Appointment of counsel for indigent litigants A criminal defendant unable to afford counsel has the right to appointed counsel at the government's expense. While the Supreme Court recognized this right gradually, it currently applies in all federal and state criminal proceedings where the defendant faces authorized imprisonment greater than one year (a "felony") or where the defendant is actually imprisoned, including imposition of a suspended incarceration sentence of any length. Criminal defendants in misdemeanor cases do not have a right to appointed counsel if they are not sentenced to actual imprisonment, even if that conviction is later used to enhance sentencing for another crime, or even if the revocation of probation may result in actual imprisonment (although for parole revocation, the court evaluates the right to counsel on a case-by-case-basis). Nor does the defendant have the right to appointed counsel to raise frivolous arguments on direct appeal, or to raise any arguments on habeas or other collateral appeal, even if facing execution. One federal court has held that a state court must appoint counsel upon imposition of probation, regardless of whether a separate suspended sentence of incarceration is also imposed and regardless of whether counsel is provided for any subsequent probation revocation proceeding, while others have held or suggested that if probation is imposed without counsel, then a person may not be subsequently jailed for violation of that probation. With respect to federal law on civil proceedings, there is a constitutional right to counsel for juveniles in delinquency proceedings, and there is a right to "qualified and independent assistance" (although not necessarily an attorney) for prisoners involuntarily transferred to a mental health facility. The federal constitutional right to appointed counsel in termination of parental rights proceedings is on a case-by-case basis. For civil contempt proceedings related to failure to pay child support, the U.S. Supreme Court has said there is no federal constitutional right to counsel even if the litigant is being jailed, provided that all of the following is true: a) the state is providing sufficient procedural safeguards to ensure the person actually has the ability to pay but is refusing to do so; b) the matter is not "unusually complex"; and c) the plaintiff is neither the government nor represented by counsel. Federal statutory law provides for a right to counsel in certain types of federal court proceedings, such as civil forfeiture of a primary residence or proceedings