A Right to Counsel in Civil Cases: Lessons from Gideon v. Wainwright
Journal Articles

By Laura K. Abel

Enthusiasm for the notion of a right to counsel in civil cases inevitably runs up against the reality that implementation of the right to counsel in criminal proceedings has been piecemeal.  More than forty years after the Supreme Court posited in Gideon v. Wainright a constitutional right to counsel in criminal cases, in some parts of the country serious difficulties in securing that right remain.  Any exploration of a right to counsel - a right often labeled a "civil Gideon" - must be based on an understanding of the criminal right-to-counsel experience.

Tags: Justice, Civil Justice, Civil Right to Counsel