In re William P.
Decision Date | 31 January 2001 |
Citation | 2001 ME 25,765 A.2d 76 |
Parties | In re WILLIAM P. |
Court | Maine Supreme Court |
Randy G. Day, Garland, for appellant.
G. Steven Rowe, Attorney General, Matthew Pollack, Asst. Attorney General, Geoffrey Goodwin, Asst. Attorney General, Augusta, for appellee.
Tonya Johnson, C.W. & H.M. Hayes, Dover-Foxcroft, Guardian ad Litem.
Panel: WATHEN, C.J., and CLIFFORD, RUDMAN, DANA, SAUFLEY, ALEXANDER, and CALKINS, JJ.
[¶ 1] The father of William P. appeals from a judgment of the District Court (Dover-Foxcroft, Gunther, J.) terminating his parental rights. The father requested that his attorney, who represented him in this and a previous termination proceeding, appeal the termination order. The attorney signed and filed a notice of appeal and submitted a brief to this Court stating: "Counsel for appellant has reviewed the record and finds no issue worthy of appeal." This brief resembles a so-called "Anders brief," which a court-appointed criminal defense attorney may file if he finds his client's appeal to be frivolous. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967)
. The Supreme Court established the following procedure for counsel in such circumstances:
[I]f counsel finds his case to be wholly frivolous, after a conscientious examination of it, he should so advise the court and request permission to withdraw. That request must, however, be accompanied by a brief referring to anything in the record that might arguably support the appeal. A copy of counsel's brief should be furnished the indigent and time allowed him to raise any points that he chooses; the court — not counsel — then proceeds, after a full examination of all the proceedings, to decide whether the case is wholly frivolous. If it so finds it may grant counsel's request to withdraw and dismiss the appeal insofar as federal requirements are concerned, or proceed to a decision on the merits, if state law so requires. On the other hand, if it finds any of the legal points arguable on their merits (and therefore not frivolous) it must, prior to decision, afford the indigent the assistance of counsel to argue the appeal.
Id. The Supreme Court of the United States has recently qualified Anders and held that "the States are free to adopt different procedures, so long as those procedures adequately safeguard a defendant's right to appellate counsel." Smith v. Robbins, 528 U.S. 259, 265, 120 S.Ct. 746, 145 L.Ed.2d 756 (2000).
[¶ 2] An attorney is bound only to provide ethical representation. See State v. Gilcott, 420 A.2d 1238, 1240 (Me.1980)
(); 4 M.R.S.A. § 806 (1989) ( ). The Rules of Professional Responsibility do not compel an attorney to advance arguments if the attorney lacks a good faith belief that the arguments are valid. See M. Bar R. 3.5(c)(1) ( ).
[¶ 3] In this case there is no indication that the father's attorney took such basic and...
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In re D.E.S.
...has invited the state's Attorney General to submit a brief on the applicability of Anders to these types of cases. See In re William P., 765 A.2d 76, 78 n. 1 (Me.2001). Courts have not adopted a uniform approach in analyzing this issue. Many courts cite a fundamental difference between crim......
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In re M.C., Docket No. Oxf–14–75.
...did not find any arguable issues on appeal and was filing the motion and statement of facts according to the process identified in In re William P., 2001 ME 25, ¶ 3, 765 A.2d 76. We granted the motion on June 6, 2014, to allow the father to personally file a brief on or before July 11, 2014......
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State v. Junkins
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...motion to allow the father to personally file a brief, which he did. See In re M.C. , 2014 ME 128, ¶¶ 6–7, 104 A.3d 139 ; In re William P. , 2001 ME 25, 765 A.2d 76.3 The Legislature repealed the sunset provision for this statute. See P.L. 2017, ch. 138, § 1 (emergency effective June 7, 201......