Thomas v. Hoppe

This is a petition for writ of habeas corpus in which petitioners Nelson Thomas and Hipomene Cadet seek relief from and order of permanent commitment to HRS of their four minor children. Petitioners claim that they were denied the right to counsel at the commitment hearing. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby vacate the order of permanent commitment and remand for an evidentiary hearing on the issue of waiver of counsel.

The children were left by their parents with non-relatives in 1981, and were subsequently declared dependent and placed in temporary legal custody of HRS by court…