In re S.V. CA2/4

INTRODUCTION

In December 2015, S. was detained from her mother, appellant V.V. (Mother), and her presumed father, J.F., following the death of an infant sibling. Parental rights were terminated under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.261 in September 2018. This is the third appeal in this case. We remanded twice for further proceedings under the Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. § 1901, et seq.) (ICWA). In this appeal, C.P.-S., who in 2020 was found to be S.’s biological father, argues the juvenile court erred when it declined to appoint counsel for him following this court’s most recent remand. At two hearings in 2023, C.P.-S. appeared and sought counsel’s appointment to specially appear on his behalf and be provided access to the juvenile court file to assess C.P.-S.’s parental rights. The juvenile court denied these requests, because parental rights had been terminated and the court’s jurisdiction was limited to considering ICWA compliance. After a

All undesignated section references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

2 further ICWA inquiry, the juvenile court again found that ICWA did not apply. C.P.-S. and Mother appeal. Their sole contention is that…