By Emily Savner – 07/11/08
The National Coalition for a Civil
Right to Counsel has launched its new website, providing advocates and the
public with a much-needed information source and a way to coordinate
efforts to expand recognition of a right to counsel in civil cases. The
Coalition is comprised of over 150 advocates from national and state-based
groups and the website is a great place to find the latest news
developments, relevant case law, research and policy studies, and updates on current "civil Gideon"
efforts in both legislatures and the courts, as well as information on ways to promote a civil right to counsel in your
state.
Check it out at: www.civilrighttocounsel.org
Tags: Justice, Civil Justice, Civil Right to Counsel
11/29/06
by Laura K. Abel & David Pedulla
*Cross-posted from TortDeform.com
If you are charged with a crime, facing prison, and unable to afford
an attorney, the U.S. Constitution requires that the court appoint one
for you. Did you know, though, that in civil cases, where the
consequences may be far more devastating than spending a brief time in
prison, counsel generally is not guaranteed? Every day, parents fight
to keep their children, and families fight to keep their homes, without
a lawyer by their side. Fueled by the knowledge that this is unjust,
and by a recent resolution from the American Bar Association, advocates around the country are working to change this sad state of affairs.
It doesn’t take an expert to know that if you represent yourself
against someone who has a lawyer, you will be at a severe disadvantage.
As the adage goes, “The man who represents himself has a fool for a
lawyer.” The result of such a proceeding frequently is that the
unrepresented party cannot present the relevant law and facts, the
judge has to decide the case in a vacuum, and the outcome is based more
on accident than on a careful weighing of the facts. A democracy in
which the judiciary has primary responsibility for protecting
individual rights cannot afford to require low-income people to go
without legal counsel in cases in which basic human needs are at stake.
This past summer, the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association unanimously approved a resolution
urging federal, state, and territorial governments to assure that poor
people have a right to legal counsel in cases where basic human needs,
such as shelter, sustenance, safety, health, or child custody, are at
stake. Michael S. Greco, the then-president of the ABA, called the
resolution “historic in the realm of an extraordinarily meaningful
action by the ABA.” The Conference of Delegates of California Bar
Associations passed its own resolution
this fall, calling for free legal representation in cases dealing with
sustenance, shelter, safety, health, and child custody for people
unable to afford to pay for counsel. Other state and local bar
associations should follow suit.
Low-income people in several states are asserting a state
constitutional right to counsel in various kinds of cases involving
family issues. There are also efforts underway around the country to
persuade state and local legislatures to pass legislation guaranteeing
a right to counsel in civil cases concerning basic human needs. The
California Commission on Access to Justice recently released a model civil right to counsel statute, providing a boost to these efforts.
Of particular interest to readers who want to learn more about the
state of the right to counsel in civil cases, and the movement to
expand it to all cases concerning basic human needs, is a recent edition of the Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Law and Policy dedicated to the right to counsel in civil cases.
Tags: Justice, Civil Justice, Civil Right to Counsel
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