ITEM 14F | APPEALING ORDERS IN DEPENDENCY PROCEEDINGS
When the court-appointed attorney finds no valid issues, the attorney will file a motion to withdraw from representing the parent in the appeal. The motion to withdraw will be served on the parent and all the opposing attorneys. The attorney will certify in the motion that he or she has reviewed the record and has determined in good faith that there are no grounds that have merit on which to base an appeal.
If this motion is granted by the appellate court, the attorney will provide the parent with the record and all the court documents; this is so that the parent can begin his or her selfrepresentation. In granting the motion to withdraw, the appellate court will generally give the parent 20 days from the date of the order, to file his or her pro se brief. However, each district court handles the exact procedure differently. For example, the First District Court of Appeal usually requires the parent to file a notice of intent to file a brief, and then grants the parent 20 days to file the brief. In the order granting withdrawal, the court will warn the parent that if no brief is timely filed, the appeal will be dismissed for failure to prosecute.
The parent may, if he or she can obtain the funds, seek to retain a new attorney to represent the parent in the appeal after the court-appointed attorney withdraws; however, the indigent parent must be aware that a trial court cannot appoint another appellate attorney after the first appellate attorney has withdrawn on the basis of finding nothing of merit to argue. If the parent wants to hire a new attorney, the new attorney must be hired before the 20-day period for filing the initial brief ends, and the new attorney must inform the appellate court of the representation.
Parents who will be filing their own briefs should consult Chapters 5 and 6 on Writing an Appellate Brief and the Checklist for Appellate Briefs for guidance on how to write their briefs. The parent’s pro se brief must comply with the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, especially Rules 9.146 and 9.210. The pro se brief must also be served on all other parties. If the other parties are represented by attorneys, the parent must serve those attorneys.
You might need to reference it during your pursuit of justice.
For instance, you might need to examine this handbook in order to protect yourself from judges/lawyers/organizations who break the law (see this example of a Florida judge who outright committed perjury).
Nevertheless – and as always – please get the justice you deserve.
Sincerely,
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