Major developments

NCCRC collaborated on a report to a UN Rapporteur urging the recognition of a right to counsel in civil cases as a way of combatting poverty.

A report by several subcommittees of the Delaware Access to Justice Commission urges recognition of a right to counsel for more civil cases.

A survey conducted by Voices for Civil Justice reveals that Americans strongly support a right to counsel in civil cases.

A Washington Court of Appeals held that a trial court should have appointed counsel for a child in a dependency proceeding.

A report studying the impact of Turner v. Rogers in the child support context has found that most indigent obligors are still incarcerated

The US Commission on Civil Rights released a report regarding the need for counsel prior to incarceration for failure to pay fees/fines.

COSCA has released a new child welfare policy urging all state courts to provide counsel for parents and children in child welfare cases.

ABA Resolution 115, adopted at the 2017 ABA Annual conference, supports a right to counsel in immigration court.

A court rule permits appointment of counsel for a person with disabilities as a reasonable accommodation. The rule applies to admin cases too.

NCCRC Coordinator John Pollock was on WNPR's "Where We Live" program to discuss the right to counsel in civil cases.

A report by the UN Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention discussed the need for counsel whenever a person faces any kind of detention.

The D.C. Council has appropriated $4.5 million for housing eviction defense with an eye towards a right to counsel in housing 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.

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.

These NY bills would establish 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 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 dead bill would have required an attorney ad litem for a child in conservatorships to continue until the conservatorship ends.

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.

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.

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

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