criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law ...

, the right to counsel means a

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisd ...

has a

legal right Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights. * Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', '' fundamental'' a ...

to have the assistance of

counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

(i.e.,

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

s) and, if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer, requires that the government appoint one or pay the defendant's legal expenses. The right to counsel is generally regarded as a constituent of the

right to a fair trial A fair trial is a trial which is "conducted fairly, justly, and with procedural regularity by an impartial judge". Various rights associated with a fair trial are explicitly proclaimed in Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, th ...

. Historically, however, not all countries have always recognized the right to counsel. The right is often included in national

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

s. Of the 194 constitutions currently in force, 153 have language to this effect.

Around the world

Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, suspects and defendants have the right to have legal representation during investigation and

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

. Australian law does not recognize a right to publicly-funded legal defense, but does recognize that in the absence of counsel the accused may not receive a fair trial as mandated by law. Only the states of Victoria and New South Wales have dedicated

public defender A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

systems. Courts have the power to stay proceedings when they determine there is a risk of unfair trial. The

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. ...

ruled in '' Dietrich v The Queen'' that while indigent defendants are not entitled to legal defense as a guaranteed right, a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

should typically grant a request for an adjournment or stay in most serious criminal cases where a defendant is unrepresented, and should allow a trial where a defendant accused of a serious criminal offense is left unrepresented to proceed only in exceptional circumstances. Each

state and territory of Australia The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing po ...

has a Legal Aid Commission to provide legal services in criminal, civil, and family law matters to the indigent, but will only assist those who meet their threshold criteria, particularly with regard to income. Anyone accused of a Commonwealth crime, or crime falling within the jurisdiction of the federal government, has the right to ask a judge for counsel within two weeks of committal, and the judge may appoint a lawyer if convinced that the defendant cannot afford counsel. A network of

community legal centre A community legal centre (CLC) is the Australian term for an independent not-for-profit organisation providing legal aid services, that is, provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court s ...

s also exists to provide legal services free of charge to poor people who do not qualify for

Legal Aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to c ...

. Although they receive federal and state funding, they are independent non-profit organizations which rely on lawyers to staff them on a volunteer basis. Most cannot adequately keep up with demand and must turn some people away. Those who cannot obtain any kind of legal assistance may go unrepresented if they cannot pay for a

Brazil

The

Constitution of Brazil The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil) is the supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the fede ...

declares that all defendants have right to counsel, and mandates that all defendants who cannot pay for an attorney are entitled to state-funded legal representation in all criminal and

civil cases Civil law is a major branch of the law.Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 2. In common law legal systems such as England and Wales and the United States, the term refers to non-criminal law. The law rel ...

. Public defender's offices exist at both state and federal levels as mandated by the constitution. A person must formally declare that they cannot afford regular legal aid to benefit from public defenders' services.

Canada

In Canada, the right to counsel is guaranteed under Section Ten of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms upon "arrest and detention", as well as the right to

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, ...

. In October 2010, the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

ruled in the case '' R v Sinclair'' that the right to counsel during

interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful inf ...

is not absolute in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. It said that importing US-style ''Miranda'' rights was not in the interests of Canada. The ruling was a bare

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Websterruling, with a strenuously voiced minority opinion stating that it would lead to more false confessions and

wrongful convictions A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inn ...

China

According to Article 125 of the

Constitution of the People's Republic of China The Constitution of the People's Republic of China is the supreme law of the People's Republic of China. It was adopted by the 5th National People's Congress on December 4, 1982, with further revisions about every five years. It is the fou ...

and Article 11 of the Criminal Procedure Law of 1996, Chinese citizens have the right to legal counsel in court. The accused's right to counsel in China only comes into being once a case goes to trial. It does not exist at the investigative stage. A

suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated ...

under investigation only has the right to retain a lawyer to assist in securing bail, making procedural complaints, and seeking details from the police on the nature of the crime alleged, and not to start building a defense. A suspect gains the right to retain a lawyer upon having been interrogated or subjected to movement restrictions by the authorities. In cases defined as involving state secrets, the right to counsel is more heavily restricted: a lawyer may only be appointed to assist the suspect with the investigating body's permission. Chinese law allows courts to appoint a lawyer for a defendant unable to hire one, and it is mandatory for courts to appoint a lawyer to the blind,

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

, and mute, minors, and anyone facing the death penalty. The Chinese government operates thousands of legal aid centers nationwide for indigent defendants. The provincial governments rather than the central government are responsible for setting the threshold at which an economically disadvantaged person meets the criteria for legal assistance.

