In re Anthony M.

Filed 7/31/07 In re Anthony M. CA2/7

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION SEVEN

APPEAL and ORIGINAL PROCEEDING (Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus) from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Joan Carney, Referee. Appeal dismissed; relief granted on petition.

Diana W. Prince, by appointment of the Court of Appeal, for Defendant, Appellant, and Petitioner.

Raymond G. Fortner, Jr., County Counsel and O. Raquel Ramirez, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Shawn L., father of Anthony M. (born in 1997, declared a dependent ward on April 11, 2005, and placed with Shawns mother), timely appealed from a December 5, 2006 juvenile court order terminating his parental rights and making Anthony available for adoption by Shawns mother.^[1] We appointed counsel to represent Shawn on this appeal. After reviewing the record, counsel filed a brief raising no issues and forwarded the appellate record to Shawn to facilitate his raising any issues he wished us to consider.^[2]

Shawn, incarcerated in Minnesota throughout the dependency proceedings, filed such a brief, alleging his appointed trial counsel provided inadequate representation after her August 7, 2006 appointment by failing adequately to communicate with him and explore whether he could participate in reunification services in prison. We asked appellate counsel to brief this issue. Counsel responded by filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus alleging trial counsel provided inadequate representation. We ordered the petition and appeal considered together and asked County Counsel to respond. County Counsel conceded Shawn made a sufficient showing of trial counsels inadequacy to warrant a hearing on that issue and informed us the record did not show compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). County Counsel asked us to issue an order to show cause (OSC) returnable before the juvenile court to hold relevant hearings. In reply, Shawn agreed with County Counsels recommendations.

DISPOSITION

In the habeas petition, all orders by the juvenile court issued on or after August 7, 2006 are vacated. We issue an OSC returnable before the juvenile court at which the court shall appoint new counsel to represent Shawn and conduct a hearing to determine if Shawns former trial counsel inadequately represented him after her August 7, 2006 appointment, and, if so, whether he was prejudiced thereby.^[3] The court also shall provide proper notice under the ICWA. If the court determines Shawns former counsel provided prejudicially ineffective representation or should proper notice result in a tribe identifying Anthony as a member, the court shall reinstitute appropriate proceedings. If the court finds counsel was not prejudicially ineffective and no tribe identifies Anthony as a member, the court shall reinstate the December 5, 2006 order terminating Shawns parental rights and freeing Anthony for adoption.

The appeal is dismissed as moot.

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

JOHNSON, Acting P. J.

We concur:

WOODS, J.

ZELON, J.

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^[1] Welfare and Institutions Code sections 300, 366.26. At the December 5, 2006 hearing, the court terminated Anthonys mothers parental rights. She is not a party to this appeal.

^[2]In re Sade C. (1996) 13 Cal.4th 952.

^[3] See In re Eileen A. (2000) 84 Cal.App.4th 1248, 1253-1262.