Moore v. Hall

Summary

The Delaware Supreme Court held that an indigent parent in a termination-of-parental-rights proceeding who has a due process right to appointed counsel is entitled to procedural safeguards before counsel is withdrawn. The Family Court failed to determine whether substitute counsel was warranted and failed to establish that the father knowingly and intelligently waived or forfeited his right to counsel. The judgment terminating parental rights was reversed and remanded for a new hearing with appointed counsel unless a valid waiver or forfeiture is established.

Holdings

1. After determining on a case-by-case basis that an indigent parent has a due process right to appointed counsel, the Family Court must conduct two separate inquiries: whether good cause justifies substitute counsel and whether the parent knowingly and intelligently waives the right to counsel before proceeding pro se.
2. Appointment of standby counsel is not an acceptable substitute for a valid, knowing, and intelligent waiver or forfeiture of an indigent parent's due process right to appointed counsel in a termination proceeding.
3. The Family Court violated the Father's due process rights because the record did not establish that he knowingly and intelligently waived or forfeited his right to appointed counsel.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Family Court violated the Father's federal and Delaware constitutional due process rights by permitting appointed counsel to withdraw and requiring the indigent, incarcerated Father to proceed pro se without determining whether he was entitled to substitute counsel or had knowingly and intelligently waived or forfeited his right to counsel.
2. Whether the record supported termination of the Father's parental rights.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded