Texans’ Legal Needs, Swelled by Natural Disasters, including Katrina, Rita and Ike, and by Increased Poverty, Far Outstrip Supply of Civil Legal Aid
Legal Services E-lert
Bibliographic Info:
Author: Press Release
Source: Texas Access to Justice Commission (TATJC)
Date: December 10, 2008
The Texas Access to Justice Commission announces: "Natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike and a rise in poverty continue to strain resources for providing free civil legal services to poor Texans, according to a report presented Dec. 10 [2008] to the Supreme Court of Texas by the Texas Access to Justice Commission. ‘The report to the Court detailed the issues that impact access to the civil justice system in Texas, including limited resources, scarcity of legal services in rural areas of the state, and a rapidly increasing poverty population,' Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson, said. ‘While important progress has been made, Texas is still facing significant challenges in providing justice for all of our citizens.' Texas saw a 27 percent rise in the number of poor residents from 2000 to 2007; about 5.1 million low-income people in Texas qualify for legal aid services . . . . Texas ranks just 43rd in the nation in per capita revenue spent to provide civil legal aid. And a national study by Legal Services Corp. found that legal aid programs turn away half of all qualified applicants because they lack the resources to help them. More specifically, legal aid is able to provide help for only 20-25 percent of the legal needs of low-income and poor Texans who need and seek legal help. Meanwhile, thousands of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 relocated to Texas, and many of the new arrivals have sought civil legal services throughout the state. Furthermore, many Texans affected by Hurricane Rita three years ago and Hurricane Ike in Sept. of this year have required free legal aid."