Huge Legal Representation Shortfalls Prompt Legislature in South Dakota, One of Only Three States that Provide No Funding for Civil Legal Aid, to Focus on the Problem
Legal Services E-lert

Date of E-Lert – 06/27/08

Bibliographic Info:
Author: Josh Verges
Source: Argus Leader
Date: 6/20/08

Argus Leader states:  "Legal aid services in South Dakota in past years have been forced to turn away more and more clients as demand grows and funding sources dwindle.  The issue has caught the attention of the State Bar Association, which is working to connect volunteer lawyers with clients.  Next month, a legislative committee will begin studying the issue, though a push last session to establish permanent funding in the state failed.  South Dakota is one of only three states that does not give money to legal aid programs . . . Federal legal aid money, meanwhile, is at half the level it was in 1982 after adjusting for inflation . . . .  A 2005 study found 50 percent of eligible applicants nationwide were turned away; for [LSC-funded] East River Legal Services in Sioux Falls, [one of two LSC-funded agencies in South Dakota,] 77 percent of eligible applicants were rejected during the same period."

Tags: Funding, Legal Services Structure