TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

ICYMI: Appointed Counsel Under Rule 13

Posted by: Liz Slagle Todaro on Jan 9, 2025

Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 13 provides for the appointment of counsel for indigent parties with a statutory or constitutional right to legal representation. Recent posts from TBA's Indigent Representation Primer have included an overview of the process for appointing counsel, which follows a determination by the the court that a litigant is indigent, and eligible for appointed counsel. For criminal cases, district public defender offices are typically the initial source for appointed counsel; however, due to inherent limitations such as conflicts of interest or high caseloads, it is impossible for public defenders to serve all the state’s indigent defendants. In these cases, as well as juvenile dependency and neglect cases or when a Guardians ad Litem (GAL) is required, the court may appoint a private attorney instead. In Tennessee, a court's selection of an appointed attorney may be based on a combination of factors, including availability, expertise and conflict checks. Read all past primer posts and look for new topics each week. 

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