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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-3903

Indigent defendant; right to counsel; appointment

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case State v. Vann (2020)

Most recently applied in State v. Warlick (March 2021)

Laws 1972, LB 1463, § 6; Laws 1979, LB 241, § 3; Laws 1984, LB 189, § 4; R.S.1943, (1989), § 29-1804.07; Laws 1990, LB 822, § 21; Laws 1991, LB 732, § 89; Laws 2018, LB193, § 62…

How often courts cite this section

20162020202110
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) At a felony defendant's first appearance before a judge, the judge shall advise him or her of the right to court-appointed counsel if such person is indigent. If he or she asserts indigency, the court shall make a reasonable inquiry to determine such person's financial condition and shall require him or her to execute an affidavit of indigency for filing with the clerk of the court. (2) If the court determines the defendant to be indigent, it shall formally appoint the public defender or county conflict counsel or, in counties not having a public defender, an attorney or attorneys licensed to practice law in this state, not exceeding two, to represent the indigent felony defendant at all future critical stages of the criminal proceedings against such defendant, consistent with the provisions of section 23-3402 . Appointed counsel other than the public defender or county conflict counsel must obtain leave of court before being authorized to proceed beyond an initial direct appeal to either the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Nebraska to any further direct, collateral, or postconviction appeals to state or federal courts. (3) A felony defendant who is not indigent at the time of his or her first appearance before a judge may nevertheless assert his or her indigency at any subsequent stage of felony proceedings, at which time the judge shall consider appointing counsel as otherwise provided in this section. (4) The judge, upon filing such order for appointment, shall note all appearances of appointed counsel upon the record. If at the time of appointment of counsel the indigent felony defendant and appointed counsel have not had a reasonable opportunity to consult concerning the prosecution, the judge shall continue the arraignment, trial, or other next stage of the felony proceedings for a reasonable period of time to allow for such consultation.

Official source: Nebraska Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Nebraska statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.