INADEQUATE INQUIRY PRECEDING FATHER’S WAIVER OF HIS RIGHT TO COUNSEL REQUIRED REVERSAL.

The Fourth Department reversed Family Court's order finding father willfully violated a support order because of the court's inadequate inquiry into father's waiver of his right to counsel:

At the parties' initial appearance, the Support Magistrate informed the father only that he had “the right to hire a lawyer [or] talk for [himself],” asked the father to choose between those options, and conducted no further inquiry when the father chose to proceed pro se. The Support Magistrate thus failed to inform the father of his right to have counsel assigned if he could not afford to retain an attorney … , and also failed to engage the father in the requisite searching inquiry concerning his decision to proceed pro se and thereby ensure that the father was knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waiving his right to counsel … . Matter of Soldato v Caringi, 2016 NY Slip Op 02265, 4th Dept 3-25-16

FAMILY LAW (INADEQUATE INQUIRY PRECEDING FATHER'S WAIVER OF HIS RIGHT TO COUNSEL REQUIRED REVERSAL)/RIGHT TO COUNSEL (FAMILY LAW, INADEQUATE INQUIRY PRECEDING FATHER'S WAIVER OF HIS RIGHT TO COUNSEL REQUIRED REVERSAL)