In re R.H. CA5

INTRODUCTION

At a jurisdictional proceeding, “the court must advise the parents of their due process rights to a hearing and must obtain an express personal waiver of those rights if the hearing is to proceed without further evidence.” (In re Monique T. (1992) 2 Cal.App.4th 1372, 1374 (Monique T.). See also Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.682.2) In this case, the juvenile court did neither. The Madera County Department of Social Services/Child Welfare Services (Department) concedes error, but contends it was harmless under Monique T. While Monique T. found a similar error harmless under Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18 (Chapman), it did so because parent’s counsel had explained the right to a contested hearing to her client. (Monique T., supra, 2 Cal.App.4th at p. 1378.) We agree that when a parent is advised of his or her rights, reversal is not warranted merely because the advisement came from counsel rather than the court.3 But that is not what happened here. In this case, there is no evidence that appellant was advised of his rights by the court, his counsel, or anyone else before his rights were waived at the jurisdictional hearing. Therefore, we conclude the court’s…