Tuck v. Arkansas Department of Human Services

Wendell L. Griffen, Judge.

Dustin Tuck appeals from an order terminating his parental rights in his daughter, AC. He argues that he was denied assistance of counsel; that the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) failed to join him as a party until it moved to terminate his parental rights; and that the evidence was insufficient to warrant termination. We agree with appellant that DHS should have included him in the case earlier in the proceedings. We therefore reverse and remand the termination order.

AC was born on September 7, 2003, to a single, sixteen-year-old mother. The father,…