California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Andrew B., In re, 40 Cal.App.4th 825, 47 Cal.Rptr.2d 604 (Cal. App. 1995):
In this respect, Salas v. Cortez (1979) 24 Cal.3d 22, 154 Cal.Rptr. 529, 593 P.2d 226, recognizing an indigent father's federal and state constitutional right to the appointment of counsel in a paternity action, becomes pertinent. Taking the arguments of Wende critics at face value, an indigent father in a paternity action would be entitled to Wende review if his appointed attorney could not find any arguable issues simply because he had a constitutional right to trial counsel. But an indigent father appealing the termination of parental rights in a dependency proceeding, who had a statutory right to counsel at trial, would not. There is no logic or justice in such disparate treatment between these indigent appellants.
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