Ethiopia

The right to counsel is considered a constitutional right in Ethiopia. As per Article 20(5) of the

Constitution of Ethiopia The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (), also known as the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, is the supreme law of Ethiopia. The constitution came into force on 21 August 1995 after it was drawn up by the Constituent Asse ...

, "Accused persons have the right to be represented by legal counsel of their choice, and, if they do not have sufficient means to pay for it and miscarriage of justice would result, to be provided with legal representation at state expense." Ethiopia has

systems at both the federal and regional levels, however problems exist with public defense services being inadequate in some areas. A public defender can be assigned on request of the defendant or if the court so chooses. In addition to the public defender system, the Ethiopian judicial system also provides for private attorneys to offer ''

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

'' representation to indigent defendants. Article 49 of the Federal Court Advocates’ Code of Conduct mandates that private attorneys must offer a minimum of 50 hours of legal representation for free or with minimum payment.

France

The Napoleonic Code of Criminal Instruction, adopted in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1808 and inspiring many similar codes in civil law countries, made it compulsory that the defendant should have a lawyer when tried in the

assize court The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

s (which judged severe crimes). All criminal defendants in France enjoy right to counsel, and there is also a right to counsel in civil and administrative cases. State-funded legal aid for those facing criminal, civil, and administrative cases is available to those legally resident in France, and in some cases can be used for cases in another

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

in Europe. Eligibility is means-tested, with a sliding scale of support based on income. Those at or below the lowest threshold are entitled to full legal assistance with all costs paid by the state, while higher-income individuals are entitled to have only 55% or 25% of their legal costs covered, depending on their income. State-funded legal advice is provided through a network of public legal advice centers throughout France. Some centers offer free legal advice to anyone living in the department while others restrict their services to those with modest incomes.

Germany

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, it is mandatory that all defendants charged with a crime carrying a penalty of at least one year in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

have legal counsel, even if they themselves do not wish to have it, and the court will appoint a lawyer to represent a defendant who has not done so. There is no organized public defender system in Germany. The court can appoint any lawyer as counsel to a specific defendant, and a defendant may select a specific lawyer. The defendant will not be charged for legal services if acquitted, but will be liable to pay the lawyer's expenses if convicted unless the court finds that the defendant is indigent. In civil cases, the state provides legal representation, legal advice, and help in covering court costs to those who cannot raise the necessary funds to hire an attorney, but only when it is deemed that there is a reasonable chance of success.

India

Article 22 of the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ...

states that "No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice." In 2011, the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

ruled that a court could not decide a case without a lawyer present for the defendant, and mandated that a court must appoint a lawyer when the defendant cannot afford one. Public legal assistance is provided through the National Legal Services Authority and state-level legal services organizations. Courts appoint legal aid lawyers in both civil and criminal cases.

Israel

All defendants, detainees, and criminal suspects in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

are entitled to legal representation in any criminal proceedings pertaining to them and all suspects are also entitled to consult a lawyer prior to police interrogation. However, only those deemed eligible are entitled to state-funded representation if they cannot afford a lawyer. The Israeli Justice Ministry maintains the Public Defense unit to provide state-funded legal counsel to eligible defendants. In criminal trials, all defendants charged with a severe crime carrying a penalty of at least 10 years imprisonment and indigent defendants charged with a crime carrying a penalty of at least 5 years imprisonment are entitled to representation by the Public Defense, as are juveniles and the disabled. All indigent detainees and detainess for whom a request has been filed for remand until the end of proceedings are also entitled to representation from the Public Defense, as are

prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

s who are facing

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

hearings, anyone facing extradition proceedings, and sentenced defendants requesting retrial when cause is found. All defendants facing civil cases also have the right to counsel. The Ministry of Justice operates a Legal Aid Department to assist those eligible for state-funded legal aid in civil cases. Legal aid in civil cases is provided for a variety of fields, and applicants must typically meet the financial eligibility test to receive legal aid. However, in some categories of civil cases, legal aid is provided without an examination of financial eligibility.

