The appellant, a native Serbian speaker diagnosed with schizophrenia, was found incapable of consenting to treatment.
At his Consent and Capacity Board hearing, he requested an adjournment to allow his Serbian-speaking lawyer to attend.
The Board granted a brief adjournment and directed the Public Guardian and Trustee to appoint counsel.
The appointed counsel did not speak Serbian and the appellant explicitly rejected her services.
However, appointed counsel failed to inform the Board of this rejection, and the hearing proceeded with the Board mistakenly believing the appellant was represented.
The Board confirmed the incapacity finding, and the Superior Court dismissed the appeal.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding for the first time that an ineffective assistance of counsel claim is available on appeal from a Board capacity decision.
The Court found that appointed counsel's failure to disclose her lack of authority to act caused a miscarriage of justice by depriving the appellant of adjudicative fairness.
A new hearing was ordered.
