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  • 1.  Is the NJSBA filing a motion to enter this case as amicus?

    Posted 12-22-2015 10:34 AM

    A-39-15 In the Matter of the Adoption of a Child by J.E.V. & D.G.V. (076767)
    In a private adoption matter, does an indigent parent facing termination of parental rights under New Jersey's Adoption Act have a right to appointed counsel?
    Certification granted: 12/17/15
    Posted: 12/17/15 (Note: The Court entered a peremptory briefing schedule. Any amicus curiae motion is due by January 19, 2016.)

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    Robert Goldstein Esq.
    Manalapan NJ
    (732)972-1600
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  • 2.  RE: Is the NJSBA filing a motion to enter this case as amicus?

    Posted 12-22-2015 10:44 AM

    Our participation was requested, and we are presently reviewing the case.  We will most likely participate.

     

    _____________________________________

    Brian G. Paul, Esq.

    Certified Matrimonial Law Attorney

    Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein & Blader, P.C.

    101 Grovers Mill Road

    Lawrenceville, New Jersey  08648

    Phone:  609-275-0400

    Direct Fax:  609-779-6065

    [email protected]

     

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  • 3.  RE: Is the NJSBA filing a motion to enter this case as amicus?

    Posted 12-22-2015 11:06 PM
    I was just about to post a message and ask the same question. For those not aware of the case, there's a good civilian (as in "non-lawyer") media story on it: http://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-supreme-court-to-hear-child-custody-case-involving-indigent-mother-1.1477922 . Here's the appellate decision: https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14082015739856589882


    John Pollock and The National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel http://civilrighttocounsel.org/ are also planning to file an amicus brief. John was of iimmeasurable help working on the Kavadas briefs - he's one of those people you sometimes meet who make you feel really slow... not because he in any way talks down, but because he picks things up so quickly and knows this area of the law inside and out. I'll put you in touch, Brian.


    Not to digress (if it is one), but as someone who never touched a TPR case until recently, Judge Koblitz's words in JEV ring true -- “After the elimination of the death penalty, we can think of no legal consequence of greater magnitude than the termination of parental rights." I am just dumbfounded by the low standard that permits this to happen. In JEV, there was "no evidence that L.A. abused or neglected her daughter; nor that she was addicted to drugs or alcohol, or suffered from mental illness. To the contrary, poverty alone seems to have given rise to L.A.'s concerns regarding the care of her two-year-old special-needs daughter."  In Andreana Kavadas' case, it was essentially the same - maintaining a highly dyfunctional relationship with an active heroin addict, a house messy to the point of it causing concerns as to health, and failing to appear (which she very credibly asserts was caused by lack of ability to get to court). These are all great reasons why a parent shouldn't have custody - they do not justify a consequence that Judge Koblitz aptly calls second only to the death penalty. Andreana's gets to occassionally get glimpses of her daugher on Facebook spending time with her dad and his family (who adopted her) ... no, correct that, it's no longer "her daughter" she's seeing on FB. She is no relation to this child. I'm just speechless that we do this. I always assumed that some kind of horrific, unspeakable abuse or abandonment resulted in a TRP. I wouldn't expect the U.S. Supreme Court as its currently populated to care or step in... but our Supreme Court? Is there something here I'm not understanding that explains this so it makes sense, or is this just plain wrong?



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    David Perry Davis, Esq.
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       www.FamilyLawNJ.pro
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    112 West Franklin Avenue
    Pennington, NJ 08534
    Voice: 609-737-2222
    Fax:    609-737-3222

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