Civil RTC News
This page lists all of the most recent developments on civil right to counsel across the country. These could be newly created rights to counsel, significant publications, public events, advocacy efforts, or other things that don’t fit into a neat category.
Right to counsel
There is a right to counsel for a person subject to a petition for commitment due to tuberculosis, but not other quarantine or isolation orders.
Right to counsel
There is a state constitutional right to counsel for indigent parents in state-initiated cases to dispense with parental consent to adoption.
Discretionary appointment
The Supreme Judicial Court of MA has suggested it can appoint counsel in divorce cases as a matter of due process.
Discretionary appointment of counsel
A court may appoint counsel pursuant to a court rule for a minor who seeks to bypass the parental consent requirement for an abortion.
Right to counsel
All respondents have the right to counsel in mental health commitments, as do adults in substance dependency commitments
Right to counsel
There is a right to appointed counsel for the subject of guardianship proceedings in certain situations.
Right to counsel
There is a right to counsel for individuals subject to a petition for court-ordered care, including confinement or isolation, or detention.
Right to counsel
In a proceeding alleging abuse or neglect and in TPR cases, the court must appoint a lawyer-guardian ad litem to represent the child.
Right to counsel
There is a right to counsel for indigent parents in abuse and termination of parental rights proceedings upon request.
Discretionary appointment of counsel
A court may appoint counsel for a child in a petition for adoption after temporary placement.
Discretionary appointment of counsel – Minor emancipation
A court may appoint counsel for the minor and/or parents if a petition to emancipate has been filed.
Discretionary appointment of counsel
The court may appoint counsel for a parent in a third party custody dispute.