Japan

The

Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan (Shinjitai: , Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ) is the constitution of Japan and the supreme law in the state. Written primarily by American civilian officials working under the Allied occupation of Japa ...

guarantees the right to legal counsel. If a defendant is a minor or is found to be unable to pay for a lawyer, the court may appoint one at no expense to the defendant. The right to court-appointed counsel only exists after charges are brought. Following arrest a suspect is entitled to one free visit from a

duty lawyer A duty solicitor, duty counsel, or duty lawyer, is a solicitor whose services are available to a person either suspected of, or charged with, a criminal offence free of charge, if that person does not have access to a solicitor of their own and us ...

who will provide legal advice, explain the law and procedures involved, and contact the suspect's family, but the suspect must pay for further assistance from the attorney. Suspects are not entitled to have a lawyer present when interrogated by police.

Peru

Article 121 of the Peruvian Penal Code states that before the prosecution begins, a judge must inform a defendant of his or her right to counsel, and if the defendant does not choose a lawyer, one will be assigned to the case. If no lawyer is available, an "honorable person" must take the place of a lawyer. Defendants have the right to refuse counsel unless illiterate or a minor, in which case a judge may impose a lawyer on the accused.

Portugal

Under Article 20 (titled Access to law and effective judicial protection) of the Portuguese Constitution, every citizen has the right to legal information, legal counselling, and legal assistance as part of the wider right to legal protection.

Russia

All criminal defendants and suspects in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

have the right to legal assistance. A suspect has the right to a lawyer from the time they are declared a suspect in a criminal case. The Russian Code of Criminal Procedure mandates that if a detained person has no lawyer, the

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

, investigator, or judge must request the local bar association to appoint an attorney for the suspect. The head of the bar association then distributes appointments between its members, who do not have the right to refuse the case assignments. The attorney must ask the family of the suspect if they have appointed anyone else, and if not the investigator or judge gives them power of attorney. However, the public defender system has been heavily criticized by Russian lawyers for the way it works in practice. Investigators often appoint lawyers themselves without waiting for the detained to choose, and prefer to appoint lawyers with whom they have a comfortable working relationship with, so in practice the publicly appointed lawyers will often in fact help the prosecution by not vigorously defending their clients and simply signing the necessary documents and attending the necessary proceedings, and investigators will stop appointing lawyers who inconvenience the prosecution. Defendants may opt for privately retained counsel instead, though some administrative obstacles exist. For cases tried by the

Federal Security Service The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) RF; rus, Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации (ФСБ России), Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Feder ...

or Main Investigative Directorate, there is a closed group of attorneys who represent defendants.

United Kingdom

England and Wales

Before the Prisoners' Counsel Act 1836,

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...

defendants did not have the formal right of being represented by a counsel in English

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

s although, from the mid-18th century such had been routinely indulged where defendants could afford them. It was thought, at the time, that the presence of defence counsel would serve no purpose in criminal proceedings, where what matters is deciding fact: the defendant should simply tell the truth to the court, without the interference of some counsel. William Hawkins in his ''A Treatise of the Pleas of the Crown: or a system of the principal matters, relating to that subject, digested under their proper heads'' Vol. II. of 1721 wrote........

requires no manner of Skill to make a plain and honest Defence, which ... is always the best; the Simplicity and Innocence, artless and ingenuous Behaviour of one whose Conscience acquits him, having something in it more moving and convincing than the highest Eloquence of a Person speaking in a cause not their own.

