Discretionary appointment of counsel
New Hampshire
,
Litigation
, Incarceration for Fees/Fines (incomplete)
In Sheedy v. Merrimack, 128 N.H. 51, 56 (1986), the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that appointment of counsel was discretionary in proceedings involving a private debtor in contempt, because the failure to pay a civil judgment was not a complicated issue and because the individual was not “so incapable of speaking for himself.” The court also rejected the reading of Lassiter that would create a presumption in favor of appointed counsel where the individual is subject to incarceration. Even if such a presumption, it would have been rebutted because the individual “will hold the keys to his own prison.”
Appointment of Counsel: Discretionary
Qualified: No
