Does a court-appointed criminal defense lawyer have to give an indigent client a copy of the trial transcript and the appellate brief?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1983. Ezel answers yours: whether it's allowed on your facts, under the current rules of professional conduct in your state, with citations.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1983, before Tennessee's adoption of the 2003 Rules of Professional Conduct, which replaced the former Code of Professional Responsibility. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.
Plain-English summary
A court-appointed attorney for an indigent criminal defendant asked whether he was ethically obligated to give his client a copy of the trial transcript and a copy of the appellate brief.
The opinion explained that T.C.A. 40-14-312 requires the trial judge to direct the court reporter to furnish an indigent defendant a complete transcript, paid for by the State, when an appeal is granted. Practice varies by court: some court reporters prepare only a single original, filed with the trial and then appellate court, giving the attorney only limited access; others furnish the attorney a separate copy. The opinion held that when the attorney is furnished a copy, that copy is, under T.C.A. 40-14-312, the property of the defendant client, and the attorney's ethical treatment of it is governed by the general agency-law duties of separation, accounting, notification, and delivery reflected in Disciplinary Rule 9-102(B). In that circumstance the attorney must account for the transcript copy, including delivering it to the client. When no separate copy is furnished and only the original is filed with the court, the attorney has no ethical duty to bear the expense of copying the transcript so the client can have one.
The opinion also addressed the appellate brief: because the State compensates the court-appointed attorney for preparing it, the brief is the joint property of the attorney and the indigent client, and under DR 9-102(B)(4) a copy should be furnished to the client on request.
Common questions
Q: Does a court-appointed lawyer have to give the client a copy of the trial transcript?
A: Only if the attorney was furnished one. The opinion states that "in instances when the attorney has been provided with a copy of the trial transcript on behalf of the client, the attorney is ethically obligated to account for the transcript copy in accordance with Disciplinary Rule 9-102(B) which includes delivering the transcript copy to his client."
Q: What if only the original transcript is filed with the court?
A: No obligation to copy it. The opinion holds that "when the attorney is not provided with a copy of the trial transcript and the original transcript is filed with the trial or appellate court on behalf of the client, then the attorney has no ethical obligation to bear the expense of copying the transcript."
Q: Does the indigent client get a copy of the appellate brief?
A: Yes, on request. The opinion treats the brief as "the joint property of the attorney and the indigent client" because the State compensates the attorney for it, and holds that "pursuant to Disciplinary Rule 9-102(B)(4), a copy of the brief should be furnished to the indigent client upon request."
Background and rules framework
The opinion applied Disciplinary Rule 9-102(B) of the Tennessee Code of Professional Responsibility, governing an attorney's handling of client property, together with T.C.A. 40-14-312, the statute directing court reporters to furnish indigent-appellant transcripts at state expense. The modern correlate is Model Rule 1.15 (safekeeping property), noted here as a navigational cross-reference rather than a rule the opinion itself applied.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- DR 9-102(B) and DR 9-102(B)(4) (safekeeping client property), Tennessee Code of Professional Responsibility
- Model Rule 1.15 (safekeeping property), modern correlate
Statutes:
- T.C.A. 40-14-312 (transcript for indigent appellant at state expense)
See also
Source
- Landing page: https://www.tbpr.org/ethic_opinions/83-f-42
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
83-F-42 - Client Property Trial Transcript
BOARD OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE
FORMAL ETHICS OPINION 83-F-42
Inquiry is made concerning the ethical obligation of a court appointed attorney to provide his client, an indigent criminal defendant, with a copy of the trial transcript and a copy of the appellate brief filed on behalf of his client.
T.C.A. 40-14-312 provides, in part, as follows:
--If the defendant prays and is granted an appeal, and is determined by the trial judge to be without sufficient funds to pay for the preparation of the transcript of the proceedings, the trial judge shall direct the court reporter to furnish the defendant a complete transcript of the proceedings, the fee for which shall be paid by the State of Tennessee out of money appropriated for that purpose.---
The practice of implementing the statute varies from court to court. In some instances, the court reporter prepares only one original transcript which is filed with the trial court and ultimately with the appellate court. In such instances, the attorney has limited access to the transcript to prepare an appeal. In other instances, the court reporter prepares an original transcript and also furnishes a copy to the attorney for the defendant.
In the instances when the attorney is furnished with a copy of the transcript, then pursuant to T.C.A. 40-14-312, the copy of the transcript is the property of the defendant client.
The ethical rules governing an attorney's treatment of client property derive generally from agency law, which imposes duties of separation, accounting, notification and delivery on all agents possessed of a principal's property. See Reinstatement (Second Agency), Sec. 381-382, 1207, 1334-1335 (1957). The attorney is ethically obligated to treat the property of a client with special care and meet the high standards of accountability required by Disciplinary Rule 9-102(B) of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
Thus, in instances when the attorney has been provided with a copy of the trial transcript on behalf of the client, the attorney is ethically obligated to account for the transcript copy in
accordance with Disciplinary Rule 9-102(B) which includes delivering the transcript copy to his client.
In instances when the attorney is not provided with a copy of the trial transcript and the original transcript is filed with the trial or appellate court on behalf of the client, then the attorney has no ethical obligation to bear the expense of copying the transcript in order for his client to obtain a copy.
The brief filed on behalf of the indigent client by the court appointed attorney is the product for which the attorney is compensated by the State of Tennessee. This product is the joint property of the attorney and the indigent client and, pursuant to Disciplinary Rule 9-102(B)(4), a copy of the brief should be furnished to the indigent client upon request.
This 14th day of April, 1983.
ETHICS COMMITTEE:
F. Evans Harvill
Oscar B. Hofstetter, Jr.
William R. Willis
APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE BOARD
Get today's answer for your situation
You just read a 1983 opinion on this question. Ezel checks the current rules of professional conduct in your state and answers your specific situation, with citations.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the rules it relies on.