Opinion ID: 1262515
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: standard of adequacy

Text: Having determined that a claim of appointed trial counsel's inadequacy may be reviewed on direct appeal, we next consider what standard of adequacy should be applied in this context, an issue of first impression for this court. Mother argues that we should adopt the constitutional criminal law standard. See Krummacher v. Gierloff, 290 Or. 867, 872, 627 P.2d 458 (1981) (state and federal constitutions call for an adequate performance by counsel of those functions of professional assistance which an accused person relies upon counsel to perform). For the reasons which follow, we reject that standard and instead, adopt a standard which seeks to determine whether a termination proceeding was fundamentally fair. See McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, 403 U.S. 528, 543, 91 S.Ct. 1976, 1985, 29 L.Ed.2d 647 (1971) (the applicable due process standard in juvenile proceedings is fundamental fairness); see also IJA/ABA, Juvenile Justice Standards Relating to Counsel for Private Parties (1977). A proceeding to terminate parental rights is not a criminal prosecution. [13] There are substantial differences between adult criminal cases and juvenile court proceedings involving children and their parents. Courts have long recognized that the substantive standards and procedural rules governing criminal cases are not necessarily applicable or even desirable in juvenile court proceedings. See State v. McMaster, 259 Or. 291, 296-98, 486 P.2d 567 (1971) (juvenile courts require greater flexibility than adult criminal courts); Lassiter v. Department of Social Services, supra, 452 U.S. at 32-33, 101 S.Ct. at 2162, (due process does not require the appointment of counsel in every termination of parental rights case) (overruling our holding to the contrary in State v. Jamison, supra, 251 Or. at 117, 444 P.2d 15, 444 P.2d 1005); Santosky v. Kramer, 455 U.S. 745, 768-69, 102 S.Ct. 1388, 1402-03, 71 L.Ed.2d 599 (1982) (standard of proof in termination case is clear and convincing evidence, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt); McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, 403 U.S. 528, 545, 91 S.Ct. 1976, 1986, 29 L.Ed.2d 647 (1971) (Fourteenth Amendment does not require jury trial in juvenile delinquency proceeding); In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 87 S.Ct. 1428, 18 L.Ed.2d 527 (1967) (Fourteenth Amendment does not require that a juvenile delinquency hearing conform with all of the requirements of adult criminal trials). Thus, different standards may properly govern adult criminal cases and juvenile cases. Likewise, standards that will apply in juvenile delinquency cases may not be required or even desirable in juvenile dependency cases. There simply is no compelling reason that the same standards applied in adult criminal cases also should be applied in juvenile cases. Circuit courts administering the Juvenile Code, ORS ch. 419, act in parens patriae, [14] focusing on family unity and the best interests of the child. ORS 419.474(2) provides: The provisions of ORS 419.472 to 419.597, 419.800 to 419.839 shall be liberally construed to the end that a child coming within the jurisdiction of the court may receive such care, guidance and control, preferably in the child's own home, as will lead to the child's welfare and the best interest of the public, and that when a child is removed from the control of the parents of the child the court may secure for the child care that best meets the needs of the child. In a termination case, for example, the issue is not whether a parent should be punished by a termination of his or her parental rights; rather, the issue is whether the statutory grounds for termination have been established by clear and convincing evidence, ORS 419.525(3), and, if so, whether the child's best interest will be served by termination of the parent-child relationship. ORS 419.523(1). [15] Children have a right to grow up in a wholesome and healthful environment, free from fear of abuse, injury, or neglect. Where a parent is unable or unwilling to rehabilitate himself or herself within a reasonable time so as to provide such an environment, the best interests of the child(ren) generally will require termination of that parent's parental rights. See In re Interest of C.D.C., supra, 455 N.W.2d at 806. To secure a parent's rights in the context of those underlying determinations, courts seek to determine whether the proceedings were fundamentally fair. See generally Santosky v. Kramer, supra, 455 U.S. at 753-54, 102 S.Ct. at 1394-95 (when the state moves to destroy weakened familial bonds, it must provide the parents with fundamentally fair procedures); Lassiter v. Dept. of Social Services, supra, 452 U.S. at 33, 101 S.Ct. at 2162 (Fourteenth Amendment imposes on the states the standards necessary to insure that judicial proceedings are fundamentally fair). The essence of fundamental fairness is the opportunity to be heard at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner. See generally Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 333, 96 S.Ct. 893, 901, 47 L.Ed.2d 18 (1976). Fundamental fairness emphasizes factfinding procedures. The requirements of notice, adequate counsel, confrontation, cross-examination, and standards of proof flow from this emphasis. McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, supra, 403 U.S. at 543, 91 S.Ct. at 1985. Fundamental fairness is flexible and calls for such procedural protections as the particular situation demands. Although no client has a constitutional or statutory right to a perfect defense, see Krummacher v. Gierloff, supra, 290 Or. at 875, 627 P.2d 458, fundamental fairness requires that appointed counsel exercise professional skill and judgment. However, as we explained in Krummacher v. Gierloff, supra, 290 Or. at 873-76, 627 P.2d 458, any formulation of a standard of performance required of counsel must take into account the remarkable variety of effective advocacy displayed daily in our trial courts by competent lawyers of differing approach, style, personality, temperament, and strategic inclinations. Because lawyers, judges, juries, clients, cases and communities vary, the application of any standard of performance, however stated, to an individual case necessarily involves a degree of subjectivity and ad hoc judgment. For that reason, the search for a single, succinctly-stated standard of performance, objectively applicable to every case, is a fool's errand, Id., 290 Or. at 874, 627 P.2d 458, upon which we decline to embark. There may be many ways to properly represent a client in any given case. Generally, an attorney's choice of a particular theory of the case, the choice to call or not to call a particular witness, the choice to ask or not to ask certain questions, or the choice of a particular line of argument, will be tactical decisions. The mere fact that a tactical decision may backfire on counsel does not necessarily demonstrate that counsel was professionally inadequate. A particular tactical decision will constitute inadequate assistance of counsel only if a court affirmatively finds that no adequate counsel would have followed that tactic under the circumstances and, therefore, that following that tactic reflected an absence or suspension of professional skill and judgment. The fact that a different counsel, or most counsel, or even a reviewing court, might have pursued a different course, standing alone, does not demonstrate that a trial counsel's tactic constituted inadequate assistance of counsel. Krummacher v. Gierloff, supra, 290 Or. at 875, 881, 627 P.2d 458. In reviewing a claim that trial counsel was inadequate, we look to the totality of the circumstances. Absent a finding that a person was denied a fair trial because of the inadequacies of that person's trial counsel, citation of other tactical decisions counsel could have made, or should have made better, is not particularly instructive.