Appointing a Court Defense Attorney
Requirements of Court-Appointed Defense Attorney
- If the suspect or defendant falls under any of the following cases and is not assigned with an attorney, the court may appoint an attorney by its official authority (Article 33, paragraphs 1 and 3, Article 201-2, paragraph 8, Article 214-2, paragraph 10, and Article 438, paragraphs 2 and 4 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and Article 15, paragraph 2 of the Act on Medical Treatment and Custody, Etc.).
· If the suspect or defendant has been confined
· If the suspect or defendant is a minor
· If the suspect or defendant is 70 years old or above
· If the suspect or defendant has hearing and speaking disabilities
· If the suspect or defendant is suspected of having a mental and physical disorder
· If the defendant was indicted for a case declared with the death sentence, imprisonment for life, or more than three years of long-term imprisonment or imprisonment without labor
· If the defendant was arrested with a warrant and remitted to an investigation to determine the warrant’s validity but has no assigned attorney
· If appointing an attorney is considered necessary based on the defendant’s age, intelligence, and education level, and the defendant has not specified his/her intention to be assigned with a court-appointed defense attorney
· If the defendant has passed away or has an uncurable mental or physical disability, and a retrial has been claimed for the defendant
· If the defendant judged guilty has passed away or cannot recover from a mental or physical disability before the retrial’s judgment was pronounced
· If the defendant was arrested with a warrant and claimed review on confinement legality but was not assigned an attorney
· For medical treatment and custody cases under the Act on Medical Treatment and Custody, Etc.
Arbitrary Appointment of a Court-Appointed Defense Attorney
- Suppose the defendant cannot appoint an attorney due to poverty or other reasons. In this case, the defendant may claim the court to appoint an attorney after submitting explanatory materials (Article 33(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act and the Main Text of Article 17-2 of the Regulation on Criminal Procedure).
※ However, if records prove the reason why the defendant needs an attorney, there is no need for the defendant to submit explanatory materials (Conditions of Article 17-2 of the Regulation on Criminal Procedure).
- The defendant’s reason for support shall be poverty or other reasons determined by the court as mentioned above. However, the court is expanding the scope of reasons for the defendant. The court previously appointed an attorney without discussing with the defendant.However, the Arbitrary Court-Appointed Defense Attorney was introduced as of March 1, 2003. So, the defendant could arbitrarily select and claim for assignment with an attorney among the roster of expectant attorneys-at-law
Electronic Civil Service Center of the Supreme Court-Information of Criminal Procedures).
- Whenthe court deems it necessary to protect the rights on account of the age,intelligence, educational attainment, etc. of the criminal defendant, it shallappoint a defense counsel to the extent that does not go against the explicitintention of the criminal defendant (Article 33(3) of the Criminal ProcedureAct)
Canceling the Assignment of the Attorney
- For any of the following cases, the court shall cancel appointing the attorney (Article 18, paragraph 1 of the Regulation on Criminal Procedure).
· If the defendant or victim has already been appointed with an attorney
· If the court-appointed defense attorney has been disqualified
· If the court-appointed defense attorney has resigned
- The court shall promptly notify the court-appointed defense attorney and defendant or the suspect that the attorney assignment has been canceled (Article 18, paragraph 3 of the Regulation on Criminal Procedure).