DeMace v. Whittaker

The principal issue on this appeal, like that decided today in Lavertue v. Niman, 196 Conn. 403, 493 A.2d 313 (1985), is whether indigent defendants in state-sponsored paternity proceedings have a constitutional right to court-appointed counsel. At the insistence of the state, and with the state’s aid, the plaintiff Caryn DeMace brought suit against the defendant Arthur Whittaker, naming him the father of her *415child Cami M. DeMace. The defendant denied his paternity but, after a trial to the court without the assistance of counsel, was found guilty. The court ordered him to pay $25 per week…