User:Umimmak/sandbox/Lassiter
| Lassiter v. Department of Social Services | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued February 23, 1981 Decided June 1, 1981 | |
| Full case name | Abby Gail Lassiter, Petitioner, v. Department of Social Services of Durham County, North Carolina |
| Citations | 452 U.S. 18 (more) 101 S.Ct. 2153; 68 L.Ed.2d 640 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Case history | |
| Prior |
|
| Subsequent | Reh'g denied, 453 U.S. 927 (1981) |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Stewart, joined by Burger, White, Powell, Rehnquist |
| Concurrence | Burger |
| Dissent | Blackmun, joined by Brennan, Marshall |
| Dissent | Stevens |
Lassiter v. Department of Social Services, 452 U.S. 18 (1981), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that North Carolina did not have to provide a lawyer for a mother for her parental rights termination trial. More broadly, it ruled the right to counsel does not apply to civil.
This case has been described as "known to civil procedure teachers but almost unknown among the general public".[1]
It is widely seen as
Background[edit]
Social and legal background[edit]
Factual background[edit]
The petitioner in this case was Abby Gail Lassiter, a poor, Black, unmarried woman. She first became a mother at the age of fourteen. Abby Gail lived with her mother, Lucille Lassiter, who assisted with the care of Abby Gail's five children while Abby Gail went back to high school.[2]
The case concerns Abby Gail's fourth child,[3] William L. Lassiter, who was born on September 26, 1974, in Durham, North Carolina.[4] William Boykin was Abby Gail's boyfriend and putative father of Billy, although he denied he was the father.
Billy, as he was known,[3] was born with some health problems which necessitated checkups and medical tests. He had missed some appointments and Duke Pediatrics could not contact Abby Gail so the clinic got in touch with the Department of Social Services. A social worker found Billy with his grandmother and took him to the hospital, where doctors noted he had difficulty breathing, signs of malnutrition, and scarring from an infection which had gone untreated.
The Department of Social Services alleged Billy was neglected and sought to remove him from his home; the hearing was first scheduled on May 19, 1975.
On February 4, 1976,
Prior case history[edit]
State trial court[edit]
The Department of Social Services asked Abby Gail to relinquish parental rights to Billy; she rejected because she wanted Billy to be raised by his grandmother with his four siblings. At the time Billy was four and in foster care. Judge Samuel F. Gantt
On September 8, 1978, Gantt ruled
State appellate courts[edit]
On November 6, 1979, the trial court's judgment was affirmed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals; the decision was written by Robert M. Martin and joined by Chief Judge Naomi E. Morris and Frank M. Parker.[5] Although noting the US Constitution protected the "fundamental right to family integrity", the decision said there was no constitutional mandate to provide counsel for indigent parents. The ruling said the state legislature would have to require the appointment of counsel in these circumstances.[6] On January 17, 1980, the North Carolina Supreme Court denied Lassiter's petition for discretionary review and dismissed her appeal.[7]
Supreme Court[edit]
On October 6, 1980, the Supreme Court granted certiorari and also allowed the Lassiter to appear in forma pauperis.[8]
Amicus briefs were filed by the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union[9] and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.[10]
The Attorney General of North Carolina and
On December 8, 1980, the Supreme Court
Oral arguments[edit]
Oral arguments for the case occurred on Monday, February 23, 1981. Leowen Evans argued on behalf of Abby Gail Lassiter pro hac vice, Steven Mansfield Shaber argued on behalf of the state of North Carolina as an amicus curiae, and Thomas Russell Odom argued on behalf of Durham County's Department of Social Services.[11]
S
Decision[edit]
Opinion of the Court[edit]
Justice Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the court which was joined by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, and Justices Byron White, Lewis F. Powell Jr., and William Rehnquist.
Burger's concurrance[edit]
Burger filed a concurring opinon.
Blackmun's dissent[edit]
Justice Harry Blackmun filed a dissent which Justices William J. Brennan Jr. and Thurgood Marshall joined.
Blackmun read parts of his dissent from the bench. (LA TIMES, TIME)
Stevens's dissent[edit]
Justice John P. Stevens filed a dissenting opinion as well.
