By Michael Karlik | Denver Gazette
The Colorado Supreme Court adopted on Monday a package of revisions to the rules governing child welfare cases, while modifying one section that governs when a parent surrenders their right to have a jury decide if their child is neglected.
Earlier this month, the justices held a hearing to evaluate the long-running group effort to revise the rules of juvenile procedure. They heard the proposed package had achieved consensus among the entities with a stake in such proceedings. The proposal reflected recent changes to state law and clarified the unique position children occupy in dependency and neglect matters — the formal name for child neglect cases.
However, the Supreme Court ended up tweaking the language that describes when parents who have requested a jury trial will forfeit that choice — a question that is swirling in several pending cases before the court.
In one appeal, the justices were asked to consider whether a parent still preserves their right if they fail to appear for the trial, but their lawyer is present. Some members of the court were sympathetic to the idea that a “party,” which is the term the current rules use, could refer to someone who appears through their counsel only.
The new rules now clear up the confusion. The court replaced the word “party” with “respondent parent,” and made clear that the respondent parent is the one who has to appear for their chosen jury trial.