Scales Ex Rel. A.L.S. v. Talladega County Department of Human Resources, 699 F. App'x 910

Rory Scales, pro se, filed a 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition as "next friend" of minor A.L.S. seeking review of an Alabama juvenile court order terminating his parental rights.
The juvenile court terminated parental rights after finding a history of domestic violence, including an incident in which Scales attacked the child's mother with a hammer; Scales was convicted and imprisoned for that assault.
The district court dismissed the § 2254 petition for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
Scales appealed, arguing the dismissal violated A.L.S.’s due process and equal protection rights and also requested appointment of counsel for the appeal.
The Eleventh Circuit reviewed the legal question de novo and factual findings for clear error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether federal courts have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 to review a state-court judgment terminating parental rights	Scales argued the district court erred by dismissing his § 2254 petition challenging the termination	The state relied on Supreme Court precedent that § 2254 does not reach collateral challenges to parental-rights termination; domestic-relations limits apply	Dismissal affirmed: § 2254 does not confer jurisdiction to review state judgments terminating parental rights

Lehman v. Lycoming Cty. Children’s Servs. Agency, 458 U.S. 502 (1982) (§ 2254 does not reach collateral challenges to parental-rights termination)
Ankenbrandt v. Richards, 504 U.S. 689 (1992) (domestic relations exception bars federal courts from issuing certain family-law decrees)
Kilgo v. Ricks, 983 F.2d 189 (11th Cir. 1993) (appointment of counsel for pro se litigant required only when necessary to present essential merits)
Nyland v. Moore, 216 F.3d 1264 (11th Cir. 2000) (standard of review for § 2254 questions of law and mixed questions of law and fact)