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Equal Access to Justice Report
Article Date: 6/3/2008
REPORT BY CHIEF JUSTICE’S COMMISSION LAMENTS LOW FUNDING FOR LEGAL SERVICES AS A DENIAL OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE
(N.C. Equal Access to Justice Commission – June 3, 2008)
The North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission, which was appointed by then Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, I. Beverly Lake, today released its initial report on the state of access to the state courts for people in or near poverty. The report decried the lack of adequate legal representation for people in poverty who found themselves involved in civil litigation in which critical legal matters such as child custody, eviction, employment, and others were being decided by the courts. Among the report’s chief recommendations for improving access to the courts is increased state funding for legal service organizations, which are nonprofit law firms, serving low-income households in North Carolina
North Carolina has approximately 3.2 million people, about 35% of the total population, who live in households with incomes that fall below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. About 1.2 million people live in households that fall below the poverty level, which is about $17,000 for a family of three. The median income for legal services clients was approximately $9,000 in 2006. in spite of this large population of potential clients, North Carolina’s legal service organizations received only about $23 million in total funding in 2008, which equates only to about $7.58 per client. As a result, low-income, yet eligible, clients go to court—where their most critical legal matters are decided—either not represented or under-represented.
“Some of the information in this report is startling,” said Chief Justice Sarah Parker. “Access to the civil justice system for those most economically vulnerable is a grave concern. Our citizens lose confidence in the process when meaningful access to courts is denied to a significant segment of the population.’
The report outlined seven recommendations for addressing the current crisis. In addition to increasing state funding for legal services, the report identified several other recommendations, including the following:
- That a “right to counsel”, similar to the right recognized in criminal matters, be provided for certain critical civil matters.
- That methods be devised to encourage the expansion of volunteer services, called “pro bono”, by members of the private bar.
- Improve the “pro se” process; i.e., when litigants are forced or chose to represent themselves, they can do so in an environment conducive to full access to court documents and reasonable legal information.
- Increase financial support for lawyers who choose legal services careers, where starting salaries are low, yet six-figure law school debt is not uncommon.
- Increase funding for clients with limited English proficiency—our American idea of justice is unreserved and should apply fairly to all who enter our courts.
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