Maryland Court of Appeals Addresses Right to Counsel in Civil Cases

On December 11, 2003, the Maryland Court of Appeals issued its decision in Frase v. Barnhart, an important case brought by the Public Justice Center, an OSI–Baltimore grantee. The case centered on whether there is a right to counsel under the Maryland Constitution at least in civil cases involving basic human needs, such as parental custody of a child.

In its ruling, the court struck down as unconstitutional the conditions that had been placed on Deborah Frase’s custody of her son; however, by a narrow 4-3 margin the court decided not to rule on the question of Frase’s constitutional right to counsel. In a concurring opinion, three judges argued that "in cases involving the fundamental right of parents to parent their children, especially when the parent is a defendant and not a plaintiff, counsel should be provided for those parents who lack independent means to retain private counsel."

The Court of Appeals' ruling and a Public Justice Center press release are available below in PDF format.

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