NCCRC Amicus Brief FINAL REVISED
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The State of New Hampshire Supreme Court 2011 TERM NOVEMBER SESSION No. 2011-0647 IN RE C.M. AND A.M. ON INTERLOCUTORY TRANSFER BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE, THE NATIONAL COALITION FOR A CIVIL RIGHT TO COUNSEL (NCCRC) Kysa Crusco, Bar ID 15577 Crusco Law Office, PLLC 116 South River Road, Bld H Bedford, NH 03110 (603) 627-3668 John Pollock Special Admission pending Public Justice Center 1 North Charles St Suite 200 Baltimore, MD 21201 (410) 625-9409 Counsel for Amicus Curiae TABLE OF CONTENTS PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS ................................................................................... 1 STATEMENT OF INTEREST OF AMICUS ................................................................. 2 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ........................................................................................ 4 ARGUMENT ..................................................................................................................... 6 I. The Vast Majority of States Have Rejected a Case-by-Case Approach for Dependency Cases, Even After Lassiter. ..................................................................... 6 II. As with Dependency, Some Courts Have Declined to Use the Case-by-Case Approach For Other Types of Cases Implicating Fundamental Rights. ................. 8 III. A Case-By-Case Approach Threatens to Create Inconsistent, Erroneous, or Unachievable Appointment Standards. .................................................................... 11 IV. Unrepresented Parents in Dependency Cases Cannot Know and Present to a Judge the Facts and Legal Theories Requiring Development by Appointed Counsel, and Judges Are Burdened With Continually Monitoring the Proceedings to Ensure the Need for Appointed Counsel Has Not Developed. ...... 15 V. A Case-By-Case Approach Upsets the Expeditious Resolution of Dependency Cases Because The Violation of A Parent’s Constitutional Right to Counsel Is Structural Error Requiring Automatic Reversal on Appeal. ................................. 18 A. The Application of the Structural Error Procedural Protection to Dependency Cases Is Required Both Because a Fundamental Right is at Stake and Because It Is Impossible to Ascertain Post-Hoc Whether a Complete Denial of Counsel is Harmful. .................................................................................................................... 19 B. Because the Structural Error Test Will Require Automatic Reversal of Erroneous Deprivations of Counsel, A Case-By-Case Approach Will Conflict With the Critically Important Goal of Resolving Child Abuse/Neglect Disputes Expeditiously. ........... 23 VI. Some Erroneous Denials of Appointment of Counsel in a Case-by-Case Approach Will Go Uncorrected Because They Will Not Reach the Appellate Stage. ............ 24 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 26 CERTIFICATION............................................................................................................27 APPENDIX........................................................................................................................28 i INDEX OF AUTHORITIES New Hampshire Statutes RSA 169–C:2 .............................................................................................................. 23, 24 Federal Statutes 28 U.S.C. § 1915 ............................................................................................................... 17 Other State Statutes Ala. Code § 12-15-305(b) ................................................................................................... 6 Ala. Code § 15-12-20 .......................................................................................................... 8 A.R.S. § 8-221(B) ............................................................................................................... 6 A.C.A. § 9-27-316(h) .......................................................................................................... 6 Cal. Wel. & Inst. Code § 317 .............................................................................................. 7 C.R.S. § 19-3-202 ............................................................................................................... 6 Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-135(b) ............................................................................................ 6 D.C. Code § 16-2304(b)(1) ................................................................................................. 6 Fla. Stat. § 39.013(1) ........................................................................................................... 6 O.C.G.A. § 15-11-6 ............................................................................................................. 6 705 ILCS 405/1-5(1) ........................................................................................................... 6 735 ILCS 5/5-105(g) ......................................................................................................... 13 Ind. Code § 31-34-4-6 ......................................................................................................... 6 Ind. Code § 34-10-1-2 ....................................................................................................... 13 Iowa Code § 232.89(1) ....................................................................................................... 6 Kan. Stat. Ann. § 38-2205(b) .............................................................................................. 6 Ky. Stat. § 31.100(4)(c) ..................................................................................................... 6 ii Ky. Stat. § 31.110(1) .......................................................................................................... 8 Ky. Stat. § 620.100(1)(b) .................................................................................................... 7 Ky. Stat. § 453.190(1) ....................................................................................................... 13 La. Ch.C. Art. 608 ............................................................................................................... 6 22 M.R.S. § 4005(2) ........................................................................................................... 6 Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc., § 3-813 ........................................................................ 6 M.G.L.A. 119 § 29 .............................................................................................................. 6 MCL 552.522 .................................................................................................................... 11 MCL 712A.17c(4) ............................................................................................................... 6 Mo. Stat. § 514.040(1) ..................................................................................................... 13 Mt. St. § 41-3-425 ............................................................................................................... 6 N.D. Cent. Code § 27-20-26(1) ......................................................................................... 7 Ne. Stat. § 43-279.01 .......................................................................................................... 6 N.J. Stat. 9:6-8.43 ............................................................................................................... 6 N.M. Stat. § 32A-4-10(B) ................................................................................................... 6 N.Y. Fam. Ct. § 262(a)(iv) .................................................................................................. 6 N.Y. Fam. Ct. § 262(a)(vi) ................................................................................................. 8 N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 1102(a) .................................................................................................. 13 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7B-602(a) ................................................................................................ 6 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-451(a)(1) .......................................................................................... 8 N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 7A-451(a)(12) ................................................................................ 6 OH ST § 2151.352 .............................................................................................................. 6 OH ST § 2705.031(C)(2) ................................................................................................... 8 iii OK ST T. 10A § 1-4-306(A)(1)(a) ..................................................................................... 6 42 Pa CSA § 6337 ............................................................................................................... 6 R.I. Gen. Laws § 14-1-31 .................................................................................................... 6 R.I. Gen. Laws § 40-11-14 .................................................................................................. 6 S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-1620(3) .......................................................................................... 6 S.D. Codified Laws § 26-7A-31 ......................................................................................... 6 Tenn. Code Ann. § 23-2-101 ............................................................................................ 13 Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-126(a)(2)(B) ...............................................................................