In re D.W., 2017 Ohio 1486

Father Louis Wiggins IV and mother Markeisha Cofield‑Wiggins had three children placed in the Agency’s temporary custody after dependency/abuse allegations; photos of children’s injuries were in the record.
Wiggins pleaded no contest to two counts of Endangering Children and received reserved consecutive prison terms, later revoked; he was incarcerated and had an expected release date in 2020.
The Agency moved to convert temporary custody to permanent custody in August 2016, citing parents’ lack of progress and Wiggins’ long incarceration for harming his children.
Wiggins filed a motion to be transported from prison to attend the permanent custody hearing; the trial court summarily denied it.
At the October 2016 hearing Wiggins was represented by appointed counsel, did not appear in person, and the Agency presented witness testimony; the trial court granted permanent custody to the Agency and terminated parental rights.
Wiggins appealed only the denial of his motion to transport, asserting Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment (due process) violations because he could not personally assist in his defense.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether denying transport of incarcerated parent to permanent custody hearing violated due process	Wiggins: denial prevented him from assisting counsel and infringed his fundamental right to parent	Agency/State: parent had counsel, full record was made, testimony could be presented by other means, and parent’s long incarceration undermined ability to reunify	Court: No abuse of discretion; due process not violated where parent represented, record made, and no proffer of testimony that could change outcome

Blakemore v. Blakemore, 5 Ohio St.3d 217 (Ohio 1983) (standard for abuse of discretion review)
State ex rel. Vanderlaan v. Pollex, 96 Ohio App.3d 235 (Ohio Ct. App. 1994) (trial court discretion to deny transporting incarcerated litigant)