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Full-Text Articles in Law
Moving Beyond Lassiter: The Need For A Federal Statutory Right To Counsel For Parents In Child Welfare Cases, Vivek S. Sankaran
Moving Beyond Lassiter: The Need For A Federal Statutory Right To Counsel For Parents In Child Welfare Cases, Vivek S. Sankaran
Articles
In New York City, an indigent parent can receive the assistance of a multidisciplinary legal team—an attorney, a social worker, and a parent advocate—to defend against the City’s request to temporarily remove a child from her care. But in Mississippi, that same parent can have her rights to her child permanently terminated without ever receiving the assistance of a single lawyer. In Washington State, the Legislature has ensured that parents ensnared in child abuse and neglect proceedings will receive the help of a well-trained and well-compensated attorney with a reasonable caseload. Yet in Tennessee, its Supreme Court has held that …
Protecting A Parent's Right To Counsel In Child Welfare Cases, Vivek Sankaran
Protecting A Parent's Right To Counsel In Child Welfare Cases, Vivek Sankaran
Articles
A national consensus is emerging that zealous leagal representation for parents is crucial to ensure that the child welfare system produces just outcomes for children. Parents' lawyers protect important constitutional rights, prevent the unnecessary entry of children into foster care and guide parents through a complex system.
Mlb V. Slj: "Equal Justice" For Indigent Parents, Jason T. Jacoby
Mlb V. Slj: "Equal Justice" For Indigent Parents, Jason T. Jacoby
University of Richmond Law Review
The United States Supreme Court recently decided that a state may not, consistent with the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, condition appeals from trial court decrees terminating parental rights on the affected parent's ability to pay record preparation fees. In M.L.B. v. S.L.J., the Supreme Court found that, just as a state may not block an indigent petty offender's access to an appeal afforded others, Mississippi may not deny M.L.B., because of her poverty, appellate review of the sufficiency of the evidence on which the trial court found her unfit to remain a parent.