Court-Appointed 18B Attorney: Eligibility, Requests, and Changes

An 18b attorney is a private New York lawyer who takes court-assigned cases under County Law Article 18-B, representing people who cannot afford to hire their own counsel. You can ask for one at your first court appearance, and you are presumptively eligible if your net income is at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.¹ The right traces back to the Sixth Amendment and the Supreme Court’s 1963 decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, which held that anyone too poor to hire a lawyer cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided.²

How an 18b Attorney Differs From a Public Defender

Every New York county is required by law to maintain a plan for providing counsel to people who cannot afford to hire their own lawyer.³ That plan can take several forms: a public defender office, a legal aid society such as the Legal Aid Society in New York City, or a panel of private attorneys coordinated by a bar association. The 18b panel is that third option. These are private lawyers in independent practice who volunteer to take assigned cases on a rotating basis.

In practice, 18b attorneys are most often assigned when the primary institutional provider has a conflict of interest. If Legal Aid already represents a co-defendant in your case, they cannot also represent you, and the court turns to the 18b panel.⁴

An 18b attorney carries the same professional and ethical obligations as any privately retained lawyer. They owe you confidentiality, competent representation, and loyalty. The main practical difference is that the county pays their fees rather than you.

What Cases 18b Attorneys Handle

Article 18-B covers far more than criminal charges. The statute requires counties to provide counsel in criminal proceedings, family court matters, surrogate’s court proceedings, cases under the correction law, and proceedings under the mental hygiene law.³ Many people encounter the 18b system for the first time in family court rather than criminal court.

On the family court side, assigned counsel is available in a range of proceedings:⁵

Child custody and visitation disputes
Child protective proceedings involving alleged abuse or neglect
Termination of parental rights
Paternity cases
Family offense petitions, including protective orders in domestic violence matters
Contempt proceedings, including willful violation of a child support order

In criminal cases, 18b attorneys handle everything from misdemeanors to homicides. Traffic infractions are the boundary: they do not carry a right to appointed counsel.⁶

Who Qualifies for an 18b Attorney

Eligibility turns on whether you can realistically afford to hire a private attorney while still covering basic living expenses for yourself and any dependents. New York’s Office of Indigent Legal Services has published detailed eligibility standards that courts across the state use as guidance.

You are presumptively eligible if any of the following apply:⁷

Your net income is at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Net income means take-home pay after taxes, Social Security, Medicare, union dues, and retirement contributions.
You are incarcerated, detained, or confined to a mental health institution.
You receive need-based public assistance such as TANF, Safety Net Assistance, SNAP, SSI, Medicaid, or public housing assistance.
You were found eligible for assigned counsel within the past six months in any jurisdiction.

The 250% figure is not a hard cutoff, especially in family court. Someone slightly above that line can still qualify if hiring a private attorney would leave them unable to meet basic expenses. Courts look at the full picture: income, liquid assets, debts, number of dependents, and the complexity of the case. Posting bail does not automatically disqualify you, and a family member’s income generally is not counted against you unless that person has specifically agreed to pay for your lawyer.¹

How to Ask the Court for One

The process starts at your first court appearance, which in a criminal case is the arraignment. Under New York Criminal Procedure Law, if you show up without a lawyer the court must inform you of three rights: the right to an adjournment to find counsel, the right to a free phone call to contact a lawyer or a family member, and the right to have counsel assigned if you cannot afford one.⁶

Tell the judge you cannot afford a lawyer. The court will then ask you to complete a financial affidavit detailing your income, expenses, assets, and dependents.⁸ Be thorough and honest. Underreporting income or assets can result in denial of counsel or later revocation of the assignment. Once the court reviews your finances and finds you eligible, an attorney will be assigned.

You can request appointed counsel at any point in the proceedings, not only at arraignment. Asking early matters, though. If the court is not satisfied that you have knowingly chosen to go without a lawyer, it cannot move forward until counsel is provided.⁶ In family court, the process is similar: tell the judge at your first appearance that you need assigned counsel, and the court will screen your finances.

