Opinion ID: 767140
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Appointment of the Guardian Ad Litem

Text: 46 Neilson's sole challenge to the district court's decision to appoint a guardian ad litem concerns the procedures followed by the district court. Because a litigant possesses liberty interests in avoiding the stigma of being found incompetent, see Wisconsin v. Constantineau, 400 U.S. 433, 437, 27 L. Ed. 2d 515, 91 S. Ct. 507 (1971), and in retaining personal control over the litigation, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment limits the district court's discretion with respect to the procedures used before appointing a guardian ad litem. See Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 332, 47 L. Ed. 2d 18, 96 S. Ct. 893 (1976); Thomas v. Humfield, 916 F.2d 1032, 1033-34 (5th Cir. 1990). To determine the amount of process due, we must weigh (1) the private interest affected by the official action; (2) the risk of an erroneous deprivation of that interest through the procedures used, and the probable value of additional or different procedural safeguards; and (3) the government's interest. See Abdullah v. I.N.S., 184 F.3d 158, 164 (2d Cir. 1999) (citing Mathews, 424 U.S. at 334-35); see also Gilbert v. Homar, 520 U.S. 924, 931-32, 138 L. Ed. 2d 120, 117 S. Ct. 1807 (1997). We consider these factors bearing in mind the particular context of the decision to appoint a guardian ad litem. See Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 481, 33 L. Ed. 2d 484, 92 S. Ct. 2593 (1972) (Due process is flexible and calls for such procedural protections as the particular situation demands.). 47 Neilson argues that the district court was required to hold a formal, evidentiary hearing before appointing a guardian ad litem, and that it was required to provide her with a copy of Dr. Pulver's report prior to that hearing. In proposing these additional safeguards, Neilson analogizes her case to Thomas v. Humfield, 916 F.2d 1032 (5th Cir. 1990). In that case, the court reversed the district court's dismissal of the case after appointing a guardian ad litem on the ground that the court's failure to afford the plaintiff an opportunity to review the psychiatric reports or to argue or present evidence on the need for a guardian violated the Due Process Clause. See id. at 1034. The analogy to Thomas is of distinctly limited utility to Neilson, because in Thomas the case was remanded for a new determination as to whether or not the plaintiff was incompetent and in need of a guardian, whereas Neilson, who is represented on appeal by her general guardian, does not contest her incompetence. The Fifth Circuit in Thomas emphasized that its holding did not address a situation where a party is under an existing guardianship or has otherwise been judicially found to be incompetent. Id. at 1033 n.1. More fundamentally, however, we conclude that neither of the safeguards proposed (the pre-appointment hearing or the furnishing of Dr. Pulver's report) is required by the Due Process Clause because of the availability of post-appointment review and because of Neilson's questionable competence at the time the decision was made.
48 After appointing a guardian ad litem, a court maintains a continuing obligation to supervise the guardian ad litem's work. See Dacanay v. Mendoza, 573 F.2d 1075, 1079 (9th Cir. 1978) (It is the court's order approving the settlement that vests the guardian ad litem with the legal power to enforce the agreement.); Noe v. True, 507 F.2d 9, 12 (6th Cir. 1974) (through a guardian ad litem the court itself assumes ultimate responsibility for determinations made on behalf of the [ward]). The court may remove the guardian ad litem, see Hull v. United States, 53 F.3d 1125, 1127 n.1 (10th Cir. 1995) (noting that parties seeking to challenge the decisions of a guardian ad litem have a remedy of applying to the court to have the guardian ad litem removed); Garrick v. Weaver, 888 F.2d 687, 693 (10th Cir. 1989) (denying standing to legal representative after appointment of a guardian ad litem, reasoning that proper remedy is to petition the court for removal), or choose not to approve the guardian ad litem's proposals, see Dacanay, 573 F.2d at 1079. 49 The record in this case reveals that the district court carefully reviewed Niss's work and only approved his proposed settlement after making an independent finding that it was fair. See Neilson, 993 F. Supp. at 228. The district court also entertained requests made by Neilson and by counsel for her son to have Niss removed as guardian ad litem. Because the district court examined Neilson's case after Niss's appointment and had opportunities to remove Niss as guardian ad litem, we believe that dispensing with a formal hearing prior to appointing a guardian ad litem presents only a small risk of an erroneous deprivation. See Reeve Aleutian Airways, Inc. v. United States, 299 U.S. App. D.C. 206, 982 F.2d 594, 600 (D.C. Cir. 1993) (finding risk of erroneous deprivation to be minimal when individual suffering deprivation had opportunity for follow-up contact with the decisionmaker) (citing Gray Panthers v. Schweiker, 209 U.S. App. D.C. 153, 652 F.2d 146, 169 (D.C. Cir. 1980)); see also Gilbert v. Homar, 520 U.S. at 932 (explaining that temporary deprivations subject to post-deprivation review require fewer pre-deprivation protections).
