assigned counsel

assigned counsel, a lawyer or lawyers appointed by the state to provide representation for indigent persons. Assigned counsel generally are private lawyers designated by the courts to handle particular cases; in some countries, particularly the United States, public defenders permanently employed by the government perform this function.

The right to counsel varies considerably from country to country. Until the late 19th century, access to counsel was almost entirely predicated upon an individual’s ability to pay. If a person could afford a lawyer, he was entitled to one; if he was poor, he usually went unrepresented, except at times in capital cases. In the late 19th century, bar organizations and social-welfare groups banded together to supply legal aid to the indigent. By the mid-20th century, the governments of most European countries were participating in these programs in some fashion, in either their administration or funding or in both.

Most countries have recognized the right of the indigent to have counsel in criminal cases, particularly for the most serious types of offenses. Although Great Britain provided legal aid earlier (1949) than the United States, the United States was at the forefront in providing assigned counsel. Beginning in 1963 in Gideon v. Wainwright, the United States Supreme Court issued a series of decisions that upheld the rights of indigent persons accused of felonies to have counsel during trial and appeal and even during police interrogation. Although this right was not extended to cover misdemeanours, some jurisdictions and many public defender offices give coverage in such cases. Owing to an increase in prisoners on death row and a diminished emphasis on pro bono work in law firms, at the beginning of the 21st century, many prisoners sentenced to death in the United States lacked lawyers during the appeals process. For example, it was estimated that two-fifths of death-row inmates in Alabama were without counsel as statutory deadlines for filing appeals approached.

In civil-law countries and in England, the provision of assigned counsel has been more limited. For example, in France anyone accused of a crime beyond a minor misdemeanour must have counsel at the preliminary hearing and the trial, but this right has not been extended to cover police interrogation. Japan requires counsel only for cases in which punishment may exceed a three-year prison term. In Russia there must be a defense counsel in any case in which a public prosecutor participates or any case in which the accused is incapable of handling his defense.

Many countries do not remunerate lawyers assigned to defend the poor in criminal cases. In the United States the compensation is often considerably lower than what the attorney could receive from a private client. In consequence, although many public defenders and assigned attorneys are capable lawyers, they are often young and lacking in experience. In England, where the majority of lawyers volunteer to take cases involving indigent defendants, an accused person has a somewhat better chance of obtaining experienced counsel in a criminal proceeding.

In civil cases there is an even greater disparity between countries as far as rights to counsel and the resultant quality of counsel are concerned. In England state aid has been granted in divorce and certain kinds of litigation since 1949. Not until 1966 did the United States begin to deal with the problem of civil litigation, and then it did so only in a limited fashion. The poor were given the right to sue for divorce without paying filing fees and court costs; the right to counsel in such cases was also indicated. Although rights were not originally extended to other areas of civil litigation, legal aid is now provided for some eviction and bankruptcy cases.

In civil-law countries (e.g., France and Italy) the system of providing counsel for the indigent in civil cases is usually well organized but tends to employ young, inexperienced lawyers who usually serve without pay. In Germany, where the Federal Constitutional Court has upheld the right of the poor to counsel in civil actions, the compensation is adequate to be attractive to experienced attorneys. Lawyers are appointed by the court and paid by the government.