Right to counsel
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, Custody Disputes - Children
in Balboni v. Balboni, 654 N.E.2d 937, 938 (Mass. Ct. App. 1995), the court held that in a divorce proceeding, a child must be appointed counsel pursuant to M.G.L. ch. 119, § 29 if the child is not able to retain counsel when involvement of the Department of Social Services becomes imminent and the judge is considering awarding custody of the children to the Department of Social Services.
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
