Ensuring individuals have a right to effective counsel when facing the loss of their basic human needs in the civil legal system.

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State Status Map

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Categorical Right To Counsel
? There is a right to counsel without qualification for all indigent individuals in this type of case (except that the individual may be required to request counsel).
Discretionary Appointment Of Counsel
? Courts are permitted but not required to appoint counsel for any indigent individual in this type of case. A request may be required.
Right Or Appointment Is Qualified
? The established right to counsel or discretionary appointment of counsel is limited in some way, including: the only authority comes from a lower/intermediate court decision or a city government, not a high court or state legislature; a case has cast doubt on prior authority; a statute is ambiguous; or the right or discretionary appointment is not for all individuals or proceedings within that type of case.
No Such Proceeding
? This state has no law creating a judicial proceeding of this type.
Map Instructions and Disclaimers

Notice regarding status map

No information in the map should be taken as legal advice.  Moreover, information in the map is to be taken as-is, with no guarantees of its accuracy.
I Agree

Map Instruction & Disclaimers

  • No information in the map should be taken as legal advice. Moreover, information in the map is to be taken as-is, with no guarantees of its accuracy.
  • We add new cases, statutes, and other developments every day as we learn of them. Additionally, the law in each state has been comprehensively reviewed and updated as part of a rolling process that began in 2013 and continues through the current day.
  • The map does not display any negative law (i.e., cases, laws, or other developments declaring there is not a right to counsel in a certain area) except for authenticated users.
  • In the "Right to Counsel Status" view, where we are aware that a type of proceeding does not exist at all (for instance, some states do not require parental notice/consent for a minor to have an abortion, and so there is no judicial bypass procedure), it will be indicated in a brown color. But for areas listed as “incomplete”, we do not yet know if any of the states that appear to lack a right to counsel do not in fact authorize proceedings of these types.
  • It is possible that an unpublished opinion may be listed in a jurisdiction that does not allow such authority to be cited. We note where opinions are unpublished but still include them because the rules on citing unpublished opinions constantly change.
  • For rights to counsel pertaining to children and vulnerable adults, the map considers a child to have a categorical right to counsel only the court must appoint client-directed counsel. Where the court appoints an attorney ad litem or a guardian ad litem who must be an attorney, it is treated as a qualified right to counsel.
  • Instructions on how each map view works can be found right above the map.
Map Instructions & Disclaimers
  • No information in the map should be taken as legal advice. Moreover, information in the map is to be taken as-is, with no guarantees of its accuracy.
  • We add new cases, statutes, and other developments every day as we learn of them. Additionally, the law in each state has been comprehensively reviewed and updated as part of a rolling process that began in 2013 and continues through the current day.
  • The map does not display any negative law (i.e., cases, laws, or other developments declaring there is not a right to counsel in a certain area) except for authenticated users.
  • In the "Right to Counsel Status" view, where we are aware that a type of proceeding does not exist at all (for instance, some states do not require parental notice/consent for a minor to have an abortion, and so there is no judicial bypass procedure), it will be indicated in a brown color. But for areas listed as “incomplete”, we do not yet know if any of the states that appear to lack a right to counsel do not in fact authorize proceedings of these types.
  • It is possible that an unpublished opinion may be listed in a jurisdiction that does not allow such authority to be cited. We note where opinions are unpublished but still include them because the rules on citing unpublished opinions constantly change.
  • For rights to counsel pertaining to children and vulnerable adults, the map considers a child to have a categorical right to counsel only the court must appoint client-directed counsel. Where the court appoints an attorney ad litem or a guardian ad litem who must be an attorney, it is treated as a qualified right to counsel.
  • Instructions on how each map view works can be found right above the map.
© 2003-2024 National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel

The NCCRC works to advance the right to counsel for low-income people in civil cases involving basic human needs, such as housing, health, domestic violence, civil incarceration, and child custody.

About Us
Mission & Vision Our Team Our Work Funders & Supporters Contact
About Civil RTC
History CRTC Champions FAQ
News
Resource Library
Status Map Bibliographies Advocacy Tools Key Issue: Tenant RTC
Get Involved
Donate
Status Map