Subsequent developments[edit]
The petition for the case to be reheard was submitted on June 26, 1981.(Schechter 1981, pp. 438, 445–446)
The Supreme Court denied the petition for rehearing the case on August 28, 1981.[12]
Reaction by other states[edit]
When Lassiter was decided in 1981, seventeen states had not enshrined the right to
State courts[13]
Law school pedagogy[edit]
Lassiter is taught in classes on Civil Procedure in law schools in the United States including [14][15]
Cornell Law School professor Kevin M. Clermont included Lassiter among
Calls to be overturned[edit]
Robert W. Sweet, the district judge for the Southern District of New York argued for a "civil Gideon" and for Lassiter to overturned in a 1997 lecture.[16] This was one of the
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Stempel (2012), p. 522.
- ^ Thornburg (2008), pp. 509–510.
- ^ a b Thornburg (2008), p. 510.
- ^ Thornburg (2008), p. 517.
- ^ In re Lassiter, 43 N.C.App. 525, 259 S.E.2d 336 (1979).
- ^ Thornburg (2008), p. 532.
- ^ Thornburg (2008), p. 532; In re Lassiter, 299 N.C. 120, 262 S.E.2d 6 (1980).
- ^ 449 U.S. 819 (1980); 101 S.Ct 70; 66 L.Ed.2d 21.
- ^ 449 U.S. 1032 (1980).
- ^ 449 U.S. 1060 (1980).
- ^ "Lassiter v. Department of Social Services". Oyez. Retrieved 14 September 2022; Transcript of oral argument.
- ^ 453 U.S. 927; 102 S.Ct. 889; 69 L.Ed.2d 1023.
- ^ Pastore (2006).
- ^ Coleman (2012), p. 591.
- ^ Marder (2005), pp. 141–142.
- ^ Sweet (1997); Sweet (1998).
Works cited[edit]
- Babcock, Barbara Allen; Massaro, Toni M.; Spaulding, Norman W., eds. (2009). "Lassiter v. Department of Social Services". Civil Procedure: Cases and Problems (4th ed.). Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. pp. 72–83. ISBN 978-0-7355-8292-7.
- Besharov, Douglas J. (27 Oct 1981a). "Poor people's right to counsel in civil cases". The Christian Science Monitor. Vol. 73, no. 234. p. 23. ProQuest 512234260.
- Besharov, Douglas J. (1981b). "Terminating Parental Rights: The Indigent Parent's Right to Counsel after Lassiter v. North Carolina". Family Law Quarterly. 15 (3): 205–221. JSTOR 25739285.
- Boyer, Bruce A. (2005). "Justice, Access to the Courts, and the Right to Free Counsel for Indigent Parents: The Continuing Scourge of Lassiter v. Department of Social Services of Durham". Loyola University Chicago Law Journal. 36 (2): 363–381.
- Buermann, Eric (1982). "Lassiter v. Department of Social Services: The Right to Counsel in Parental Termination Proceedings". University of Miami Law Review. 36 (2): 337–351.
- Campbell, Regina M. (1982). "No-Frills Due Process—Who Needs Counsel?: Lassiter v. Department of Social Services". Connecticut Law Review. 14 (4): 733–758.
- Coleman, Brooke D. (2012). "Lassiter v. Department of Social Services: Why Is It Such a Lousy Case?". Nevada Law Journal. 12 (3): 591–599.
- Duffy, Janice M. (1982). "The Rights to Counsel in Parental Rights Termination Proceeding: Lassiter v. Department of Social Services of Durham County, North Carolina". Boston College Law Review. 23 (4): 1177–1218.
- Flynn, Colene (1996). "In Search of Greater Procedural Justice: Rethinking Lassiter v. Department of Social Services". Wisconsin Women's Law Journal. 11 (2): 327–350.
- Hornstein, Robert (2010). "The Right to Counsel in Civil Cases Revisited: The Proper Influence of Poverty and the Case for Reversing Lassiter v. Department of Social Services". Catholic University Law Review. 59 (4): 1057–1109.
- Jackson, Jane E. (1981). "Lassiter v. Department of Social Services: The Due Process Right to Appointed Counsel Left Hanging Uneasily in the Mathews v. Eldridge Balance". Northern Kentucky Law Review. 8 (3): 513–538.
