In The Interest Of C. H. et al., children.

The juvenile court violated parents' due process rights, including their right to counsel, and therefore erroneously denied parents' motion to set aside the custody orders awarding temporary custody of their children to the Department of Family and Children Services.

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Self, Judge.

In this case involving the removal of three children from their parents’ custody by the Coweta County Department of Family and Children Services (“DFCS”), the parents ask this Court to intercede and safeguard the constitutional and statutory rights afforded them before DFCS may take such a drastic measure. We agree with the parents’ view that this “case is about much more than its individual facts. It is about the American legal system, about what our state and country require for every person brought before a court: fairness, respect, and a judicial system that should protect its citizens. . . .” As the record in this case amply supports the parents’ claim that the juvenile court deprived them of their constitutional and statutory right to counsel, we reverse the juvenile court’s order denying the parents’ motion to set aside the custody orders awarding temporary custody of their children to DFCS and instruct it to declare them null and void.Dependency and Judicial Review History. The record on appeal demonstrates that the parents’ history with DFCS began on or about January 3, 2015, when the parents’ oldest child, Col. H., telephoned 911 to report a verbal altercation between the parents. Col. H. claimed to be afraid of the father, and law enforcement officers arrested the father and charged him with interference with a 911 call. When he was arrested, the father “smelled of a strong odor of alcohol” and admitted to consuming eight beers. Col. H. also described seeing drugs in the home, and both the father and the mother’s sister confirmed that the mother abused drugs.

In The Interest Of C. H. et al., children.

The juvenile court violated parents' due process rights, including their right to counsel, and therefore erroneously denied parents' motion to set aside the custody orders awarding temporary custody of their children to the Department of Family and Children Services.

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