Right to counsel

For an “adoption without prior termination of parental rights” (a process initiated by a private party that requires the cooperation of the Department and the consent of the birth parents), all indigent parents have a right to counsel. Md. Code Ann. Crim. Proc. § 16-204(b)(1)(vi) (public defense code provision).

In addition, the court must appoint counsel for a parent, regardless of indigency, who has a disability making him or her “incapable of effectively participating in the case,” or who is a minor in a child guardianship action brought by a private agency (which is brought prior to adoptions but which terminates parental rights) and for independent adoptions initiated by a private party. MD. RULE 9-106; see also MD. CODE ANN., FAM. LAW § 5-3A-07(a)(1) (private agency guardianship leading to adoption); § 5-3B-06(a)(1) (independent adoption). Attorneys appointed under these provisions may be compensated for reasonable fees, as approved by the juvenile court. MD. CODE ANN., FAM. LAW § 5-3A-07(d) (private agency guardianship and adoption); Id.§ 5-3B-06(d) (independent adoption).

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals has also clarified that the right to appointed counsel in termination of parental rights proceedings includes the right to “effective assistance of counsel.” In re Adoption/Guardianship of Chaden M., 189 Md. App. 411, 431, 984 A.2d. 420, 432 (2009).