Bearden v. Arkansas Department of Human Services

Josephine Linker Hart, Judge.

The Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989 provides that an indigent parent must be afforded the right to the assistance of counsel in proceedings to terminate parental rights.1 See Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-316(h) (Supp. 1999). Before us is the question , of whether an indigent parent who has been appointed counsel in a proceeding to terminate his parental rights pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-341 (Supp. 1999), has a right to proceed without counsel. Stated differently, at issue is whether the law forces an indigent parent in a proceeding to terminate parental rights to…