This changed as more and more prosecutions became, for reasons of public policy, funded by the Crown, who employed professional counsel. An innate sense of fair-play prevailed therefore, permitting defence counsel to be present, albeit at the defendant's own expense. Penurious defendants were obviously at a significant disadvantage. Legal aid in England and Wales is provided through the Legal Aid Agency, which provides aid in both civil and criminal cases. Legal aid in civil cases is means-tested, with only those showing they cannot afford the legal costs and the case is serious eligible. In criminal cases, everyone questioned at a police station is entitled to free legal advice. Legal aid in criminal trials is also means-tested unless the defendant is under 16 or under 18 and in full-time education, or receiving certain benefits. A defendant may be asked to pay a contribution for their defense.

Scotland

The

Scottish Legal Aid Board The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, responsible for managing legal aid. It was established in April 1987, under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986, taking over function ...

provides civil and criminal legal aid in Scotland. In criminal cases, legal aid is provided if facing serious charges likely to result in a prison sentence or job loss, the mentally and physically disabled, those who do not speak English as a first language, those held on remand, and those facing

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

s. Those requesting legal aid must show that they cannot afford to pay their own legal costs or doing so would be unfair to themselves or their families. Legal aid in civil cases is provided for applicants who show they cannot pay for their own legal costs, as well as those whose cases are deemed to have a legal basis to go forward.

Northern Ireland

The Legal Services Agency of Northern Ireland provides civil and criminal legal aid. Civil legal aid is means-tested. Criminal legal aid is provided free of charge to anyone facing police questioning. For criminal trials, legal aid is means-tested and is also merit-tested to determine whether it is in the interests of

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

that the defendant receive legal aid.

United States

The

Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Sixth Amendment (Amendment VI) to the United States Constitution sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions. It was ratified in 1791 as part of the United States Bill of Rights. The Supreme Court has applied the protections of this ...

provides: The assistance of counsel clause includes, as relevant here, five distinct rights: the right to counsel of choice, the right to appointed counsel, the right to conflict-free counsel, the effective assistance of counsel, and the right to represent oneself

pro se ''Pro se'' legal representation ( or ) comes from Latin ''pro se'', meaning "for oneself" or "on behalf of themselves" which, in modern law, means to argue on one's own behalf in a legal proceeding, as a defendant or plaintiff in civil cases, ...

. A defendant does not have a Sixth Amendment right to counsel in any civil proceeding, including a

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

hearing (even though deportability is often a collateral consequence of criminal conviction). However, as described below, there are certain civil proceedings where parties have a right to appointed counsel; such a right is pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment's due process or equal protection clause, a state constitution's due process or equal protection clause, or a federal/state statute. Subject to considerations such as conflicts of interest, scheduling, counsel's authorization to practice law in the jurisdiction, and counsel's willingness to represent the defendant (whether

or for a fee), criminal defendants have a right to be represented by counsel of their choice. The remedy for erroneous deprivation of first choice counsel is automatic reversal.

Appointment of counsel for indigent litigants

A criminal defendant unable to afford counsel has the right to appointed counsel at the government's expense. While the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

recognized this right gradually, it currently applies in all federal and state criminal proceedings where the defendant faces authorized imprisonment greater than one year (a "

") or where the defendant is actually imprisoned, including imposition of a suspended incarceration sentence of any length. Criminal defendants in misdemeanor cases do not have a right to appointed counsel if they are not sentenced to actual imprisonment, even if that conviction is later used to enhance sentencing for another crime, or even if the revocation of

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

may result in actual imprisonment (although for parole revocation, the court evaluates the right to counsel on a case-by-case-basis). Nor does the defendant have the right to appointed counsel to raise frivolous arguments on direct appeal, or to raise any arguments on habeas or other collateral appeal, even if facing execution. One federal court has held that a state court must appoint counsel upon imposition of probation, regardless of whether a separate suspended sentence of incarceration is also imposed and regardless of whether counsel is provided for any subsequent probation revocation proceeding, while others have held or suggested that if probation is imposed without counsel, then a person may not be subsequently jailed for violation of that probation. With respect to federal law on civil proceedings, there is a constitutional right to counsel for juveniles in delinquency proceedings, and there is a right to "qualified and independent assistance" (although not necessarily an attorney) for prisoners involuntarily transferred to a mental health facility. The federal constitutional right to appointed counsel in termination of parental rights proceedings is on a case-by-case basis. For civil contempt proceedings related to failure to pay child support, the U.S. Supreme Court has said there is no federal constitutional right to counsel even if the litigant is being jailed, provided that all of the following is true: a) the state is providing sufficient procedural safeguards to ensure the person actually has the ability to pay but is refusing to do so; b) the matter is not "unusually complex"; and c) the

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of t ...

is neither the government nor represented by counsel. Federal statutory law provides for a right to counsel in certain types of federal court proceedings, such as civil forfeiture of a primary residence or proceedings involving those in active military service. Finally, all states provide a right to counsel by either

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...

