A Bellevue juvenile, accused of chronically cutting school classes, is entitled to a lawyer at the first court hearing, the state Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 12.

The three-judge panel found that denying the right to a lawyer violated the constitution. The decision was to consider juvenile’s due process rights since the state’s truancy law was enacted in 1995.

Paul M. Holland, director of the Ronald A. Peterson Law Clinic at Seattle University, which represented the girl in the case., said that if the ruling stands, the decision could make Washington the first state in which a juvenile is entitled to counsel at the outset of court truancy proceedings that could lead to penalties.

Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the King County prosecutor’s office, said no decision had been made on whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The girl was described as an emotionally troubled member of a refugee family from Bosnia.

Under the law, a juvenile with at least seven unexcused absences in a month or 10 in a school year may be ordered to appear in Juvenile Court on a petition by school officials or the youngster’s parents without being represented by an attorney.

According to the appeals ruling, the girl, 13 at the time, was faced with a Bellevue School District truancy petition in March 2006 and signed an agreement to accept a court order that included regular class attendance. She was found repeatedly in contempt for violating the order and a year later was threatened with electronic home monitoring.

At that point, a new lawyer for the girl moved to set aside the initial truancy finding because she had not had a lawyer in the initial hearing.

The girl was accompanied in court only by mother, who has little understanding of English, and a Bosnian interpreter, the appellate court noted.