.K.B.S., Jr., Minors. In the Matter of the GUARDIANSHIP OF A.C.C., V.C.K. & K.C.; the Guardianship of H.H.K. & C.E.W., II; the Guardianship of C.C.; the Guardianship of W.A.P.; the Guardianship of A.C.M., L.A.M., P.M.M., J.A.M., P.L.M. & R.M., Minors. |
Peter D. Alvino, Deputy Atty. Gen., for appellant, NJ Div. of Youth and Family Services .
Dianne Herland Sloane, Sp. Counsel, for respondent County of Gloucester.
John P. Gallina, Baptistown, for respondent County of Hunterdon (Gaetano M. DeSapio, Hunterdon County Counsel, attorney).
Gary A. Kraemer, Sparta, submitted a brief on behalf of respondent E.S. (Daggett & Kraemer, attorneys).
William J. McGovern, III, Newton, submitted a brief on behalf of respondent G.S., Jr. (McGovern and Roseman, attorneys).
Malcolm V. Carton, Monmouth County Counsel, submitted a letter in lieu of brief on behalf of respondent County of Monmouth.
Donald M. Weitzman, Morristown, submitted a letter in lieu of brief on behalf of respondent D.S. (Glucksman & Weitzman, attorneys).
The opinion of the court was delivered by
O'HERN, J.
This appeal concerns the procedure for providing trial transcripts to indigent parents who appeal the termination of their parental rights and the designation of the appropriate entity to pay for those transcripts. The issues are related to those in New Jersey Division of Youth & Family Services v. E.B., 137 N.J. 180, 644 A.2d 1093, also decided today, which concern the obligation of the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) to provide ancillary services in certain child-abuse and neglect proceedings that it is statutorily mandated to defend. See N.J.S.A. 9:6-8.21 to -8.73 (Title 9); N.J.S.A. 30:4C-12.
To reduce delay in appeals involving termination of parental rights, the Appellate Division identifies and accelerates the processing of those appeals. We have employed various procedures by which parties without financial means can obtain the essential transcripts required for review by the Appellate Division and without undue delay. Our concern in this appeal, as in many others, is which entity should pay for those transcripts. We hold that in cases in which OPD is not statutorily mandated to defend the case, the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS), the agency designated to initiate and prosecute actions to terminate parental rights on the grounds of the best interests of the child, must bear the cost of the requisite transcripts. See N.J.S.A. 30:4C-15.
The parties in these cases filed their appeals in the Appellate Division, at which time a 1989 directive for furnishing trial transcripts to indigents was in effect. Before we describe that 1989 procedure, we must review the guidelines initially outlined for trial courts in In re Guardianship of Dotson, 72 N.J. 112, 367 A.2d 1160 (1976).
In Dotson, supra, the Court held that indigent parents appealing the termination of their parental rights have the right to obtain trial transcripts at public expense when they are necessary to their appeal. Id. at 118-19, 367 A.2d 1160. In Justice Pashman's concurrence, he stated that indigent parents' right to transcripts is grounded in principles of constitutional due process and equal protection. Id. at 120-21, 367 A.2d 1160. The Court's acknowledgement that the proceeding is "quasi-criminal" led him to the conclusion that parents cannot be prejudiced in their appeals by virtue of their poverty any more than can indigent criminal defendants. Id. at 123, 367 A.2d 1160. In New Jersey, indigent criminal defendants are entitled to free transcripts prepared at public expense pursuant to the Court Rules and statute. Id. at 124, 367 A.2d 1160; see R. 2:5-3; N.J.S.A. 2A:152-17.
However, in Dotson, supra, the Court found that the right to a complete trial transcript was not automatic. Instead, the Court established a procedure under which a trial court was required to determine whether the grounds stated for appeal were frivolous, and if not, whether it could decide the issues using an abbreviated transcript, Rule 2:5-3(c), a statement of proceedings in lieu of transcript, Rule 2:5-3(f), or a judicial reconstruction. Id. at 118, 367 A.2d 1160. Additionally, a trial court was required to determine whether alternative means of financing the production of a complete transcript, such as federal funds, were available before going through the process of determining whether a transcript that was less than complete would suffice. Id. at 119, 367 A.2d 1160.
