{1} Mother seeks to appeal the termination of her parental rights. Prior to filing a docketing statement, Mother’s court-appointed trial counsel filed a motion with this Court indicating that, in her professional opinion, there is no legal basis upon which to appeal the decision terminating Mother’s parental rights. Because Mother nevertheless wished to appeal the decision, counsel sought clarification from this Court regarding her role as court-appointed counsel when her client wants to appeal but counsel believes the appeal to be frivolous. Counsel is concerned that she is faced with conflicting obligations: one to her client, the other to the court and the legal profession not to pursue frivolous claims.
{2} This Court issued an order directing Mother and the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD) to file briefs addressing two issues: (1) the extent to which Mother is entitled to appeal the termination of her parental rights; and (2) whether Mother’s rights on appeal are analogous to a criminal defendant’s appeal rights as set forth in State v. Franklin,
DISCUSSION
{3} As Mother points out, the New Mexico Constitution guarantees every “aggrieved party ... an absolute right to one appeal.” N.M. Const, art. VI, § 2. Our legislature also specifically recognizes the right to appeal judgments under the Children’s Code. See NMSA 1978, § 32A-1-17 (1995). While the foregoing constitutional and statutory provisions make it clear that Mother has the right to appeal the termination of her parental rights, as Mother acknowledges, these provisions do not definitively indicate whether indigent parents, such as Mother, are entitled to court-appointed counsel on appeal.
{4} Mother relies on NMSA 1978, Section 32A-4-29(F) (1997), to argue that she has a statutory right to court-appointed counsel on appeal. Section 32A-4-29(F) provides that “[ajfter a motion for the termination of parental rights is filed, ... [counsel shall be appointed, upon request, for any parent who is unable to obtain counsel due to financial reasons or, if in the court’s discretion, the interests of justice require appointment of counsel.” Because the statute does not limit the appointment of counsel to trial court proceedings, and because the duration of the appointment is left open, Mother argues that her statutory right to court-appointed counsel extends to her right to appeal.
{5} In determining whether Mother has a statutory right to court-appointed counsel on appeal, we must “determine and effectuate the intent of the legislature.” State v. Ogden,
{6} We agree with Mother that while the best interests of children are paramount, the statutory scheme created by the legislature also recognizes the strong interest of the parents in proceedings to terminate their parental rights. In light of the plain intent of the legislature to provide procedural protections for parents in jeopardy of losing their parental rights, we see no reason why the legislature would have intended for those procedural protections to evaporate on appeal simply because it is an indigent parent who seeks to pursue her right to appeal. Indeed, both CYFD and amicus agree that Mother should be provided with court-appointed counsel to pursue her appeal. Accordingly, we hold that Mother has a statutory right to court-appointed counsel on appeal. In light of our holding, we need not address Mother’s argument that she has a constitutional right to counsel on appeal. See In re T.J.,
{7} Given that Mother is entitled to court-appointed representation on appeal, we must determine the extent of counsel’s obligations when counsel believes that the appeal is frivolous. Our Supreme Court, and this Court, have previously addressed this question in the context of criminal appeals. See, e.g., Franklin,
{8} Under Franklin and its progeny, counsel for criminal defendants are required “to advance all points for reversal requested to be advanced by [the] defendant, even if counsel [has] no confidence in them or if he could not in good faith support them.” Boyer,
{9} In Boyer, we recognized that the Code of Professional Responsibility “allows attorneys to abandon frivolous issues, or even non-frivolous issues, once the attorney has found one non-frivolous issue to argue with vigor.” Boyer,
{10} As CYFD emphasizes, appeals from the termination of parental rights should be decided at the earliest practicable time. See § 32A-1-17(B) (“appeal shall be heard at the earliest practicable time”). We believe this goal can be most easily achieved if appointed counsel assists Mother in presenting her contentions on appeal, even if counsel believes those contentions have no merit. Ultimately, we believe this procedure will provide Mother with the appeal she desires and serve the best interests of the child by allowing this Court to bring closure to these proceedings expeditiously.
{11} We recognize that in this case Mother’s court-appointed trial counsel has already filed a docketing statement as ordered by this Court. The docketing statement indicates that Mother desires to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support some of the trial court’s findings. The docketing statement also indicates that Mother wants to challenge the trial court’s refusal to adopt other findings requested by Mother. In this regard, the statement of facts in the docketing statement is minimal and does not provide the level of information contemplated by the procedures outlined above. Nevertheless, under the circumstances of this case, we will not require Mother’s trial counsel to supplement the factual statement in the docketing statement. Instead, since Mother has been appointed counsel on appeal, this Court will proceed to calendar Mother’s appeal based on the docketing statement and record available at this time. Mother’s appointed appellate counsel may then respond in accordance with Rule 12-210 NMRA 1998 as she sees fit.
{12} IT IS SO ORDERED.