In the Matter of Parental Rights to M.A.A.K. (87781-0)
Summary
The Washington Court of Appeals Division I issued an opinion in the matter of parental rights concerning minor child M.A.A.K., docket number 87781-0, filed on April 20, 2026. The appeal arose from a judgment or order filed February 12, 2025, under review by Judge Nicole Gaines-Phelps. The court panel consisted of Judge Lori Smith (author), with concurrences from Bill Bowman and Linda Coburn.
What changed
The Court of Appeals Division I filed an opinion addressing parental rights in the matter of M.A.A.K., a minor child. The opinion panel included Judge Lori Smith as author, with concurrences from Bill Bowman and Linda Coburn. Counsel for the appellant was the Washington Appellate Project, while the respondent was represented by the Washington Attorney General's office with Joshua Choate listed. The dependency matter was also attended by the Guardian Ad Litem Dependency CASA Program of King County.
Legal professionals and courts reviewing parental rights matters in Washington state should note this published appellate decision, particularly given the directive 'DO NOT CITE. SEE GR 14.1(a.)' which restricts citation of unpublished court of appeals opinions under Washington state rules. Practitioners handling dependency appeals in Division I should review the full opinion PDF to assess its precedential value and applicability to similar cases.
Archived snapshot
Apr 21, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
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DO NOT CITE. SEE GR 14.1(a).
Court of Appeals Division I
State of Washington
Opinion Information Sheet
| Docket Number: | 87781-0 |
| Title of Case: | In The Matter Of The Parental Rights To M.a.a.k. |
| File Date: | 04/20/2026 |
SOURCE OF APPEAL
| Judgment or order under review | |
| Date filed: | 02/12/2025 |
| Judge signing: | Honorable Nicole Gaines-Phelps |
JUDGES
| Authored by | Lori Smith |
| Concurring: | Bill Bowman |
| | Linda Coburn |
COUNSEL OF RECORD
| Counsel for Appellant(s) | |
| | Washington Appellate Project |
| | 1511 Third Avenue |
| | Suite 610 |
| | Seattle, WA, 98101 |
| | Ester Garcia |
| | Washington Appellate Project |
| | 1511 3rd Ave Ste 610 |
| | Seattle, WA, 98101-1683 |
| Counsel for Respondent(s) | |
| | Soc & Hlth Svcs A.g. Office |
| | Attorney at Law |
| | 800 Fifth Ave, Suite 2000 |
| | Ms-tb-14 |
| | Seattle, WA, 98104 |
| | Joshua Choate |
| | WA Attorney General |
| | 800 5th Ave Ste 2000 |
| | Seattle, WA, 98104-3188 |
| Counsel for Guardian(s) Ad Litem | |
| | Dependency Casa Program King County |
| | Mrjc-401 4th Avenue N |
| | Suite 3081 |
| | Kent, WA, 98032 |
| | Jennie Mayberry Cowan |
| | Attorney at Law |
| | 401 4th Ave N |
| | Kent, WA, 98032-4429 |
View the Slip Opinion(s) Filed for this Case.
View a Printer Friendly Version of this Opinion Information Sheet.
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