If the person who filed a suit or appeal was ordered to appoint counsel and did not, what may the court then do, and how can that decision be challenged?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In the practice file, we read the court's order requiring a lawyer to be appointed, the paper setting the new hearing date after statements were barred, and any appointment of counsel filed before that date, since each condition governs whether dismissal is open.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading follows the chain of conditions literally: where the court has barred statements and ordered a lawyer appointed, and the person who filed the suit or appeal still has not appointed counsel by the new hearing date the court set, the court 'may dismiss the suit or appeal by decision', and an immediate appeal may be taken against that decision.
Another reading stresses that dismissal is permissive — 'may dismiss' — and reaches only the person who filed the suit or appeal, not a defendant, while the provision sets no criteria for exercising that discretion and leaves open what weight should be given to an appointment made just after the date it names.
Your judgment
Given that the provision sets no criteria, what facts about a late appointment could a party put before the court to argue against dismissal?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to set criteria for dismissal or to change who may be dismissed, or if a court decision explains how immediate appeal against such a dismissal decision proceeds.