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Lassiter v. Department of Social Services,, is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that North Carolina did not have to provide a lawyer for a mother for her parental rights termination trial. More broadly, it ruled the right to counsel does not apply to civil.

This case has been described as "known to civil procedure teachers but almost unknown among the general public".

It is widely seen as

Factual background
The petitioner in this case was Abby Gail Lassiter, a poor, Black, unmarried woman. She first became a mother at the age of fourteen. Abby Gail lived with her mother, Lucille Lassiter, who assisted with the care of Abby Gail's five children while Abby Gail went back to high school.

The case concerns Abby Gail's fourth child, William L. Lassiter, who was born on September 26, 1974, in Durham, North Carolina. William Boykin was Abby Gail's boyfriend and putative father of Billy, although he denied he was the father.

Billy, as he was known, was born with some health problems which necessitated checkups and medical tests. He had missed some appointments and Duke Pediatrics could not contact Abby Gail so the clinic got in touch with the Department of Social Services. A social worker found Billy with his grandmother and took him to the hospital, where doctors noted he had difficulty breathing, signs of malnutrition, and scarring from an infection which had gone untreated.

The Department of Social Services alleged Billy was neglected and sought to remove him from his home; the hearing was first scheduled on May 19, 1975.

On February 4, 1976,

State trial court
The Department of Social Services asked Abby Gail to relinquish parental rights to Billy; she rejected because she wanted Billy to be raised by his grandmother with his four siblings. At the time Billy was four and in foster care. Judge Samuel F. Gantt

On September 8, 1978, Gantt ruled

State appellate courts
On November 6, 1979, the trial court's judgment was affirmed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals; the decision was written by Robert M. Martin and joined by Chief Judge Naomi E. Morris and Frank M. Parker. Although noting the US Constitution protected the "fundamental right to family integrity", the decision said there was no constitutional mandate to provide counsel for indigent parents. The ruling said the state legislature would have to require the appointment of counsel in these circumstances. On January 17, 1980, the North Carolina Supreme Court denied Lassiter's petition for discretionary review and dismissed her appeal.

Supreme Court
On October 6, 1980, the Supreme Court granted certiorari and also allowed the Lassiter to appear in forma pauperis.

Amicus briefs were filed by the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.

The Attorney General of North Carolina and

On December 8, 1980, the Supreme Court

Oral arguments
Oral arguments for the case occurred on Monday, February 23, 1981. Leowen Evans argued on behalf of Abby Gail Lassiter pro hac vice, Steven Mansfield Shaber argued on behalf of the state of North Carolina as an amicus curiae, and Thomas Russell Odom argued on behalf of Durham County's Department of Social Services.

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Opinion of the Court
Justice Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the court which was joined by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, and Justices Byron White, Lewis F. Powell Jr., and William Rehnquist.

Burger's concurrance
Burger filed a concurring opinon.

Blackmun's dissent
Justice Harry Blackmun filed a dissent which Justices William J. Brennan Jr. and Thurgood Marshall joined.

Blackmun read parts of his dissent from the bench. (LA TIMES, TIME)

Stevens's dissent
Justice John P. Stevens filed a dissenting opinion as well.

Subsequent developments
The petition for the case to be reheard was submitted on June 26, 1981.

The Supreme Court denied the petition for rehearing the case on August 28, 1981.

Reaction by other states
When Lassiter was decided in 1981, seventeen states had not enshrined the right to

State courts

Law school pedagogy
Lassiter is taught in classes on Civil Procedure in law schools in the United States including

Cornell Law School professor Kevin M. Clermont included Lassiter among

Calls to be overturned
Robert W. Sweet, the district judge for the Southern District of New York argued for a "civil Gideon" and for Lassiter to overturned in a 1997 lecture. This was one of the