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Proposal would presume indigence for people jailed at initial appearance, increasing counsel access
Summary
Senate Bill 2226 would presume that incarcerated individuals at initial appearance are indigent for the narrow purpose of setting release conditions, prompting debate about cost, timing and a pending federal appellate case that could make the change required by court order.
Senate Bill 2226, discussed at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, would change state law to treat an incarcerated person as presumed indigent for the limited purpose of appointing counsel at the initial appearance where the judge determines release conditions.
Sponsor Senator Jonathan Sickler (District 17) said the change responds in part to litigation in the Eighth Circuit (a federal district-court decision from the Western District of Arkansas) that found counsel at initial appearance to be a constitutional right in that jurisdiction. Sickler said North…
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