NO. 07-06 -044 4-CV IN THE CO UR T OF APPEA LS FO R THE S EVEN TH D ISTRI CT O F TEXAS

AT AM AR ILLO PAN EL D APR IL 25 , 200 7

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___ In t he In terestof R. C. and R. C. C. , J R. , M ino r Chi ldren

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______ FRO M T HE 99 DIS T RI CT COU RT OF L UB BO CKCOU NT Y; TH NO. 200 4-52 7,7 27; HON. KEVIN C. HART, PRES IDING

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___ Concurring Opinion

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____ Before QUINN, C.J., and CAMPBELL and PIRT LE, JJ. I c oncur w it h th e m ajo rity ’s opi nio n and re sul t butw ri te s eparatel y to stress that Tex as Fami ly

C ode §263.405( i) should be rev is it ed by the leg is lat ure. It is bey ond dou bt that the p arent/c hil d rela ti onshi p i s o f const it uti onal mag nit ude. W is consin v. Yoder

, 406 U. S. 205, 92 S. Ct . 152 6, 32 L.E d.2d 15 ( 1972) ; In re C.H. , 89 S.W .3d 1 7, 26 (Tex. 2002 ); W iley v. Spr

atl an , 543 S.W .2d 349 , 352 (Tex. 197 6). And , once term inatio n occurs, it is final and ir re v ocabl e; the proc eedi ng permanentl y div est s the parentand chi ld of all l eg al ri g hts , pr iv il eg es, duties , and pow ers w it h resp ectto each other ex ceptfor

the chi ld' s r ig ht to i nher it

. W

iley v. Spr

atl an , 543 S.W .2d a t 352

. Thus, iti s i mpera ti v e to ass ure tha t due2

proces s b e afforded bot h parent a nd c hil d. That di d notoc cur here s inc e app e lla n t w as den ied op portu nity by her ap poin ted coun sel to a p p e a r atthe he aring. This w as so becau se tr ial co unsel fail ed to req uesta be nch w ar ra n t f ro m the cour t c ompell ing her app eara nce at trial. Moreo v er, the re is l ittle do ubtcoun sel knew of h er client’s interestin atten din g g iv en that the tr ial w as cont inu ed at one poi nt so ar ra ng ements co uld be made to s ecure a p p ell ant’ s p re senc e. Y et, g iv en th e w ordin g of §263.40 5( i) and appoi nted couns el’ s fai lure to desi g nate her pote nti al ine ffect iv eness as an i ss ue on appeal , not hin g can be done to cure the default

. It may w ell be that the p arent/c hil d rela ti onshi p nec ess it ates ter minat ion due to t he cond uct of a pare nt. Yet, pare nts are e ntitled to due process, a s is the child. At the v ery hea rt of due proce ss is the opp ortun ity to be hea rd in def ense of ano the r’s a c c u sation s. See M asonic G ra nd Chapter

of Or der of Easter

n St ar v. Sweatt , 329 S.W .2d 3 34, 3 37 (Tex . C iv . Ap p.–F ort W orth 19 59, w ri t ref'd n.r. e.)

. Mo re ov er , indi g ents , such as appel lan t, are to be g iv en appo int ed, e ff ect iv e c ounse l to fost er thei r re cei pt of du e proces s i n g eneral and t he c hance to be heard i n par ti cul ar . See T EX . F AM . C ODE A NN . §107.01 3( a) (1 ) (V er non Su pp. 2 006) ( re q uir ing the appoi ntment of couns el to t he i ndi g ent) ; In r e M.S. , 115 S.W .3d 5 34, 5 44 ( Tex .2003) ( re q uir ing thatco unsel be effect iv e)

. W hen egreg iou s w ro ng occ urs, how ev er , and w e are bar re d from c or re cting i t due to the a ppl ic ati on of a s tatut e to s it uati ons w hic h, mo st l ike ly , no one i ntended , our l eg al sy ste m has faile d i n tha t instan ce. Such hap pen ed h ere. Co nseque ntly, I join w ith the Fo rt W orth Court of Appe als, the Housto n Court of

Appe als (1 District), the Dallas Court of Appe als and Justice Va nce

st of the W aco Cou rtof Appeal s i n as ki ng the leg is lat ure t o r e co n sid e r the s cope of §263.40 5( i)

. See In re D.A.R. , 201 S.W .3d 229, 230- 31 ( Tex . Ap p.–F ort W orth 20 06, n o3

pet.); Poo l v. Tex. Dep’ t of Fami ly & Protective Servs

. , No

. 0 1 -0 5 -0 1 0 9 3 -C V , 2 0 0 7 T e x. App. L E X IS 1576 (Tex . App.–H oust on [1 D is t.] M arch 1, 20 07, n o pet . h. ); In r e R .J. S. a nd st M. S. , N o. 05 -0 5- 01641- CV , 2007 T ex . App. L E X IS 2770 (Tex . Ap p.–D all as Apr il 22, 2007, no pet . h. ); In re E.A .R. , 201 S.W .3d 813, 816 ( Tex . Ap p.–W aco 2006, no pet .) ( Vanc e, J ., concu rring ).

Br ian Qui nn Chief Justice