In re JH
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The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) vacating the family court's parental termination order in this case and remanding the action for a new trial, holding that Parents received a fundamentally fair trial and that due process was satisfied.
During the underlying termination proceedings, the family court appointed attorneys for Parents, but Parents failed to appear at a court hearing and so the court discharged counsel. When Parents reappeared, the court reappointed counsel, and eventually, after a trial, the family court terminated Parents' parental rights. The ICA vacated the termination order and remanded for a new trial, finding structural error in the discharge of Parents' counsel. The Supreme Court disagreed and reversed, holding (1) a family court's discharge of counsel does not necessarily make a trial fundamentally unfair in Child Protection Act proceedings; and (2) Parents received a fair procedure in this case.
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