The Utah Court of Appeals reversed a dependency adjudication because a noncustodial father’s lack of a prior relationship did not establish inability to care for his child.
For the third time, the Utah Court of Appeals vacated an order terminating Father’s parental rights as to two young children, holding that all three of his trial attorneys — retained counsel and two appointed counsel — rendered ineffective assistance by failing to file pretrial disclosures and seek a continuance, depriving Father of the ability to call sibling witnesses whose testimony bore directly on the best-interest determination; the court also held that Utah’s IAC right extends to retained attorneys who never formally enter an appearance.