In the 1980 case Lassiter v. Department of Social Services of Durham County, North Carolina, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there is no absolute constitutional right to counsel in civil cases where parental rights are at stake. The case involved Abby Gail Lassiter who had been accused of neglecting her child and was facing termination of her parental rights by the state's social services department. She requested a court-appointed attorney but was denied because it wasn't a criminal proceeding. Upon appeal, the Supreme Court held that while due process does apply in such cases under the Fourteenth Amendment, it doesn't automatically require appointment of counsel for indigent parents in every parental status termination proceeding; instead, this should be decided on a case-by-case basis considering factors like complexity and capacity to represent oneself.

The dissenting opinion in the Lassiter v. Department of Social Services case argued that due process should always require a state-appointed counsel for indigent parents facing termination of parental rights, regardless of the circumstances. The dissenters believed that such proceedings are more akin to criminal than civil cases because they involve fundamental constitutional rights and can result in permanent family separation. They pointed out that even competent adults might struggle to represent themselves adequately given the complex legal issues involved and high emotional stakes. Furthermore, they noted an inherent imbalance when one side has professional representation (the state) while the other does not (the parent). Therefore, they contended it was unfair and unconstitutional to leave this decision up to individual judges' discretion based on each case's particular facts.