Case Name: Margaret ALEXANDER v. DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Court: Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Jurisdiction: Maine
Decision Date: 1988-11-04
Citations: 550 A.2d 65
Docket Number: 
Parties: Margaret ALEXANDER v. DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.
Judges: Before McKUSICK, C.J., and ROBERTS, WATHEN, CLIFFORD, HORNBY and COLLINS, JJ.
Reporter: West's Atlantic Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 550
Pages: 65–66

Head Matter:
Margaret ALEXANDER v. DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES.
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.
Submitted on Briefs Nov. 1, 1988.
Decided Nov. 4, 1988.
Margaret Alexander, Waldoboro, pro se.
Marina E. Thibeau, Asst. Atty. Gen., Augusta, for defendant.
Before McKUSICK, C.J., and ROBERTS, WATHEN, CLIFFORD, HORNBY and COLLINS, JJ.

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION.
Margaret Alexander appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court (Lincoln County; Perkins, J.) under M.R.Civ.P. 80C affirming final agency action by the Department of Human Services. She argues that the Superior Court erred by refusing to appoint legal counsel for her, by refusing to permit a lay person to represent her, and by concluding that the Department properly denied her benefits under the Family Crisis Assistance Program. We disagree. There is no general right to court-appointed legal counsel in a civil case. United States v. 30.64 Acres of Land, 795 F.2d 796, 801 (9th Cir.1986). Maine statutes expressly forbid representation by individuals unlicensed to practice law. See 4 M.R.S.A. § 807 (1979 & Supp.1987). The presiding judge correctly concluded that Alexander failed to provide the Department with sufficient evidence to establish her eligibility for assistance. 5 M.R.S.A. § 11007(4)(C) (1979).
The entry is:
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED.
All concurring.