Arkansas

Criminal Procedure

Criminal Procedure

Rule 8.2 – Appointment of Counsel

(a) A judicial officer shall determine whether the defendant is indigent and, if so, appoint counsel to represent him or her at the first appearance, unless the defendant knowingly and intelligently waives the appointment of counsel. The court need not appoint counsel if the indigent defendant is charged with a misdemeanor and the court has determined that under no circumstances will incarceration be imposed as a part of any punishment. A suspended or probationary sentence to incarceration shall be considered a sentence to incarceration if revocation of the suspended or probationary sentence may result in the incarceration of the indigent without the opportunity to contest guilt of the offense for which incarceration is imposed.
(b) Attorneys appointed by district courts courts may receive fees for services rendered upon certification by the presiding judicial officer if provision therefor has been made by the county or municipality in which the offense is committed or the services are rendered. Attorneys so appointed shall continue to represent the indigent accused until relieved for good cause or until substituted by other counsel.

Ark. R. Crim. P. 8.2

Rule 8.2(c) amended and effective by per curiam orderJune 22, 2012; amended December 14, 2017, effective January 1, 2018.

COMMENT Reporter’s Notes: The addition of the last sentence to Rule 8.2(c) is intended to ensure that where counsel is appointed in municipal court, the appointment continues for purposes of this rule even in circuit court proceedings unless and until appointed counsel is relieved or new counsel is appointed. Reporter’s Note, 2003 Amendments: The amendments made two changes to subsection (b). The word “imprisonment” was replaced with the word “incarceration” to avoid any implication that the right to counsel attaches only when the defendant faces confinement in state prison. The final sentence was added to incorporate the United States Supreme Court holding in Alabama v. Shelton, 535 U.S. 654 (2002). Reporter’s Note, 2017 Amendments: This change clarifies what Rule 8 has always required: that judges appoint lawyers for indigent defendants to represent them at the first appearance. See Bradford v. State, 325 Ark. 278 (1996) (“Rule 8.2 provides that the trial court shall appoint counsel to represent an indigent defendant at the first appearance, if the right is not knowingly and intelligently waived.”).