Civil Right to Counsel
"If you are unable to afford a lawyer, one will be appointed
for you." This guarantee of counsel – a bedrock of the American criminal
justice system – is conspicuously absent from the nation’s civil justice system
even in cases that involve the most important aspects of people’s lives, such
as child custody and shelter. Fewer than 20 percent of low-income families with
civil legal needs are ever able to obtain the services of counsel to help them
gain access to the courts. Without the assistance of lawyers, these families
are simply unable to obtain a meaningful day in court. In its failure to ensure
access to lawyers in these cases, the
The
One technique we have used to advance the right to counsel in civil cases is to participate in submissions to international bodies arguing that the United States' failure to provide legal representation to low-income people in certain categories of cases violates the United States' international obligations.
For the website of the National Coalition for a Right to Counsel, click here.
The Brennan Center filed an amicus brief in this case is support of a right to counsel claim by an indigent parent seeking child custody.
Those of us raised on cop dramas take for granted that in this country you have the right to an attorney, and that if you cannot afford it, one will be provided to you....
National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel Launches New Website
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....
Study Exposes Lack of Standards for Appointing Defense Counsel
This report covers unfair practices in effect in states including Florida, Tennessee, Ohio, and Nebraska, and highlights best practices in others, like Massachusetts, Washington, and Vermont. People are often wrongly denied defense counsel, violating 6th Amendment.
The “State Basic Access Act” is a model for a narrow right to counsel which attaches only to certain high priority basic needs, defined in the Act as shelter, sustenance, safety, health, and child custody.
A task force of the California Commission on Access to Justice developed a draft statute to be used by states considering implementing or expanding the statutory right to counsel.
Shadow Report to U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The Brennan Center participated in a shadow report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, arguing that the United States’ failure to provide a civil right to counsel violates the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.