50 At the time the district court was considering the appointment of a guardian ad litem, a genuine question existed as to Neilson's competence. We believe that it was reasonable for the district court, in that circumstance, to decide that there would be little probable value to a formal, adversary hearing. See Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 268-69, 25 L. Ed. 2d 287, 90 S. Ct. 1011 (1970) (The opportunity to be heard must be tailored to the capacities and circumstances of those who are to be heard.); Gray Panthers v. Schweiker, 209 U.S. App. D.C. 153, 652 F.2d 146, 166 (D.C. Cir. 1980) (explaining that adequacy of process is determined with reference to the characteristics of the group who have to use it). 51 We recognize, of course, that particularly extensive efforts to provide notice may often be required when the State is aware of a party's inexperience or incompetence. Mennonite Bd. of Missions v. Adams, 462 U.S. 791, 799, 77 L. Ed. 2d 180, 103 S. Ct. 2706 (1983) (citing Memphis Light, Gas & Water Div. v. Craft, 436 U.S. 1, 13-15, 56 L. Ed. 2d 30, 98 S. Ct. 1554 (1978); Covey v. Town of Somers, 351 U.S. 141, 146-47, 100 L. Ed. 1021, 76 S. Ct. 724 (1956)). But those extensive efforts are only required when there is some likelihood that they would be more effective than the procedures actually used. In Memphis Light, the Court required a utility company to explain the procedures available for challenging a bill in a way that could be understood by the company's uneducated, inexperienced customers. See Memphis Light, 436 U.S. at 14 n.15. In the circumstances of this case, however, it was reasonable for the district court to conclude that, given Neilson's mental state, there was no way it could provide an explanation that would have been suited to her condition. In Covey, the Court found notice of a foreclosure by publication in a newspaper to be unconstitutional with respect to a known incompetent. See Covey, 351 U.S. at 146-47. But Judge Rakoff's procedure in this case was far more protective of Neilson's interests than mere publication of notice in a newspaper. The district court informed Neilson by written order that it was considering appointing a guardian ad litem and ordered an examination by an independent psychological expert. The district court weighed the expert's report, its own interactions with Neilson, as well as the documentary evidence before finally deciding that a guardian ad litem should be appointed. Moreover, the district court considered conducting a hearing and only dispensed with it upon concluding that the submissions of the parties rendered it unnecessary. See Von Bulow by Auersperg v. Von Bulow, 634 F. Supp. 1284, 1296 (S.D.N.Y. 1986) (dispensing with hearing prior to appointment of next friend on ground that facts submitted to the court were sufficient to establish need for appointment). 5 52 The enduring lesson of Memphis Light and Covey is that, when considering whether notice is reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances to inform the recipient of the nature of pending proceedings, Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 314, 94 L. Ed. 865, 70 S. Ct. 652 (1950), the mental capacity of the recipient is one of the circumstances to be considered. We believe that in light of the genuine question that existed as to Neilson's competence, the notice (as well as other procedures) chosen by Judge Rakoff was reasonable and, therefore, did not violate the Due Process Clause. This is not to say that Judge Rakoff committed an error which was harmless in light of Neilson's incompetence, but that Judge Rakoff's personal observation of Neilson and his experience with her inconsistencies were such that the district court's notice was reasonable and was therefore not erroneous. 53 For these reasons, we believe that neither providing Neilson with a copy of Dr. Pulver's report nor providing more elaborate notice would have been of significant probable value in protecting Neilson's interests and that no worthwhile purpose would have been served by conducting a formal, evidentiary hearing. On the other hand, to require the district court to conduct a formal, evidentiary hearing before appointing a guardian ad litem would consume a significant amount of judicial resources, cause delay, and accomplish little. Balancing these factors, we conclude that the risk of erroneous deprivation was low, given the procedures used by the district court, and that the probable value of the proposed additional procedures was limited. Although we find Neilson's interests to be compelling, we do not believe the proposed additional safeguards would have offered sufficient protection of those interests as to justify another additional delay not only to the court system but to the furnishing of a remedy to Neilson, who was in need of immediate relief. See infra at 7696. The Due Process Clause does not, therefore, require the district court to have used the proposed procedures before finding Neilson incompetent and appointing a guardian ad litem.