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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY BAKER, YUDICHAK, ARGALL, BROWNE, COSTA, ERICKSON, FERLO, FONTANA, GREENLEAF, McILHINNEY, RAFFERTY, SMUCKER, WASHINGTON, WOZNIAK, YAW AND ORIE, MARCH 11, 2011 |
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| REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, MARCH 11, 2011 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the |
2 | Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for |
3 | right to counsel. |
4 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
5 | hereby enacts as follows: |
6 | Section 1. Section 6337 of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania |
7 | Consolidated Statutes is amended to read: |
8 | § 6337. Right to counsel. |
9 | Except as provided herein and in section 6311 (relating to |
10 | guardian ad litem for child in court proceedings), a party is |
11 | entitled to representation by legal counsel at all stages of any |
12 | proceedings under this chapter and if he is without financial |
13 | resources or otherwise unable to employ counsel, to have the |
14 | court provide counsel for him. Although a child alleged to be |
15 | delinquent may appear with counsel at the intake conference |
16 | conducted by a juvenile probation officer following the |
17 | submission of a written allegation, counsel is not mandatory at |
18 | this proceeding. If a party other than a child appears at a |
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1 | hearing without counsel the court shall ascertain whether he |
2 | knows of his right thereto and to be provided with counsel by |
3 | the court if applicable. The court may continue the proceeding |
4 | to enable a party to obtain counsel. Counsel must be provided |
5 | for a child [unless his parent, guardian, or custodian is |
6 | present in court and affirmatively waive it. However, the |
7 | parent, guardian, or custodian may not waive counsel for a child |
8 | when their interest may be in conflict with the interest or |
9 | interests of the child.] who appears at a hearing without |
10 | counsel, and counsel for the child cannot be waived. If the |
11 | interests of two or more parties may conflict, separate counsel |
12 | shall be provided for each of them. |
13 | Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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