In re Ernesto R.
Annotate this CaseMother appealed an order terminating her parental rights to her one-year-old son based on her long term substance abuse. The court concluded that Mother was not denied effective assistance of counsel where her trial attorney did not file a Welfare and Institutions Code section 388 petition to modify an order bypassing reunification services. The court held that an attorney in a dependency case has no obligation to file a futile section 388 petition to modify an existing order. In this case, given Mother's history of parenting two older children who were removed from her custody and care, the filing of such a petition would have been futile. Accordingly, the court affirmed.
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