In the Matter of the Guardianship of J.W.

Summary

The court held that a juvenile court may use its inherent authority to dismiss a guardianship petition when the petitioner's conduct creates an unremediable conflict under the professional-conduct rules. Because the petitioner's prior representation of the child's mother was substantially related to his effort to obtain guardianship of the child, and dismissal was not clearly untenable under the circumstances, the court affirmed the juvenile court's dismissal and vacated the contrary decision of the court of appeals.