Termination of Parental Rights

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. J.W.,

Case No.: 2017AP689; 2017AP690

Officials: DUGAN, J.

Focus: Termination of Parental Rights

J.W. appeals the orders of the trial court terminating her parental rights to her son, L.P.P. II, and her daughter, L.P. She also appeals the orders denying her postdispositional motion where she contended that trial counsel was ineffective (1) in advising J.W. to enter a no-contest plea to the continuing child in need of protective services (CHIPS) ground because her incarceration impeded her ability to complete the conditions for return of the children and (2) failing to do more to find a maternal relative with whom the children could have been placed. J.W. also contended that the trial court should have vacated her no-contest plea because J.W. could not have knowingly and intelligently agreed to adjourn the proceedings to work on conditions for the return of the children given that her ongoing incarceration would have thwarted that goal.

For the reasons stated below, we conclude that the trial court did not err in determining that J.W. was not denied her right to effective assistance of counsel and that J.W. has not established that her no-contest plea was not entered knowingly and intelligently. Therefore, we affirm.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.