Right to counsel

Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-126(a)(2)(B)(ii)  provides a right to counsel for "Termination of parental rights pursuant to § 36-1-113."  While this provision refers to terminations conducted pursuant to the Adoption Code, in In re Carrington H., 483 S.W.3d 507, 527 (Tenn. 2016), the court in a state-initiated termination case cited to Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-126(a)(2)(B)(ii) for the proposition that “Tennessee statutorily provides the right to appointed counsel for indigent parents in every parental termination proceeding."

Under court rule, the right to counsel extends through appeal unless counsel is granted leave to withdraw. See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 13 § 1(e)(5) ("“[a]ppointed counsel shall continue to represent an indigent party throughout the proceedings, including any appeals, until the case has been concluded or counsel has been allowed to withdraw by a court.”); see also Tenn. R. Juv. P. Rule 118(b).  However, there is no right to effective assistance for the statutory right to counsel.  In re Carrington H., 483 S.W.3d 507 (Tenn. 2016).