In which situations must a court appoint defence counsel of its own motion, and does the defendant first have to ask for it?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In practice material of this kind, we check the record of whether the defendant is detained, the papers showing the defendant's age, any medical or hearing and speech records relied on, and the indictment, which states the offence and the sentence it carries; each fact maps to one of the listed situations, and the case file also shows whether any counsel has appeared.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the duty as written: where the defendant has no counsel and falls within any one of the listed situations — detention, being a minor, being of advanced age stated in the provision, disability in both hearing and speech, suspected mental or physical disorder, or being indicted for an offence carrying death, life, or the term of imprisonment or imprisonment without labour set out there — the court must select counsel on its own motion, without an application.
Another reading stresses the condition that attaches to every head, that counsel is absent at that moment: the duty is triggered by the defendant's situation, not by anything the defendant files, so the provision leaves open what the court must do if appointed counsel later withdraws or if a listed fact is disputed before counsel appears.
Your judgment
If the file disputes whether a listed condition truly applies, whose proof establishes it, and at what stage must the court appoint counsel?
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 list of situations is amended to add or remove a head, or if a court decision explains what counts as counsel being absent, or when the court must act once a listed condition is contested.