Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services v. Gregory C.

We granted review in this cause to address the question whether Anders v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 738 [ 18 L.Ed.2d 493 , 87 S.Ct. 1396 ] (hereafter sometimes Anders), which has been considered in decisions including People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436 [ 158 Cal.Rptr. 839 , 600 P.2d 1071 ] (hereafter sometimes Wende), applies, or must or should be extended, to an indigent parent’s appeal from a judgment or order, obtained by the state, adversely affecting his custody of a child or his status as the child’s parent. As will appear, our answer is no.

I

In the Juvenile Court of the Los Angeles County Superior Court (hereafter the juvenile court or simply the court), the Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services (hereafter DCS) filed two separate petitions in two separate proceedings under the juvenile court law (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 200 et seq.), as detailed below. 1

*960 In No. LK00851, DCS filed a petition requesting the juvenile court to adjudge a minor referred to as Sade C. to be within its jurisdiction and to declare her a dependent child. As subsequently amended, the petition alleged, inter alia, that Sade had suffered, or faced a substantial risk…

Under California law, indigent parents seeking to appeal a trial court’s decision adversely affecting their parental rights in a case brought by the state are entitled to court-appointed counsel. The question before the court is this: when the appointed attorney notifies the appellate court that there are no arguable issues, what steps should the court take to ensure that the appealing parent has not been denied the assistance of counsel?

In Anders v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 738 [ 18 L.Ed.2d 493 , 87 S.Ct. 1396 ] (hereafter sometimes referred to as simply Anders), the United States Supreme Court held that when a court-appointed attorney representing an indigent criminal appellant concludes that there are no meritorious grounds of appeal, counsel should so inform the court and ask leave to withdraw from the case. To ensure that the appellant has not been denied the constitutional right to the assistance of counsel, the request must be accompanied by a brief setting forth the facts of the case, and “referring to anything in the record that arguably might support the appeal.” (Id. at p. 744 [ 18 L.Ed.2d at p. 498 ].) Also, a copy of the brief must be provided to the appellant,…