Who may appoint an assistant in a juvenile protection case, and when is the juvenile court judge's permission not needed?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
We read the written document bearing the assistant's joint signature, which shows who made the appointment and in what capacity, so the file can be checked against the two persons the provision names. We also read any record of the juvenile court judge's permission and the papers showing which instance level the hearing is at, since the appointment must be made afresh at each instance.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision's list as closed: only the person concerned in the case or the guardian may appoint an assistant, and they do so with the juvenile court judge's permission, except that appointing the guardian or a lawyer as assistant needs no such permission. The appointment must then be made again at each instance.
Another reading stresses how narrow the exception is: because it reaches only the guardian or a lawyer, an assistant of any other kind still needs the judge's permission at every instance, and the text says nothing about a permission granted at one instance carrying over to the next.
Your judgment
Where the juvenile and the guardian each wish to appoint a different assistant at the same instance, what in the file shows whose appointment the juvenile court judge may act on?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to widen who may appoint an assistant or to change the effect of the permission across instances, or if a court decision explains whether a permission given at one instance carries to the next.