The Court held that in cases involving "a most sensitive area of basic human relations," such as termination of parental rights, when complete trial transcripts are necessary to indigent parents' appeals, if no alternative sources provided transcripts, DYFS "will have to bear the cost thereof." Id. at 118-19, 367 A.2d 1160. In Dotson, supra, the Court ordered that DYFS pay for the transcript. The county in which that action took place was not a party to the action.
Following Dotson, increasing concern about delays in Family Part appeals required the establishment of new procedures to insure justice and fairness to indigent parties under which they could swiftly obtain transcripts to process their appeals. The Chief Justice's Administrative Directive # 9-89 of September 20, 1989, set forth a procedure that required the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to advance the cost of payment of transcripts of parental-rights-termination proceedings on the filing of such appeals. That procedure was designed to avoid delays caused by disputes over who would pay for the transcripts. The idea was to get the transcripts to the indigent parties first and then decide who would pay. Pursuant to the directive, the Appellate Division or the trial court would determine the appropriate source for reimbursement of the transcript costs after an appeal had been decided.
Subsequently, on October 22, 1992, Directive # 5-92 rescinded Directive # 9-89. Directive # 5-92 provides that Directive # 5-92 further provides the theory for a change in procedure to be to resolve better and more expeditiously the dispute: "It is anticipated that this goal can better be achieved with the trial judge addressing the transcript issue at the inception of the appeal."
We focus now on the cases before us. The Appellate Division in each instance properly followed the procedure detailed in Directive # 9-89, which was in effect at the time the notices of appeal were filed, and we affirm its judgments.
In the first three cases, In re Guardianship of G.S., In re Guardianship of S.A.M.M.J., and In re Guardianship of C.R.S. & K.K.B.S., the respective trial courts entered judgments terminating the parental rights of the parents. The parents filed notices of appeal. The Appellate Division, in unpublished opinions, affirmed the judgments. Pursuant to Directive # 9-89, the Appellate Division directed that DYFS reimburse the AOC for the cost of the transcripts required for appellate review rather than remanding the issue to the trial courts. DYFS petitioned for certification, claiming that the Appellate Division should not have ordered DYFS to pay for trial transcripts but should have remanded the issue to the trial courts to determine appellants' indigence, the necessity of a complete transcript, and the possibility of other sources for payment pursuant to Dotson, supra, 72 N.J. at 117-18, 367 A.2d 1160. We granted DYFS's petitions for certification, 134 N.J. 479, 634 A.2d 526 (1993).
Five other cases consolidated for review under the caption of In re Guardianship of A.C.C., V.C.K. & K.C. also involve reimbursement to the AOC for the cost of transcripts required for termination of parental-rights appeals. In compliance with Directive # 9-89, the Appellate Division remanded the issue of payment of transcript costs to the respective trial courts. The trial court in each case directed DYFS to reimburse the AOC for the transcripts. The Appellate Division consolidated the five cases for disposition and, in an unpublished opinion, affirmed those judgments. DYFS petitioned for certification, claiming that the court had no legislative authority to order DYFS to pay those costs and that the county in each case is the appropriate party to bear the cost of preparing the transcripts. Although the counties were not parties to the actions below, DYFS contends that the counties must pay for those transcripts just as they pay for other expenses ancillary to the representation of indigents in quasi-criminal proceedings, for which OPD does not bear the cost. We granted DYFS's petition for certification, 134 N.J. 569, 636 A.2d 526 (1993).
In New Jersey Division of Youth & Family Services v. E.B., supra, 137 N.J. 180, 644 A.2d 1093, also decided today, we set forth the interrelated procedures for reimbursement of ancillary services in certain child-abuse and neglect proceedings under Title 9. N.J.S.A. 30:4C-12 sets forth parallel procedures to provide for temporary care, custody, and guardianship when a child is abused or neglected. In sum, we held that in cases that fall within the province of OPD to defend, that agency pays for essential ancillary services such as expert fees and transcript costs. So too here, we rule that were...
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