Myricks' Welfare, In re
| Decision Date | 10 April 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 43609,43609 |
| Citation | 533 P.2d 841,85 Wn.2d 252 |
| Parties | In re the WELFARE OF Franklin O'Dell MYRICKS; O'Dell Myricks, Petitioner. |
| Court | Washington Supreme Court |
Ben-Franklin Legal Aid Assn., Inc., Michael L. Larsen, Richland, for appellant.
Norman R. Rosenberg, Spokane County Legal Services, Spokane, for appellant.
This case comes before this court on a writ of certiorari. The appellant is claiming a constitutional right to counsel which was denied him in a dependency and child neglect proceeding where appellant/father's minor son was temporarily withdrawn from the home. The issue before us is whether the rule in In re Luscier, 84 Wash.2d 135, 524 P.2d 906 (1974) () should be extended to temporary deprivation proceedings where the likelihood of eventual permanent deprivation is substantial. We hold the Luscier rule applicable to the instant case and those cases where permanent deprivation may likely follow the dependency and child neglect proceeding conducted under RCW 13.04.
Briefly, the facts in this case are as follows: On October 15, 1974, the appellant was served a petition alleging that his son was a dependent and neglected child as defined by RCW 13.04.010. On the same day there was held a temporary detention hearing to determine if appellant's son would continue residing with the father or be placed in detention. At that hearing, appellant requested that the court appoint counsel to represent him. This was denied, although counsel was appointed to represent his son. In addition, the appellant's son was ordered into foster care pending a fact-finding hearing on the petition. Later, at a fact-finding hearing, appellant again appeared without counsel.
At the fact-finding hearing the juvenile court found that appellant's son was a dependent child, made him a ward of the court and placed him in foster care. The boy remains in foster care at this time--still on a temporary basis pending further proceedings. Appellant is an indigent, without the financial means to pay for counsel from his own funds.
The right of a natural parent to the companionship of his or her child must be included within the bundle of rights associated with marriage, establishing a home and rearing children. This right must therefore be viewed as 'so rooted in the traditions and conscience of our people as to be ranked as fundamental.' Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97, 105, 54 S.Ct. 330, 332, 78 L.Ed. 674, 90 A.L.R. 575 (1934), cited with approval in Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 487, 85 S.Ct. 1678, 14 L.Ed.2d 510 (1965). In May v. Anderson, 345 U.S. 528, 533, 73 S.Ct. 840, 843, 97 L.Ed. 1221 (1953), the right of a parent to a child's companionship was considered to be 'far more precious . . . than property rights' and in In re Gibson, 4 Wash.App. 372, 379, 483 P.2d 131 (1971), cited with approval in In re Luscier, Supra, the right was characterized as even 'more precious . . . than the right of life itself.'
The essence of due process is the right to be heard. The hearing required by due process must be both 'meaningful,' Armstrong v. Manzo, 380 U.S. 545, 552, 85 S.Ct. 1187, 14 L.Ed.2d 62 (1965), and 'appropriate to the nature of the case.' Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank and Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 313, 70 S.Ct. 652, 657, 94 L.Ed. 865 (1950). In dependency and child neglect proceedings--even if only preliminary to...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
In re Dependency S.K-P.
... ... RCW 26.44.050. If the Department determines that the "child's health, safety, and welfare will be seriously endangered if [he or she is] not taken into custody" and there is potential "imminent harm" to the child, the Department may take ... See In re Welfare of Luscier , 84 Wash.2d 135, 138, 524 P.2d 906 (1974) ; see also In re Welfare of Myricks , 85 Wash.2d 252, 254, 533 P.2d 841 (1975). In Luscier , our Supreme Court held that both article I, section 3 of the Washington Constitution and ... ...
-
D. B., In Interest of
... ... 2437, 41 L.Ed.2d 341 (1974). In Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 90 S.Ct. 1011, 25 L.Ed.2d 287 (1970), in a proceeding terminating welfare payments, Justice Brennan rejected a procedural due process right to counsel, saying: "We do not say that counsel must be provided at the ... Jamison, 444 P.2d 15 (1968); In Re Adoption of R. I., 455 Pa. 29, 312 A.2d 601 (1973); In Re Myricks, 85 Wash.2d 252, 251 Or. 114, 533 P.2d 841 (1975); State ex rel. Lemaster v. Oakley, 203 S.E.2d 140 (W.Va.1974). See Annot., 80 A.L.R.3d 1141 ... ...
-
Lassiter v. Department of Social Services of Durham County, North Carolina
... ... not contacted respondent about her child since December 1975, and that she had "wilfully failed to maintain concern or responsibility for the welfare of the minor." The North Carolina Court of Appeals rejected petitioner's sole contention on appeal that because she was indigent, the Due Process ... J. K. B. , 379 Mass. 1, 393 N.E.2d 406 (1979); In re Chad S. , 580 P.2d 983 (Okl.1978); In re Myricks , 85 Wash.2d 252, 533 P.2d 841 (1975); Crist v. Division of Youth and Family Services , 128 N.J.Super. 402, 320 A.2d 203 (1974); Danforth v. Maine ... ...
-
In re C.M.
... ... the family and separating the child from his parents only when the safety of the child is in danger or when it is clearly necessary for his welfare or the interests of the public safety and when it can be clearly shown that a change in custody and control will plainly better the child. RSA ... proceeding, parents must be represented by counsel at every critical stage, including an underlying dependency proceeding); In re Welfare of Myricks, 85 Wash.2d 252, 533 P.2d 841, 842 (1975) (extending the right of indigent parents to court-appointed counsel to temporary deprivation proceedings ... ...
-
Washington's Juvenile Status Offense Laws
...applicable to dependency proceedings from which permanent deprivation proceedings are likely to follow. In re Myricks, 85 Wash. 2d 252, 533 P.2d 841 (1975). Additionally, the placement hearing statute provides for a review of the alternative placement within six months of the hearing and fo......
-
Civil Right to Counsel: in Re Marriage of King and the Continuing Journey
...Washington State Bar Association and the King County Bar Association. 18. In re Luscier, 524 P.2d 906, 909 (Wash. 1974); In re Myricks, 533 P.2d 841, 842 (Wash. 1975). Washington also now provides parents counsel in juvenile court dependency and termination proceedings by statute. Wash. Rev......