Fair Access to Legal Counsel Act of 2020
Latest action · Feb 28, 2020 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 28, 2020
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Fair Access to Legal Counsel Act of 2020
This bill requires a court to consider specified factors when determining whether to provide counsel for a civil litigant who cannot afford counsel. In addition, the bill authorizes a court to appoint, rather than merely request, counsel for such a litigant.
Under current law, a court may request counsel to represent a civil litigant who cannot afford counsel. The bill instead authorizes the court to appoint counsel upon request by the litigant. A court must inform civil litigants appearing without counsel of their right to make such a request.
In considering whether to grant a civil litigant's request for counsel, a court generally must consider factors such as the complexity of the case, any mental or physical limitations faced by the litigant, and whether any opposing party is represented by counsel. The court may also appoint counsel for limited purposes, including for the purpose of advising the court as to whether a full appointment is warranted.
The bill also eliminates the requirement for a court to dismiss a civil litigant's case if the litigant's allegation of poverty is untrue.
Cosponsors 5
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Feb 28, 2020.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | Feb 28, 2020 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | Feb 28, 2020 |
| D-MA | Joseph P. Kennedy III | Original | Feb 28, 2020 |
| D-CA | Karen Bass | Original | Feb 28, 2020 |
| D-PA | Mary Gay Scanlon | Original | Feb 28, 2020 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 28, 2020Introduced in House
- Feb 28, 2020Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 28, 2020Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.