Conn. Practice Book § 63-6 (2026)

Sec. 63-6. Waiver of Fees, Costs and Secu- rity—Civil Cases If a party in any case where fees and costs may lawfully be waived is indigent and desires to appeal, that party may, within the time provided by the rules for taking an appeal, make written application to the trial court for relief from payment of fees, costs and expenses. The application must be under oath and recite, or it must be accompa- nied by an affidavit reciting, the grounds upon which the applicant proposes to appeal and the facts concerning the applicant’s financial status. Where an application arises out of a habeas cor- pus proceeding, the application shall be handled pursuant to Section 63-7. Where an application arises out of a child protection matter, the applica- tion shall be handled pursuant to Section 79a-4. The judicial authority shall act promptly on the application for waiver of fees, costs and expenses. If the application is denied in whole or in part, and the applicant wishes to challenge that denial, the applicant shall file a written request for a hearing, pursuant to Section 8-2, within ten days of the issuance of notice of the denial of the application. The clerk of the trial court shall assign the applica- tion for a hearing within twenty days of the filing of the request and the judicial authority shall act promptly on the application following the hearing. If the court is satisfied that the applicant is indigent and has a statutory or constitutional right to court appointed counsel or a statutory right to appeal without payment of fees, costs and expenses, the court may (1) waive payment by the applicant of fees specified by statute and of taxable costs, and (2) order that the necessary expenses of prosecuting the appeal be paid by the state. The court may not consider the relative merits of a proposed appeal in acting upon an application pursuant to this section except that the court may consider the criteria contained in General Statutes § 52-259b. Before incurring any expense in excess of $100, including the expense of obtaining a transcript of the necessary proceedings or testimony, the applicant shall obtain the permission of the judge who presided at the applicant’s trial. The judge shall authorize a transcript at state expense only of the portions of testimony or proceedings which may be pertinent to the issues on appeal. 467 The sole remedy of any party desiring the court to review an order concerning the waiver of fees, costs and security shall be by motion for review under Section 66-6. (P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 4017.) (Amended July 21, 1999, to take effect Jan. 1, 2000; amended June 2, 2005, to take effect Jan. 1, 2006; amended June 18, 2014, to take effect Sept. 1, 2014; amended Sept. 16, 2015, to take effect Jan. 1, 2016.) Sec. 63-7. Waiver of Fees, Costs and Secu- rity—Criminal Cases Any defendant in a criminal case who is indigent and desires to appeal may, within the time pro- vided by the rules for taking an appeal, make writ- ten application to the trial court for relief from pay- ment of fees, costs and expenses. The applica- tion must be under oath and recite, or it must be accompanied by an affidavit reciting, the grounds upon which the applicant proposes to appeal and the facts concerning the applicant’s financial status. The application must be sent to the public defender’s office for investigation. The judicial authority shall assign the request for waiver of fees, costs and expenses for hearing within twenty days after filing, and the trial counsel, the trial public defender’s office to which the application had been sent for investigation and the chief of legal services of the public defender’s office shall be notified in writing by the clerk’s office of the date of such hearing. The judicial authority shall act promptly on the application following the hearing. Upon determi- nation by the judicial authority that a defendant in a criminal case is indigent, the trial court may (1) waive payment by the defendant of fees specified by statute and of taxable costs, (2) order that the necessary expenses of prosecuting the appeal be paid by the state, and (3) appoint appellate coun- sel and permit the withdrawal of the trial attorney’s appearance provided the judicial authority is satis- fied that that attorney has cooperated fully with appellate counsel in the preparation of the defend- ant’s appeal as set forth in Section 43-33. When the judicial authority has appointed an attorney in private practice to represent the defendant upon appeal, the attorney shall obtain the approval of the judicial authority who presided at the trial before incurring any expense in excess of $100, including the expense of obtaining a tran- script of the necessary proceedings or testimony. The judicial authority shall authorize a transcript at state expense only of the portions of proceed- ings or testimony which may be pertinent to the issues on appeal. The sole remedy of any defendant desiring the court to review an order concerning the waiver of fees, costs and security or the appointment of © Copyrighted by the Secretary of the State of the State of Connecticut

RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE