Conn. Practice Book § 79a-3

(a) General provisions

Appeals in child protection matters shall be filed

in accordance with the provisions of Section 63-

3 and all required fees shall be paid in accordance

with Sections 60-7 and 60-8.

(b) Appeal by indigent party

If a trial attorney who has provided representation to an indigent party through the Division of

Public Defender Services declines to pursue an

appeal, that attorney shall ascertain that the indigent party expressly wishes to appeal and obtain

the indigent party’s current address, email

address and telephone number. The trial attorney

shall explain to the indigent party the appellate

review process set forth in this section. The trial

attorney shall within twenty days of the decision or

judgment simultaneously file with the court before

which the matter was heard a motion for an additional twenty or forty day extension of time to

appeal pursuant to Section 79a-2 (a) and (e), a

sworn application signed by the indigent party for

appointment of appellate counsel and a waiver of

fees, costs and expenses, including the cost of an

expedited transcript. If the court finds the indigent

party still to be indigent, the court shall not grant

the application for appointment of appellate counsel but shall first appoint an appellate review attorney for the sole purpose of determining whether

there is any nonfrivolous ground on which to

appeal. The trial attorney shall immediately

request an expedited transcript from an offi -

cial court reporter or court recording monitor in

accordance with Section 79a-5, the cost of

which shall be paid for by the Division of Public

Defender Services.

Any party who is indigent who wishes to appeal

and was not provided with representation by the

Division of Public Defender Services during the

proceeding which resulted in the decision or judgment from which an appeal is being sought shall,

within twenty days of the decision or judgment,

simultaneously file with the court before which the

matter was heard a motion for an additional twenty

or forty day extension of time to appeal pursuant

to Section 79a-2 (a) and (e), a sworn application

signed by the indigent party for appointment of

appellate counsel and a waiver of fees, costs,

and expenses, including the cost of an expedited

transcript. If the court finds the party to be indi -

gent, the court shall not grant the application for

appointment of appellate counsel but shall first

appoint an appellate review attorney for the sole

purpose of determining whether there is any nonfrivolous ground on which to appeal. The indigent

party shall immediately request an expedited

transcript from the official court reporter or court

recording monitor in accordance with Section 79a-

5, the cost of which shall be paid for by the Division

of Public Defender Services.

(c) Review by the Division of Public

Defender Services

(1) An appellate review attorney determining

whether there is a nonfrivolous ground for appeal

shall file a limited ‘‘in addition to’’ appearance with

the trial court for the purpose of that determination.

If the appellate review attorney determines that

there is a nonfrivolous ground on which to appeal,

that attorney shall notify the court, and the application for appellate counsel shall be granted by the

court. The appellate counsel so appointed shall

file a limited ‘‘in addition to’’ appearance with

the trial court for the purpose of prosecuting the

appeal and shall file the appeal in accordance

with Section 63-3.

(2) In a child protection proceeding that has not

resulted in the termination of parental rights, if the

appellate review attorney determines that there

is no nonfrivolous ground on which to appeal, that

attorney shall promptly make this determination

known to the indigent party, the judicial authority

and the Division of Public Defender Services. The

reviewing attorney shall inform the indigent party,

by letter, of his or her determination and of the

balance of the time remaining to file an appeal as

a self-represented party or to secure counsel, who

may file an appearance to represent the indi -

gent party on appeal at the indigent party’s own

expense. A copy of the letter shall be filed with

the clerk for juvenile matters forthwith.

(3) In a termination of parental rights proceeding, if the appellate review attorney determines

that there is no nonfrivolous ground on which to

appeal, that attorney immediately shall file, under-seal, a motion for in-court review, which shall indicate that the appellate review attorney has

thoroughly reviewed the record for potential errors

and set forth the least meritless grounds that might

arguably support an appeal and the factual and

legal bases for the conclusion that an appeal

would be frivolous. Simultaneous with the filing of

the motion for in-court review, the appellate review

attorney shall provide a copy of such motion to

the indigent party seeking to appeal and shall

serve counsel of record and the Division of Public

Defender Services with a written notice that a

motion for an in-court review by the appellate

review attorney has been filed, but shall not serve

counsel of record or the Division of Public

Defender Services with a copy of the motion or

any supporting documentation. The clerk for

juvenile matters shall schedule a hearing on the

motion for in-court review with the presiding judge

or other judge designated to hear the motion

within ten days of the date of its filing.

(4) Unless the presiding judge was also the trial

judge or is unavailable, the presiding judge shall

conduct a nonevidentiary hearing to fully examine

the motion for an in-court review and any argument or response by the indigent party, together

with any relevant portions of the record. The presiding judge shall afford the indigent party an adequate opportunity to bring to the court’s attention

what he or she believes are appealable issues.

In his or her discretion, such judge may require

briefing. The hearing shall be closed except that

the appellate review attorney and the indigent

party shall attend. If the indigent party cannot

attend the hearing for good cause shown, he or

she may file, under seal, a written response to

the motion for an in-court review prior to the date

of the hearing. Absent compelling circumstances,

the hearing shall not be continued if the indigent

party does not appear.

(A) If, after the in-court review, the presiding

judge independently concludes that any appeal

would be frivolous, such judge, within fourteen

days of the date of the hearing, shall issue a decision, either written or oral, denying the indigent

party’s application for appellate counsel and setting forth the basis for his or her finding that an

appeal would be frivolous. Any written or tran -

scribed oral decision of the presiding judge shall

be filed under seal. The presiding judge also shall

order the appellate review attorney to inform the

indigent party, by letter, of the decision and to

provide a copy of the decision to the indigent party.

The appellate review attorney shall also advise

the indigent party of the balance of the time

remaining to file a motion for review and/or an

appeal as a self-represented party or to secure

counsel who may file an appearance to represent

the indigent party for purposes of filing a motion

for review and/or an appeal at the indigent party’s

own expense. A copy of the letter shall be filed

with the clerk for juvenile matters forthwith. An

indigent party may seek review of a denial of an

application for appointment of appellate counsel

on the basis of a finding by the presiding judge

that any appeal would be frivolous solely by filing,

under seal, a motion for review pursuant to Section 79a-2 (d). The Appellate Court shall expeditiously consider any such motion for review.

(B) If, after the in-court review, the presiding

judge concludes that the indigent party’s appeal

is not frivolous, such judge shall grant the application for appointment of appellate counsel.

(5) Any presiding judge who also was the trial

judge or is unavailable shall refer a motion for in-court review filed by an appellate review attorney

to the chief administrative judge for juvenile mat -

ters for assignment to another judicial authority.

If such presiding judge is also the chief administrative judge for juvenile matters, then the motion for

in-court review shall be referred by the presiding

judge to the administrative judge in the judicial

district where the juvenile court hearing the motion

for in-court review is located for assignment to

another judicial authority.

(d) Duties of clerk for juvenile matters for

cases on appeal

The appellate clerk shall send notice to the

clerk for juvenile matters and to the clerk of any

trial court to which the matter was transferred that

an appeal has been filed. Upon receipt of such

notice, the clerk for juvenile matters shall send a

copy of the appeal form and the case information

form to the Commissioner of Children and Fami -

lies, to the petitioner upon whose application the

proceedings in the Superior Court were instituted,

unless such party is the appellant, to any person

or agency having custody of any child who is a

subject of the proceeding, to the Division of Public Defender Services, and to all other interested

persons; and if the addresses of any such persons

do not appear of record, the clerk for juvenile

matters shall call the matter to the attention of a

judge of the Superior Court, who shall make such

an order of notice as such judge deems advisable.