Also known as: paupers · indigent · in forma pauperis
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
A very poor person, especially one who receives aid from charity or public funds.
Perry Pratt, an indigent defendant facing eviction proceedings, retained counsel through a legal aid clinic. His lawyer paid the filing fees and service costs directly to the court clerk. The court accepted the payments without requiring repayment from Perry.
Phoebe Park moved from one state to another seeking employment and applied for cash assistance upon arrival. State officials denied her application solely because she had not lived in the new state for a full year. Phoebe sued, claiming the durational rule penalized her interstate move.
Paige Porter and Patrick Phan filed for divorce and disputed custody of their minor child. Both parents submitted affidavits showing modest incomes insufficient to cover additional fees. The court appointed an attorney for the child and directed the state agency to pay the costs because the parents qualified as indigent.
Priscilla Parks, an indigent client in a wage dispute, received representation through a nonprofit legal services office. Her lawyer provided a modest sum for rent and groceries after the case began. The lawyer documented that the gift carried no repayment obligation and was not promised before retention.
Parker Phillips retained counsel in a contested divorce on a contingency fee. Midway through discovery, Parker lost his job and could no longer pay any fees. Counsel moved to withdraw, but the court denied the motion because withdrawal would leave Parker without representation in an ongoing proceeding.
Patriot Insurance faced a criminal prosecution after an employee was charged with fraud. The defendant, unable to afford private counsel, requested appointed representation at arraignment. The court granted the request and assigned a public defender to handle the defense through trial.
Petitioner Clarence Earl Gideon was charged in a Florida state court with having broken and entered a poolroom with intent to commit a misdemeanor. This offense is a felony under Florida law. Appearing in court without funds and without a lawyer, Gideon asked the court to appoint counsel for him. The court denied the request, stating that under the laws of the State of Florida the only time the Court can appoint Counsel to represent a Defendant is when that person is charged with a capital offense. Put to trial before a jury, Gideon conducted his defense about as well as could be expected from a layman. He made an opening statement to the jury, cross-examined the State’s witnesses, presented witnesses in his own defense, declined to testify himself, and made a short argument emphasizing his innocence to the charge contained in the Information filed in this case. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and petitioner was sentenced to serve five years in the state prison. Later, petitioner filed in the Florida Supreme Court this habeas corpus petition. The petition attacked his conviction and sentence on the ground that the trial court’s refusal to appoint counsel for him denied him rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights by the United States Government. Treating the petition for habeas corpus as properly before it, the State Supreme Court, upon consideration thereof but without an opinion, denied all relief. Since 1942, when Betts v. Brady was decided by a divided Court, the problem of a defendant’s federal constitutional right to counsel in a state court has been a continuing source of controversy and litigation in both state and federal courts. To give this problem another review here, the Supreme Court granted certiorari. Since Gideon was proceeding in forma pauperis, the Court appointed counsel to represent him and requested both sides to discuss in their briefs and oral arguments whether this Court’s holding in Betts v. Brady should be reconsidered.
View caseA pauper may request permission to proceed in forma pauperis, which allows waiver or reduction of filing fees and related costs in civil and habeas cases. Courts assess indigency based on the applicant's financial affidavit showing inability to pay without undue hardship. Federal rules then authorize service by marshal or other accommodations when the pauper status is granted.
Model Rule 1.8(e) permits a lawyer representing an indigent client pro bono through a qualifying organization to make modest gifts for basic living expenses such as rent and food. The gifts must be made after retention, carry no repayment obligation, and not be used as an inducement to continue the relationship. Court costs and litigation expenses may also be advanced or paid outright for indigent clients.
Durational residency rules that deny benefits to newly arrived indigent persons violate the right to travel and equal protection. A state may not deter migration of paupers by conditioning assistance on prior residence within its borders. The purpose of protecting the state treasury from new entrants is not a permissible justification.
Under the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act, a court may appoint an attorney to represent a minor child's interests in custody and support matters. If the parents are indigent, the statute directs that the costs be paid by the appropriate state agency rather than the parents. The appointment protects the child's independent interests when parental conflict creates uncertainty.
…police interrogation procedures. The potentiality for compulsion is forcefully apparent, for example, in Miranda , where the indigent Mexican defendant was a seriously disturbed individual with pronounced sexual fantasies, and in Stewart , in which the defendant was an indigent Los Angeles Negro who had dropped out of…