What Happens After an Attorney Is Assigned

Your 18b attorney will review the charges or petition against you, investigate the facts, interview witnesses, and build a defense strategy. They should explain the legal process, the strengths and weaknesses of your case, any plea or settlement offers, and the potential consequences of each option. All communications between you and your attorney are protected by attorney-client privilege, which means your lawyer cannot disclose what you tell them without your permission.

The assignment covers all stages of your case, from pre-trial hearings through trial and, if necessary, sentencing. On appeal, the appellate court assigns counsel separately, though the same rotating panel system applies.⁹ Your 18b attorney also has access to investigative, expert, and other services necessary for an adequate defense, paid for by the county.

One thing to understand: 18b attorneys handle multiple cases at once. They are not full-time staff attorneys dedicated to one office, and they can be harder to reach between court dates than a private attorney with fewer clients. If your attorney is not returning calls within a reasonable time or is not explaining what is happening in your case, raise the concern with them directly first. If the problem persists, you have options.

Requesting a Different 18b Attorney

You do not have an absolute right to choose which court-appointed lawyer represents you, but you can ask the court for a substitution. Courts consider these requests when there is a genuine problem with the attorney-client relationship, not merely a personality clash or a disagreement about strategy.

Grounds courts take seriously include a conflict of interest, a complete breakdown in communication where you and your attorney cannot work together productively, or conduct that falls below professional standards. To make the request, address the judge directly at your next court appearance or submit a written motion explaining why the current assignment is not working. Coming with specifics helps: dates you called and did not hear back, exactly what was communicated or not, and how the problem is affecting your case. Vague complaints about attitude rarely lead to substitution.

Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

A more serious situation arises when your attorney’s performance is so deficient that it amounts to a constitutional violation. The Supreme Court’s decision in Strickland v. Washington established a two-part test: you must show that your attorney’s performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, and that there is a reasonable probability the outcome of your case would have been different without those errors.¹⁰ Both prongs must be met. Courts give attorneys wide latitude in strategic decisions, so the claim is difficult to win.

If Your Finances Change During the Case

Eligibility is not locked in for the life of your case. Under County Law § 722-d, if it appears at any point that you have become financially able to hire your own attorney or to make partial payment, your assigned counsel can report that to the court, and the judge decides whether to end the assignment or require you to contribute toward the costs.¹¹

The reverse is also true. If your income drops or you lose a job during the case, that change can make you newly eligible for assigned counsel even if you were previously denied. The court has discretion to revisit the determination based on current financial realities.

If You Are Denied

A denial usually means the court concluded you have enough resources to hire a private lawyer. If you believe the court got it wrong, ask the judge to reconsider and bring documentation: recent pay stubs, bank statements showing low balances, proof of public assistance, bills that show your expenses, and evidence of debts the court may not have considered.

Certain categories of people are presumptively eligible regardless of income. If you are currently incarcerated, receiving SNAP or Medicaid, or were found eligible for assigned counsel within the past six months in any jurisdiction, make sure the court knows.¹ In criminal cases where incarceration is a possible penalty, the court cannot force you to proceed without a lawyer unless you have knowingly and voluntarily waived that right.⁶

1
New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services. Standards for Determining Financial Eligibility for Assigned Counsel
2
Justia Law. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
3
New York State Senate. New York County Law 722 – Plan for Representation
4
New York State Unified Court System. Assigned Counsel Plan (18B)
5
New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services. Eligibility Resources
6
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 170.10
7
New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services. a href=”https://cms2.revize.com/revize/indigentlegalservices/4.%20Standards/C.%20Eligibility/ILS%20Eligibility%20Standards/Blackletter%20with%20Commentary%2002_16_21.pdf” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Standards for Determining Financial Eligibility for Assigned Counsel
8
United States Courts. Financial Affidavit
9
New York State Unified Court System. New York County Law Article 18-B – Plan for Representation
10
Justia Law. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984)
11
New York State Senate. New York County Law 722-D – Duration of Assignment