In juvenile dependency cases, parents are entitled to certain due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. These rights include:
1. Notice of the Proceedings: Parents must be given notice that is reasonably calculated to apprise them of the dependency proceedings and afford them an opportunity to object.
The jurisdiction of the juvenile court does not attach until notice of the proceedings has been provided to the parties.- in In re Mullenax, 1996……
https://capcentral.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/depend_update_2021.pdf
2. Opportunity to Be Heard: Parents must be given the right to be heard in court, to defend themselves, and to present their case.
It is a fundamental doctrine of law that a party to be affected by a personal judgement must have his day in court, and an opportunity to be heard. Renaud v. Abbott, 116 US 277, 29 L Ed 629, 6 SCt 1194……. Every person is entitled to an opportunity to be heard in a court of law upon every question involving his rights or interests, before he is affected by any judicial decision on the question. Earie v McVeigh, 91 US 503, 23 L Ed 398
https://casetext.com/case/dependency-of-hw-2
3. Right to Counsel: Indigent parents have the right to court-appointed counsel in dependency and neglect proceedings, as the deprivation of parental rights is considered sufficiently serious to warrant this due process requirement.
The right to counsel in these cases naturally includes the right to effective counsel, and the test for ineffective assistance of counsel is the same in these cases as it is in criminal cases. – in IN RE EC, 2013
*****Error Prong: The lawyer’s failure to present this evidence could be considered deficient performance, falling below the standard expected of a competent attorney.
*****Prejudice Prong: If it’s determined that this omission significantly impacted the trial’s fairness and there’s a reasonable chance it would have changed the outcome, the prejudice prong is satisfied…..
In a dependency proceeding, the parents have a statutory and a due process right to competent counsel – in IN RE WW, 2012
4. Fair Procedures: If the state seeks to interfere with the parent-child relationship, it must provide fundamentally fair procedures. This includes the right to an evidentiary hearing and the ability to confront and cross-examine witnesses.
The Supreme Court of Ohio has held that a parent “must be afforded every procedural and substantive protection the law allows.”- in In re Malone, 2007
https://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/jury-instructions/node/715
The limitations inherent in the requirements of due process and equal protection of the law extend to judicial as well as political branches of government, so that a judgement may not be rendered in violation of those constitutional limitations and guarantees. Hanson v Denckla, 357 US 235, 2 L Ed 2d 1283, 78 S Ct 1228.
These rights are designed to ensure that any interference with the parent-child relationship by the state is done with due consideration and fairness, balancing the rights of the parents with the best interests of the child.