Right to counsel
A series of dated cases suggest counsel is required in guardianship matters, though the basis for the holdings is not clear. In Gore v. Barrow, the court held that a petition to find someone mentally incapacitated (i.e., an “interdiction”, or guardianship as it would be called in other states) is invalid where the defendant is without counsel and/or where no answer is filed on their behalf. 68 So. 625 (La. 1915). The court did not provide a specific constitutional basis for its holding. For other similar cases, see Interdiction of Grevenig, 115 So. 133, 135 (La. 1927) (“In suits for interdiction, where the interdict has been cited and served with the petition, and is not otherwise represented by counsel, it is the duty of the court to appoint an attorney ad hoc to defend the suit”); Vance v. Ellerbe, 90 So. 735, 740 (La. 1922) (“The court must appoint an attorney to defend the alleged incapacitated person, if one be not otherwise provided; else the judgment of interdiction is without effect.”).
