What effect does the new rule have on appointment of counsel?

As a result of the change, in many cases the defendant will not have the right to appointed counsel. For misdemeanors, a defendant has a Sixth Amendment right to counsel only if an active or suspended sentence of imprisonment is imposed. The formulation of this right has developed over a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions. See Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25 (1972) (recognizing basic right to counsel in misdemeanor cases); Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367, 373–74 (1979) (in misdemeanor cases, “the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution require only that no indigent criminal defendant be sentenced to a term of imprisonment unless the State has afforded him the right to assistance of appointed counsel”); Alabama v. Shelton, 535 U.S. 654 (2002) (indigent defendant has right to appointed counsel in misdemeanor case if court imposes suspended sentence of imprisonment). In contrast, the Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel to any indigent person accused of a felony, regardless of the possible punishment. See Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963).

North Carolina law provides indigent criminal defendants with a slightly broader right to counsel. G.S. 7A-451(a)(1) provides for appointed counsel in “[a]ny case in which imprisonment, or a fine of five hundred dollars . . . or more, is likely to be adjudged.” This provision will not come into play for most Class 3 misdemeanors if the defendant has three or fewer prior convictions: under the new punishment scheme for Class 3 misdemeanors, imprisonment is generally impermissible; and under other structured sentencing rules, the maximum fine is usually limited to $200.