Whenever a party to a civil action is entitled, by operation of law, to counsel appointed or assigned to represent that party at state expense in a proceeding governed by these rules, such assignment shall be governed by M. R. Crim. P. 44, 44A, 44B, and 44C.
Rule 88.Assignment of Counsel
Adopted July 1, 2010 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 88 directs that whenever a party in a civil action is entitled by law to counsel appointed or assigned at state expense, that appointment follows the procedure in the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure's counsel-assignment rules.
Full Text of Rule 88
Advisory Committee’s Notes & Reporter’s Notes
Advisory Note – July 2010
The amendment adopting M.R. Civ. P. 88, using the number of a previously repealed rule, is necessitated by the establishment of the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services (4 M.R.S. §§ 1801-1805 and 5 M.R.S. §§ 959 and 12004-G (25-A)), enacted by P.L. 2009, ch. 419. These changes reflect a transfer of responsibility for indigent legal services in both civil and criminal cases from the Judicial Branch to the independent Commission. See Emergency Preamble to P.L. 2009, ch. 419 and 4 M.R.S. §§ 1801 and 1804.
The statute implementing the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services explicitly references case types that fall under the Commission’s purview, including civil matters. See P.L. 2009, ch. 419 and 4 M.R.S. §§ 1801, 1802, and 1804. The types of civil cases in which counsel may be appointed are not changed by this amendment. Those cases are child protective cases initiated by the state and a very few other cases in which fundamental liberty interests may be at issue.
Guidance for operation of this program for indigent legal services is provided by M.R. Crim. P. 44, 44B, and 44C as amended effective July 1, 2010 and the Advisory Notes to those amendments. Those rules, and M.R. Crim. P. 44A, are made applicable to civil actions by their incorporation by reference into the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure by this amendment.
Plain-English Summary
Some civil proceedings carry a statutory right to state-funded counsel, even though the case itself isn't criminal. Rather than duplicate an appointment procedure, Rule 88 borrows one wholesale: whenever a party is entitled by operation of law to counsel appointed or assigned to represent that party at state expense in a proceeding the civil rules govern, the assignment follows Rules 44, 44A, 44B, and 44C of the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure. The rule reused this number after the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services was established to administer appointed counsel across both civil and criminal proceedings.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is a party entitled to court-appointed counsel in a civil case?
Whenever a statute or other law entitles that party to counsel appointed or assigned at state expense in a proceeding governed by the civil rules; Rule 88 doesn't create that entitlement itself, only the procedure for the assignment.
What procedure governs appointing counsel under Rule 88?
Rules 44, 44A, 44B, and 44C of the Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure, which Rule 88 incorporates for this purpose.
Why does a civil rule point to the criminal rules for counsel assignment?
To avoid duplicating the same appointment machinery in two places; the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services administers appointed counsel across both civil and criminal matters under one consistent procedure.
Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee’s Notes / Reporter’s
Notes are reproduced verbatim from the official Maine Rules of Civil Procedure (Me. R. Civ. P. 88), prescribed by the
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine (4 M.R.S. § 8, the Rules Enabling Act). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: appointed counsel civil case Maineindigent legal services civil proceeding