Major developments

NYC is the first jurisdiction in the country to establish a right to counsel for low-income tenants in eviction cases.

In a custody arbitration, the arbitrator may appoint counsel for the child at the expense of the parents.

An article in the Baltimore Sun looked at bills filed at the city level in NYC, Washington D.C., and elsewhere to provide counsel for tenants.

The Philadelphia City Council has been examining how to solve landlord/tenant issues, including considering a right to counsel for tenants.

A bill passed in 2017 requires the court to appoint counsel when a defendant is held in contempt for failure to comply with a repayment plan.

This bill would have, among other things, required appointment of counsel for contempt proceedings related to debt collection.

A bill passed in 2017 requires a court to appoint counsel for a seventeen year old seeking judicial permission to marry.

NY bills would have established a right to counsel for adults with developmental disabilities in guardianship proceedings.

The Nevada Legislature strengthened the right to counsel for protected persons in guardianship cases in several ways.

The NH Legislature enacted a bill in 2017 that requires appointment of counsel prior to incarceration for failure to pay criminal fees/fines.

A 2017 bill strengthened the right to appointed counsel for Minnesota children 10 and over in abuse/neglect cases.

A 2017 bill strengthened the right to appointed counsel for Minnesota children 10 and over in termination of parental rights cases.

A court must appoint counsel for a child in an abuse/neglect proceeding.

A court must appoint counsel for a child in a state-initiated termination proceeding, and may appoint in a private termination.

These bills would have required appointed counsel for foster children who avail themselves of voluntary extended services.

This bill would have required an attorney ad litem for a child in conservatorships to continue as long as the child remains in conservatorship.

A 2017 law requires appointment of counsel and a guardian ad litem in guardianship cases, rather than counsel acting as a GAL.

A Kansas appellate court found a due process and equal protection right to counsel for Kansas Sexual Predator Treatment Program concerns.

A Wisconsin case raises the issue of right to counsel when pregnant women are civilly committed for alleged child endangerment.

The MA Supreme Court held a trial court may use its equitable powers to appoint counsel for an indigent guardian in a child guardianship case.

A bill would provide a right to counsel for certain owners in civil forfeiture proceedings.

In a groundbreaking step, New York will be providing counsel to all detained immigrants facing removal.

These bills would permit a court to appoint counsel for a third party intervening in a civil forfeiture action.

A new law separates the role of guardian ad litem and attorney for children in custody cases.

A pending Delaware bill would have eliminated civil forfeiture and required appointment of counsel in criminal forfeiture proceedings.

A bill passed in 2017 requires parents to be appointed counsel at an emergency ex parte dependency hearing.

Calls to reform civil forfeiture proceedings have come from all sides of the aisle, with legislation filed at the federal and state level.

The PA Supreme Court held that children have a right to the appointment of client-directed counsel in termination proceedings.

A 2017 law organizes all collection of criminal debt into contempt proceedings and requires the appointment of counsel.

Several bills would have provided a right to counsel for all or certain forfeiture proceedings.