## Facts

- Two indigent women were involved in matrimonial litigation in New York: one as a plaintiff seeking divorce and one as a defendant in a similar action.
- Each sought an order requiring Tompkins County to provide counsel at public expense or to compensate counsel they would retain.
- The wives claimed a constitutional entitlement to publicly funded counsel to ensure meaningful participation in divorce proceedings.
- They relied on precedent recognizing that indigent litigants cannot be denied access to divorce courts due to inability to pay certain fees and costs.

## Issues

1. Whether indigent parties in ordinary matrimonial (divorce) actions have a constitutional right to counsel provided or paid for by the county absent statutory authorization.
2. Whether courts have power, without legislative direction, to order a county to fund counsel for indigent matrimonial litigants.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division.
- The court held there is no constitutional right to publicly funded counsel for indigent spouses in ordinary divorce litigation absent a statute.
- The court concluded trial courts lack power, without statutory authorization, to require counties to provide or compensate counsel from public funds in these cases.
- The order directing Tompkins County to provide or pay for counsel was overturned.

## Legal Principles

- A constitutional obligation to provide counsel generally arises when the State proceeds against an individual with a risk of loss of liberty or comparable grievous forfeiture.
- Ordinary civil disputes between private parties, including typical divorce actions, do not trigger a constitutional requirement of state-funded counsel.
- Constitutional protections ensuring access to courts for indigents (such as waiver of filing fees or certain procedural costs) do not equate to a broad right to publicly funded attorneys in civil cases.
- Decisions committing substantial public funds for civil legal representation are for the legislature absent a specific statutory scheme.

## Conclusion

Indigent spouses seeking or defending a divorce are entitled to access the courts without prohibitive fees, but they have no constitutional right to county-funded counsel in ordinary matrimonial litigation, and courts may not compel public payment for counsel without statutory authority.


In re Smiley, 36 N.Y.2d 433, 369 N.Y.S.2d 87, 330 N.E.2d 53 (1975)