Printable Format12-4405. Appointment of counsel, when. If the municipal judge has reason to believe that if found guilty, the accused person might be deprived of his or her liberty and is not financially able to employ counsel, the judge shall appoint an attorney to represent the accused person.
Financial inability to employ counsel shall be determined by the methods provided in K.S.A. 22-4504.
History: L. 1973, ch. 61, ยง 12-4405; April 1, 1974.
Law Review and Bar Journal References:
Section contemplates that provisions of criminal code relating to indigency shall govern, "A New Procedure For Municipal Courts," Wallace M. Buck, Jr., 42 J.B.A.K. 7, 10 (1973).
"A Comment on Kansas' New 'Drunk Driving' Law," Joseph Brian Cox and Donald G. Strole, 51 J.K.B.A. 230, 238 (1982).
"Delacruz: Following the Nichols Court Through the Looking Glass," Eric Lawrence, 44 K.L.R. 1045 (1996).
Attorney General's Opinions:
Municipal court judge can order attorney to represent indigent defendant where incarceration is likely; may punish for direct contempt but not indirect contempt. 2002-37.
CASE ANNOTATIONS
1. Right to counsel in all proceedings. Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25 (1972).
2. Error to dismiss complaints because municipal court refused to appoint and compensate counsel for indigent defendants' appeals. City of Overland Park v. Estell & McDiffett, 225 Kan. 599, 600, 601, 602, 604, 605, 592 P.2d 909 (1979).
3. K.S.A. 8-1567 "self-contained habitual criminal act"; prior conviction cannot be used where right to counsel violated. State v. Oehm, 9 Kan. App. 2d 399, 403, 680 P.2d 309 (1984).
4. Cited; present system for appointment of legal counsel (K.S.A. 22-4501 et seq.) as unconstitutional examined. State ex rel. Stephan v. Smith, 242 Kan. 336, 357, 747 P.2d 816 (1987).
5. If uncounseled misdemeanor conviction resulted in no prison term, conviction may be used to enhance later sentence. State v. Long, 41 Kan. App. 2d 477, 203 P.3d 45 (2009).