A. v. Barnes

No. 1:02-CV-1686-MHA (N.D. Ga. February 8, 2005) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55831

Description

Children Have Constitutional Right to Counsel in Deprivation Proceedings

Abstract

The district court ruled that plaintiffs—Georgia foster children—are entitled, under the Georgia constitution’s due process clause and state statutes, to effective counsel in all deprivation proceedings. Plaintiffs, suing state and county defendants in state court, challenged conditions in emergency shelters. Among plaintiffs’ allegations was that county defendants failed to provide adequate and effective legal representation in deprivation proceedings. Defendants removed the case to federal court, and county defendants moved to dismiss the right to counsel claim. Defendants argued that state law entitled plaintiffs to counsel only in termination of parental rights proceedings, that injunctive relief was inappropriate because plaintiffs failed to show irreparable injury and had an adequate legal remedy through damage actions or state bar disciplinary proceedings, and that the appropriate level of funding for child advocacy attorneys was a legislative function. The court denied their motion. It said that neither damage actions nor state bar complaints could cure the systemic deficiencies that plaintiffs alleged; the systemic deficiencies did not arise from child advocate attorneys’ “personal deficiencies.” The court found that plaintiffs had fundamental liberty interests at stake even after they were in state custody and applied the three-part test in Matthews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319 (1976), to determine what due process required. The court concluded that only the appointment of counsel, not court-appointed special advocates or others, could “effectively mitigate the risk of significant errors” and that, because of the state’s interest in children’s well-being, the appointment of counsel promoted the state’s interest as well as that of the children. Plaintiffs’ evidence of child advocate attorneys’ large caseloads and resulting inability to carry out minimum legal tasks created a genuine issue of material fact as to whether plaintiffs received effective counsel.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiffs represented by Marcia Robinson Lowry, Children's Rights, 404 Park Ave. S, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10016 (telephone number: 212.683.2210); Don Keenan, Keenan's Kids Law Center, 148 Nassau St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30303 (telephone number: 404.523.2200.
Docket Date
2005-02-08 00:00:00+00:00

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