Ronald S. v. Superior Court

Petitioner Ronald S., the father of the minor Dylan H., has filed a petition for extraordinary relief pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26, subdivision (l) (referred to hereafter as section 366.26). Petitioner raises no substantive issues but requests this court to provide guidance to trial counsel who find no arguable claims to be raised by the petition for writ relief and to conduct a review of the entire record to determine for itself whether there are arguable issues in this case.

The review petitioner requests, referred to as a Wende review, is required in reviews of criminal convictions. (See People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 [ 158 Cal.Rptr. 839 , 600 P.2d 1071 ].) In In re Angela G. (1995) 38 Cal.App.4th 588 [ 39 Cal.Rptr.2d 308 ] review granted June' 15, 1995 (S046327), we held that Wende review was not required on the appeal of an order terminating parental rights. Prior to the amendment of subdivision (l) of section 366.26, the decision to set a section 366.26 hearing could be reviewed on appeal from the final order made at the section 366.26 hearing. (In re Matthew C. (1993) 6 Cal.4th 386, 401 [ 24 Cal.Rptr.2d 765 , 862 P.2d 765 ].)…