- Levesque, Roger J. R. (2019). "Adolescents in Child Welfare Systems". Adolescents and Constitutional Law: Regulating Social Contexts of Development. Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. pp. 139–186. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-26639-4_5. ISBN 978-3-030-26638-7.
- Mann, Judy (5 June 1981). "Court's Sensitivity Is Highly Selective". The Washington Post. Vol. 104, no. 182. pp. B1–B2. ProQuest 147328151.
- Marder, Nancy S. (2005). "Teaching Civil Procedure Stories". Journal of Legal Education. 55 (1/2): 138–151. JSTOR 42893897.
- McGrath, Ellie; Thomas, Evan (15 Jun 1981). "Incongruity at the High Court". Time. Vol. 117, no. 24. pp. 56–57. ISSN 0040-781X.
- Padgett, Gary T. (1982). "The Right to Counsel for Indigent Parents in Termination Proceedings: A Critical Analysis of Lassiter v. Department of Social Services". Journal of Family Law. 21 (1). University of Louisville School of Law: 83–114.
- Pastore, Clare (Jul–Aug 2006). "Life After Lassiter: An Overview of State-Court Right-to-Counsel Decisions" (PDF). Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy. Vol. 40, no. 3–4. pp. 186–195. ISSN 0009-868X.
- Schechter, Lowell F. (1981). "The Pitfalls of Timidity: The Ramifications of Lassiter v. Department of Social Services". Northern Kentucky Law Review. 8 (3): 435–512.
- Shaughnessy, Kevin W. (1983). "Lassiter v. Department of Social Services: A New Interest Balancing Test for Indigent Civil Litigants". Catholic University Law Review. 32 (2): 261–285.
- Skeen, Rayma (1981). "Lassiter v. Department of Social Services: Due Process Takes an Ad Hoc Turn—What's a Parent to Do?". Denver Law Review. 59 (3): 591–609.
- Stempel, Jeffrey W. (2012). "The Worst Supreme Court Case Ever? Identifying, Assessing, and Exploring Low Moments of the High Court". Nevada Law Journal. 12 (3): 516–524.
- Subrin, Stephen N.; Minow, Martha L.; Brodin, Mark S.; Main, Thomas O.; Lahav, Alexandra, eds. (2016). Civil Procedure: Doctrine, Practice, and Context (5th ed.). New York: Wolters Kluwer. pp. 82–97. ISBN 978-1-4548-6837-8.
- Sweet, Robert W. (1997). "Civil Gideon and Justice in the Trial Court (the Rabbi's Beard)". Record of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. 52 (8): 915–928.
- Sweet, Robert W. (1998). "Civil Gideon and Confidence in a Just Society". Yale Law & Policy Review. 17 (1): 503–506. JSTOR 40239539.
- Thornburg, Elizabeth G. (2008). "The Story of Lassiter: The Importance of Counsel in an Adversary System". In Clermont, Kevin M. (ed.). Civil Procedure Stories (2nd ed.). Foundation Press. pp. 509–547. ISBN 978-1-59941-347-1. [Reprinted: Field, Richard H.; Kaplan, Benjamin; Clermont, Kevin M., eds. (2011). Materials for a Basic Course in Civil Procedure (Concise 10th ed.). New York: Foundation Press. pp. 301–331. ISBN 978-1-60930-011-1.]
- Trembley, Anthony H. (1982). "Alone Against the State: Lassiter v. Department of Social Services". U.C. Davis Law Review. 15 (4): 1123–1146.
- Van Runkle, Peter E. (1982). "Lassiter v. Department of Social Services: What It Means for the Indigent Divorce Litigant". Ohio State Law Journal. 43 (4): 969–987. hdl:1811/65218.
- Williams, Lynne H. (1982). "An Indigent Parent's Right to Appointed Counsel in Parental Status Termination Proceedings: Lassiter v. Department of Social Services". Houston Law Review. 19 (4): 821–830.
- Young, Rosalie (1997). "The Right to Appointed Counsel in Termination of Parental Rights Proceedings: The States' Response to Lassiter". Touro Law Review. 14 (1): 247–282.
External links[edit]
- Text of Lassiter v. Department of Social Services, 452 U.S. 18 (1981) is available from: Cornell CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress OpenJurist Oyez (oral argument audio)