Salas v. Cortez

Opinion

BIRD, C. J.

— In these consolidated appeals, this court must decide whether due process requires the appointment of counsel to represent indigent defendants in law suits brought at the behest of the state to determine the parentage of minor children.

I

Salas v. Cortez

Julia Salas, the mother of a child born out of wedlock, received welfare benefits from Ventura County under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. Suit was filed in order to (1) establish that Miguel Martinez Cortez was the father of the child and (2) obtain child support. The Ventura County District…