Garcia v. Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas granted Ray Garcia’s motion to file a belated notice of appeal from an order terminating his parental rights. The court applied the standard from McDonald v. State, accepted counsel’s candid admission that her lack of diligence caused the late filing, and directed that the opinion be forwarded to the Committee on Professional Conduct.

Holdings

1. A motion for belated appeal may be granted when the attorney responsible for the untimely perfection of the appeal candidly admits fault, subject to the applicable time limit for seeking such relief.
2. The court applies to indigent parents appealing termination-of-parental-rights orders protections similar to those afforded indigent criminal defendants under the McDonald standard.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Arkansas Supreme Court should grant a motion to file a belated notice of appeal when counsel admits fault for filing the notice one day late in a parental-rights termination case.
2. Whether indigent parents appealing termination-of-parental-rights orders receive the same treatment under the McDonald standard that Arkansas affords indigent criminal defendants.

Disposition

other