At the trial level, Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure 8.320 and 8.515 generally provide that:
1) At each stage of the proceedings, the court will advise the parent of the right to have counsel present.
2) The court will appoint counsel to indigent parents or others who are so entitled as provided by law, unless appointment of counsel is waived by that person.
3) The court will ascertain whether the right to counsel is understood.
Chapter 39 proceedings are handled in circuit (trial) courts without a jury, and they typically involve three different phases:
i) Shelter Hearing – where the petitioner seeks to have the child removed from the parent’s custody and placed outside the home. Section 39.402(5)(b)2., Florida Statutes, provides that a parent has the right to have an attorney at the shelter hearing, and to have an attorney appointed if found indigent.
ii) Dependency Case – The petitioner seeks to have the child adjudicated dependent based on allegations of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or a substantial risk of such harm, against the parent or legal custodian. Section 39.505, Florida Statutes, provides that the court should inform the parent that he or she has the right to have an attorney present or appointed before the adjudicatory hearing. An adjudicatory hearing is another name for a trial.
iii) Termination of Parental Rights Case – The petitioner seeks to have the parent’s rights to the child terminated. Termination permanently severs the parent’s legal rights to the child. Section 39.807, Florida Statutes, provides that the court should advise the parent that he or she has the right to have an attorney present, and to have an attorney appointed if found indigent.
To be declared indigent in the trial court, the parent must appear before the court and complete a financial affidavit detailing all assets and debts. If, after reviewing the financial affidavit, the trial court finds the parent to be indigent, it will appoint an attorney to represent the parent. If the case goes from the dependency phase to a termination of parental rights proceeding, the court may appoint the same lawyer who represented the indigent parent in the dependency proceeding or a different lawyer. The lawyer who represents the indigent parent in the termination proceeding stays on the case until a final judgment is entered. The same or different attorney may be appointed for the appeal.
