First Star has participated as an amicus curiae in a case involving the question of whether, under the United States and Washington Constitutions a child has the right to be represented by an attorney in cases involving termination of the rights of the child's parent. In this case, two children had been denied the right to counsel by the trial court in a case in which the state sought to terminate their mother's status as their parent. On appeal, the State of Washington admitted that it was an error for the trial court not to appoint counsel for the children, and asked the appeal court to remand the case back to the trial court so that a new termination trial could proceed with counsel appointed for the children – the appeal court agreed. An appeal was also taken to the Supreme Court of the State of Washington to present the broader question of whether children in a parental rights termination proceeding have a constitutional right to counsel.
On February 1, 2011, the Supreme Court of Washington issued an "Order Dismissing Review." The Supreme Court determined that the case should be dismissed because review was "improvidently granted." The basis for the Supreme Court's dismissal rests on the fact that there was no aggrieved party in this case because the children will have received counsel for their retrial, and the more abstract question of whether all children facing termination of their parents’ rights have a right to counsel does not need to be decided.
First Star has followed this case, and participated in an amicus curiae brief, in order to address the important question of the extent of a child's right to counsel in Washington State. In the 2009 Second Edition of First Star's Report Card on a Child's Right to Counsel, Washington received a grade of D for its statute governing the appointment of attorneys for children. In Washington State, as of 2010, a child has the right to request counsel only after reaching the age of 12 years and only if the court agrees. First Star is disappointed that this case did not address broader issues, and therefore did not expand the right to counsel beyond those children directly involved in this case. The Washington Legislature has acknowledged that there are widely inconsistent practices among the counties in Washington, resulting in few children being notified of their right to request legal counsel in dependency and termination proceedings. First Star will continue to work with all parties in Washington State to extend the right to counsel to children in all cases involving critical rights.