In the Interest of: K.C., Appeal of: N.W.C.

CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 31, 2022
Docket243 WDA 2022
StatusUnpublished

This text of In the Interest of: K.C., Appeal of: N.W.C. (In the Interest of: K.C., Appeal of: N.W.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In the Interest of: K.C., Appeal of: N.W.C., (Pa. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

J-S29033-22

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

IN THE INTEREST OF: K.C., A : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF MINOR : PENNSYLVANIA : : APPEAL OF: N.W.C., FATHER : : : : : No. 243 WDA 2022

Appeal from the Order Entered January 26, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Jefferson County Civil Division at No(s): CP-33-DP-0000004-2021

IN THE INTEREST OF: M.C., A : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF MINOR : PENNSYLVANIA : : APPEAL OF: N.W.C., FATHER : : : : : No. 244 WDA 2022

Appeal from the Order Entered January 26, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Jefferson County Civil Division at No(s): CP-33-DP-0000002-2021

IN THE INTEREST OF: F.C., A MINOR : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : APPEAL OF: N.W.C., FATHER : : : : : : No. 245 WDA 2022

Appeal from the Order Entered January 26, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Jefferson County Civil Division at No(s): CP-33-DP-0000003-2021 J-S29033-22

BEFORE: PANELLA, P.J., MURRAY, J., and COLINS, J.*

MEMORANDUM BY COLINS, J.: FILED: OCTOBER 31, 2022

N.W.C. (“Father”) appeals from the orders changing the permanency

goals of his children, K.C., M.C., and F.C. (collectively, “Children”), to

adoption.1 Additionally, Father’s counsel has filed a petition for leave to

withdraw and an accompanying brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386

U.S. 738 (1967).

The record reveals that Jefferson County Children and Youth Services

(“CYS”) filed an application for emergency protective custody of Children on

January 5, 2021. In the application, CYS alleged that it had received reports

that Father had physically abused M.C. (born 2013) by striking her with a belt

and that S.C. (“Mother”) had also participated in the abuse. CYS requested

emergency custody of M.C., as well as her younger brother F.C. (born 2014)

and sister K.C. (born 2020) based upon the reported physical abuse as well

as lack of proper parental care and control. Emergency custody was granted,

and a shelter care order was entered on January 8, 2021 after a hearing.

Children were placed in foster care together, and, on January 27, 2021, the

trial court entered orders adjudicating Children dependent.

____________________________________________

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court. 1Father filed a separate notice of appeal at each trial court docket, as required by Pa.R.A.P. 341. Father’s appeals were consolidated sua sponte by this Court on March 18, 2022. Children’s mother, S.C., did not appeal from the goal change orders.

-2- J-S29033-22

Permanency review hearings were held on May 26 and September 22,

2021 and January, 26 2022. On the date of the last hearing, the trial court

entered orders changing the permanency goals of Children from “return home”

to adoption. Father filed timely appeals and Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b) statements,

and on May 9, 2022, the trial court issued a Pa.R.A.P. 1925(a) opinion.

Before reaching the merits of this appeal, we must first address whether

counsel’s petition to withdraw and accompanying brief comply with the

procedure outlined in Anders and related case law. See In re J.D.H., 171

A.3d 903, 906 (Pa. Super. 2017) (holding that Anders procedure for

withdrawal of court-appointed counsel applies in appeals from goal change

orders, even in the absence of an involuntary termination decree). In order

to withdraw under Anders, counsel must

1) petition the court for leave to withdraw stating that, after making a conscientious examination of the record, counsel has determined that the appeal would be frivolous; 2) furnish a copy of the Anders brief to the appellant; and 3) advise the appellant that he or she has the right to retain private counsel or raise additional arguments that the appellant deems worthy of the court’s attention.

Id. at 907 (quoting Commonwealth v. Cartrette, 83 A.3d 1030, 1032 (Pa.

Super. 2013) (en banc); brackets omitted).

With respect to the third requirement, counsel must “attach to their

petition to withdraw a copy of the letter sent to their client advising him or

her of their rights.” Id. (quoting Commonwealth v. Millisock, 873 A.2d

748, 752 (Pa. Super. 2005)). Because a parent has a continuing right to

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counsel in dependency proceedings, an attorney seeking to withdraw in an

appeal from a goal change order is required to

inform the parent of his or her right to counsel in any subsequent dependency or involuntary termination proceedings. Counsel must also inform the parent that, if he or she cannot afford counsel, he or she may contact the trial court in order to obtain new counsel. This information must be conveyed to the parent at the same time that counsel informs the parent of his or her other rights pursuant to Anders[.]

Id. at 906-07.

Furthermore, the Anders brief must:

(1) provide a summary of the procedural history and facts, with citations to the record;

(2) refer to anything in the record that counsel believes arguably supports the appeal;

(3) set forth counsel’s conclusion that the appeal is frivolous; and

(4) state counsel’s reasons for concluding that the appeal is frivolous. Counsel should articulate the relevant facts of record, controlling case law, and/or statutes on point that have led to the conclusion that the appeal is frivolous.

Id. at 907 (quoting Commonwealth v. Santiago, 978 A.2d 349, 361 (Pa.

2009)).

In his petition to withdraw, counsel indicated that he had thoroughly

reviewed the record and determined that there are no non-frivolous grounds

for this appeal. Counsel sent a letter to Father advising him of his right to

retain new counsel or proceed pro se and raise any additional issues he

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deemed worthy of this Court’s attention.2 Counsel’s letter also advised Father

of his right to appointed counsel in any subsequent dependency or termination

proceeding and that he should contact the court to obtain new counsel if he

could not afford it. See id. at 906-07. This letter was attached to counsel’s

petition for withdraw, and it indicates that counsel provided Father with the

petition to withdraw and Anders brief; counsel’s certificates of services

likewise demonstrate that the relevant filings were served on Father.

Furthermore, counsel’s Anders brief includes a summary of the relevant

procedural and factual history of this case and discusses the reasons upon

which counsel bases his conclusion that the appeal is frivolous, with citations

to the record and applicable case law.

We thus conclude that counsel has complied with the procedural

requirements for withdrawal, and we proceed to review the merits of this

appeal. We first consider the issue raised by counsel in his Anders brief and

determine whether it is in fact frivolous. Id. at 908. In addition, if we

determine that the issue raised by counsel is frivolous, we then proceed to

“conduct an independent review of the record to discern if there are any

additional, non-frivolous issues overlooked by counsel.” Id. (quoting

Commonwealth v. Flowers, 113 A.3d 1246, 1250 (Pa. Super. 2015)).

2As of the date of this decision, Father has not filed a pro se brief with this Court, nor has privately retained counsel entered an appearance on Father’s behalf.

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Related

Anders v. California
386 U.S. 738 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Commonwealth v. Santiago
978 A.2d 349 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2009)
In the Interest of: M.T., Appeal of: C.T. and M.T.
101 A.3d 1163 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2014)
In RE: J.D.H. Appeal Of: A.S.H., Natural Mother
171 A.3d 903 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2017)
In the Interest of: H.J., Appeal of: M.J.
206 A.3d 22 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2019)
Commonwealth v. Millisock
873 A.2d 748 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2005)
In re N.C.
909 A.2d 818 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2006)
Commonwealth v. Cartrette
83 A.3d 1030 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2013)
Commonwealth v. Flowers
113 A.3d 1246 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015)
In the Int of: T.M.W., Appeal of: M.A.W.
2020 Pa. Super. 122 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020)

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