Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 7-6-104 (2026)

Representation of needy persons.

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WY-LEGwyoleg.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) The public defender shall represent as counsel any
needy person who is under arrest for or formally charged with
having committed a serious crime if:

            (i)   The defendant requests counsel; or

          (ii) The court, on its own motion or otherwise,
orders appointment of counsel and the defendant does not
affirmatively waive or reject, on the record, the opportunity to
be represented by legal counsel in the proceeding.

     (b) Appointed counsel, services and facilities necessary
for representation, and court costs shall be provided at public
expense to the extent that the person, at the time the court
determines need, is unable to provide for their payment.

     (c) A needy person who is entitled to be represented by an
attorney under subsection (a) of this section is entitled:

          (i) To be represented by the public defender in a
proceeding for revocation of probation when it is determined by
the court to be statutorily or constitutionally required;

          (ii) To be represented in any appeal to a Wyoming
court, and in cases in which the death penalty has been imposed
or in such other cases as the state public defender deems
appropriate, in a writ of certiorari to the United States
supreme court, and in proceedings under W.S. 7-14-101 through
7-14-108;

          (iii)    Repealed by Laws 1989, ch. 121, § 2.

          (iv)    Repealed By Laws 1999, ch. 95, § 2.

          (v) To be represented by the public defender when
requested by a fugitive in a proceeding for extradition for the
limited purpose provided in W.S. 7-3-210 or for fugitive
juveniles under the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, W.S.
14-6-102, when requested by the juvenile or the court;

          (vi) To be represented by counsel at every stage of
the proceedings, from the time of the initial appointment by the
court until the entry of final judgment, at which time the
representation shall end, unless the court appoints counsel for
purposes of appeal, correction or modification of sentence;

          (vii) To be represented by the public defender in a
motion brought in accordance with the provisions of the
Post-Conviction DNA Testing Act or in accordance with W.S.
7-12-405.

     (d) A needy person's right to a benefit under subsection
(a), (c) or (e) of this section is not affected by his having
provided a similar benefit at his own expense, or by his having
waived it, at an earlier stage.
     (e) The public defender shall be authorized to serve on
court supervised treatment program teams pursuant to W.S. 5-12-
101 through 5-12-118 and may represent participants in court
supervised treatment program proceedings, including sanction and
expulsion proceedings.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 31 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1987–2022 · leading case: Diane Lozano, State Pub. Def. v. The Circuit Court of the Sixth Jud. Dist. & Honorable Paul S. Phillips, Circuit Court Judge, 2020 WY 44 (Wyo. 2020).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Diane Lozano, State Pub. Def. v. The Circuit Court of the Sixth Jud. Dist. & Honorable Paul S. Phillips, Circuit Court Judge, 2020 WY 44 (Wyo. 2020). · cites it 10× “Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-6-104 (a). [¶17] Section 105(b) of the Act provides: At the person’s initial appearance the court shall advise any defendant who is a needy person of his right to be represented by an attorney at public expense.”

Long v. State, 745 P.2d 547 (Wyo. 1987). · cites it 10× “" Section 7-6-104(c)(iii), W.S. 1977, 1987 Replacement.”

Patrick v. State, 2005 WY 32 (Wyo. 2005). · cites it 4× “Additionally, under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-6-104 (c)(vi) (LexisNexis 2003), a needy person who is entitled to be represented is "to be represented by counsel at every stage of the proceedings, from the time of the initial appointment by the court until the entry of final judgment,…”

Gould v. State, 2006 WY 157 (Wyo. 2006). · cites it 6× “[¶ 8] Pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-6-104 (LexisNexis 2005), the district court has discretion as to whether or not to appoint counsel at non-critical stages of a criminal proceeding, and our review of a denial of a request for appointment of counsel is limited to determining…”

DeLoge v. State, 2007 WY 71 (Wyo. 2007). · cites it 2× “Additionally, under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-6-104 (c)(vi) (LexisNexis 2003), a needy person who is entitled to be represented is to be represented by counsel at every stage of the proceedings, from the time of the initial appointment by the court until the entry of final judgment,…”

Smith v. State, 902 P.2d 1271 (Wyo. 1995). · cites it 5× “§ 7-6-106(c) and (d) (1987): (c) To the extent that a person receives the services set out in W.S. 7-6-104, and is able to provide some funds toward the costs associated with such services, the presiding court may order the person to reimburse the state for the cost of the…”

McCoy v. State, 886 P.2d 252 (Wyo. 1994). · cites it 6× “§ 7-6-104 for the payment of costs necessary to obtain an expert to determine whether the appellant was a "needy person," 2) withdrawn as counsel for the Appellant and referred him to the public defender's office since the Appellant could not afford to pay trial counsel's fee…”

Aden v. State, 761 P.2d 88 (Wyo. 1988). · cites it 8× “" Section 7-6-104, W.S. 1977 (June 1987 Repl.”

Seaton v. State, 811 P.2d 276 (Wyo. 1991). · cites it 4× “Reimbursement for Legal Services Provided by the Public Defender's Office The applicable statutes relating to costs of defense reimbursement for public defender services provide: (a) The determination of whether a person covered by W.S. 7-6-104 is a needy person shall be…”

Gibson v. Turpin, 513 S.E.2d 186 (Ga. 1999). · cites it 2× “) (to be codified at Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-6-104 (c)(ii) (1999).”

Alberts v. State, 745 P.2d 898 (Wyo. 1987). · cites it 3× “1977, was amended and renumbered as § 7-6-104, W.S. 1977, effective May 22, 1987.”

King v. State, 780 P.2d 943 (Wyo. 1989). · cites it 2× “Section 7-6-106(c) provides in pertinent part: To the extent that a person receives the services set out in W.S. 7-6-104, and is able to provide some funds toward the costs associated with such services, the presiding court may order the person to reimburse the state for the…”

Show all 31 citing cases →

— Wyo. Stat. § 7-6-104(a)(i) — 1 case

Brisson v. State, 955 P.2d 888 (Wyo. 1998).

— Wyo. Stat. § 7-6-104(a)(vi) — 1 case

Brown v. State, 2008 WY 9 (Wyo. 2008).

— Wyo. Stat. § 7-6-104(c)(i) — 1 case

Schmidt v. State, 738 P.2d 1105 (Wyo. 1987).

— Wyo. Stat. § 7-6-104(c)(ii) — 1 case

Gibson v. Turpin, 513 S.E.2d 186 (Ga. 1999). “) (to be codified at Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-6-104 (c)(ii) (1999).”

— Wyo. Stat. § 7-6-104(c)(iii) — 2 cases

Long v. State, 745 P.2d 547 (Wyo. 1987). “" Section 7-6-104(c)(iii), W.S. 1977, 1987 Replacement.”

Alberts v. State, 745 P.2d 898 (Wyo. 1987). “1977, was amended and renumbered as § 7-6-104, W.S. 1977, effective May 22, 1987.”

— Wyo. Stat. § 7-6-104(c)(vi) — 2 cases

Gould v. State, 2006 WY 157 (Wyo. 2006). “[¶ 8] Pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-6-104 (LexisNexis 2005), the district court has discretion as to whether or not to appoint counsel at non-critical stages of a criminal proceeding, and our review of a denial of a request for appointment of counsel is limited to determining…”

Timothy Dean Leners v. The State of Wyoming, 2022 WY 127 (Wyo. 2022).

— Wyo. Stat. § 7-6-104(d) — 1 case

Van Riper v. State, 882 P.2d 230 (Wyo. 1994).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.