Right to counsel - police officer sued civilly
While a state may have many statutes, court decisions, or court rules governing
appointment of counsel for a particular subject area, a "Key Development" is a
statute/decision/rule that prevails over the others (example: a state high court
decision finding a categorical right to counsel in guardianships cases takes
precedence over a statute saying appointment in guardianship cases is
discretionary).
Legislation, Other subject area
Under Haw. Rev. Stat. § 52D-8, "[w]henever a police officer is prosecuted for a crime or sued in a civil action for acts done in the performance of the officer's duty as a police officer, the police officer shall be represented and defended... [i]n civil cases by the corporation counsel or county attorney of the county in which the police officer is serving."
The state does place limitations on this right; a police officer is not entitled to select his own counsel when prosecuted for a crime or sued in a civil action. See Fragio v. State, 18 P.3d 871, 879 (Haw. 2001).
If "yes",
the established right to counsel or
discretionary appointment of counsel
is
limited
in some way, including any of: the only authority
is a
lower/intermediate court decision or a city council,
not a high court or state legislature; there
has been
a subsequent case that
has
cast doubt; a statute
is
ambiguous; or the right or discretionary appointment
is not
for all types of individuals or proceedings
within that category.
categorical
yes
