A federal court can decide to pay for an indigent plaintiff's expert witness.
Under federal law, a federal court must provide a criminal defendant free legal counsel if the defendant demonstrates he cannot afford to hire an attorney. Federal courts will also pay for an indigent criminal defendant's expert witnesses and subpoena service upon all witnesses. If you're an indigent plaintiff who has filed a civil case in federal court, however, federal law does not compel a federal district court to provide you free counsel or pay for your expert witnesses. The court will provide subpoena service for you at no charge.
Court Discretion
Parties in civil trials usually pay their own attorney and trial costs, including expert witness and subpoena service fees. To ensure fair federal civil trials, the Criminal Justice Act gives federal courts discretionary power to pay for an indigent plaintiff's legal services. A district court has wide latitude in determining whether to provide an indigent plaintiff free legal counsel and expert witnesses. A federal appeals court generally will overturn a district court's denial of legal services fee waivers to an indigent plaintiff only if the lower court abused its discretion.
Court-Appointed Attorney
As an indigent plaintiff in a federal civil trial, you have no constitutional right to legal counsel. The Criminal Justice Act allows you to request that the court appoint you an attorney at no cost. To determine whether to provide free legal counsel, federal courts will assess the relative difficulty of your case and your competence to litigate the case yourself.
Expert Witnesses
An expert witness is a specialist in a subject who is paid to provide his expert opinion in a trial or deposition. Federal Rule of Evidence 706(a) allows federal courts to appoint an expert witness, either on its own or when one of the parties requests an expert witness. Although some federal courts have considered a plaintiff's indigent status in determining whether to appoint an expert witness, most do not. In 2011, for example, a federal district court denied an indigent plaintiff's request for the court-appointed expert witness, pointing out that "appointment of [an] expert [for an indigent plaintiff] is 'extraordinary' and 'rare' and requires 'compelling' circumstances.'"
Subpoenas
A subpoena is a court order that requires a fact witness to testify at a trial or produce specific evidence. The Criminal Justice Act states that in federal civil cases "officers of the court shall issue and serve all process" for an indigent plaintiff. Federal courts have consistently interpreted this statute as compelling courts to pay for an indigent plaintiff's subpoenas. The federal district court in your case will provide subpoena servicing of your fact witnesses at no cost to you.
Tags: indigent plaintiff, expert witness, district court, legal counsel, Criminal Justice