Right to counsel
Maine
,
Litigation
, Termination of Parental Rights (State) - Birth Parents
In In re Kafia M., 742 A.2d 919, 927 n.5 (Me. 1999), the court stated, “In Danforth v. State Dept. of Health and Welfare, 303 A.2d 794 (Me. 1973), we held that the due process clause requires the appointment of counsel to indigent parents faced with the termination of their parental rights.” While the Kafia court went on to note that the state had subsequently passed a statute, the court later stated in In re T.B., 65 A.3d 1282, 1285 (Me. 2013), that “A parent determined to be indigent has a due process right to appointed counsel at State expense in a child protection proceeding initiated by the State, unless the right is knowingly waived”, and cited to Danforth.
Appointment of Counsel: Yes
Qualified: No