, court decision, or court rule in at least ''some'' civil proceedings, with the most commonly covered proceedings being termination of parental rights, abuse/neglect, civil commitment, paternity, and civil contempt. The state court decisions can be based on interpretation of either the federal or state constitution, and under basic principles of

federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments ( provincial, state, cantonal, territorial, or other sub-unit governments) in a single ...

, a state court can grant more rights under its state constitution than the Supreme Court has recognized under the federal constitution.

Conflict-free counsel

Whether counsel is retained or appointed, the defendant has a right to counsel without a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

. If an actual conflict of interest is present, and that conflict results in any adverse effect on the representation, the result is automatic reversal. The general rule is that conflicts can be knowingly and intelligently waived, but some conflicts are unwaivable.

Ineffective assistance of counsel

In ''

Strickland v. Washington ''Strickland v. Washington'', 466 U.S. 668 (1984), was a landmark Supreme Court case that established the standard for determining when a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel is violated by that counsel's inadequate performance. ...

'' (1984), the Court held that, on collateral review, a defendant may obtain relief if the defendant demonstrates both # that defense counsel's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness (the "performance prong") and # that, but for the deficient performance, there is a reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been different (the "prejudice prong"). To satisfy the prejudice prong of ''Strickland'', a defendant who pleads guilty must show that, but for counsel's deficient performance, they would not have pleaded guilty. In ''

Padilla v. Kentucky ''Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky'', 559 U.S. 356 (2010), is a case in which the United States Supreme Court decided that criminal defense attorneys must advise noncitizen clients about the deportation risks of a guilty plea. The case extend ...

'' (2010), the Court held that counsel's failure to inform an alien pleading guilty of the risk of deportation fell below the objective standard of the performance prong of ''Strickland'' and permitted an alien who would not have pleaded guilty but for such failure to withdraw his guilty plea.

''Pro se'' representation

In ''

Faretta v. California ''Faretta v. California'', 422 U.S. 806 (1975), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to refuse counsel and Pro se legal representation in the United States, represent t ...

'' (1975), the court held that a criminal defendant has the right to knowingly and voluntarily opt for ''

'' representation at trial. This right is not per se violated by the appointment of standby counsel. There is no constitutional right to self-representation on appeal.

Singapore

The Constitution of Singapore mandates that "Where a person is arrested, he shall be informed as soon as may be of the grounds of his arrest and shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice." The

Supreme Court of Singapore The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal of Singapore, Court of Appeal and the High Court of Singapore, High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both ...

ruled that this means that the accused must be given counsel in a reasonable period of time from the arrest, but not necessarily immediately after the arrest. In criminal cases, the government only provides state-funded legal assistance when the accused faces the death penalty, but it provides legal representation and advice in a variety of civil cases. State-funded legal assistance is provided through the Ministry of Law's

Legal Aid Bureau The Legal Aid Bureau (LAB) in Singapore is a department under the Ministry of Law of the Government of Singapore. LAB provides legal representation and advice in civil matters to persons of limited means. The department is headed by the Directo ...

. Most clients must pay a fee to the Legal Aid Bureau, though their financial means are taken into account when the amount they must pay is determined. The

Law Society of Singapore The Law Society of Singapore is an organisation which represents all lawyers in Singapore. It publishes the ''Law Gazette'' and operates a scheme for needy people to benefit from legal services free-of-charge. The Society also sets out rules for ...

also provides ''

'' legal representation to indigent defendants facing criminal charges that do not carry the death penalty through its Criminal Legal Aid Scheme.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Right To Counsel Criminal procedure