civil legal Archives - LEGAL S.O.S

17Jul 2023 by Charles E. Price

Legal aid cuts denying vulnerable women access to justice, says thinktank | Legal aid

Vulnerable women in England and Wales, including survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, are being denied justice because of cuts to the civil legal aid budget, a think tank has said.The Women's Budget Group says a decade on from major changes to legal aid, women have been disproportionately affected, leaving them without essential support to fight discrimination, violence and housing insecurity.For its report, Gender Gaps in Access to Civil Legal Justice, published on Thursday, the think tank conducted an online survey of 115 organizations, services and individuals in the field and found widespread concern about barriers to justice.It found that 85% of respondents said vulnerable women were unable to access civil legal aid, while 77% said a significant consequence of the legal aid changes was women reaching crisis points or…

16Jul 2023 by Charles E. Price

Demand for free civil legal aid in Michigan outweighs attorneys

LEGAL

Kelisha Williams has been trying to get a divorce for five years and said it has been a long and expensive endeavor. Last fall, when a car accident left her unable to work and without steady income, she couldn't afford a lawyer.The cost for legal representation, according to estimates Williams received: between $8,000 to $10,000. But earlier this year, a 3rd Circuit Court judge referred her to the William Booth Legal Aid Clinic — the Salvation Army's only free legal service provider in the world, serving low-income metro Detroit residents — and she's now hopeful she'll get to a resolution. The 47-year-old Detroiter said it was a relief the court told her about the clinic because otherwise she likely would have been waiting for someone to call her back or…

15Jul 2023 by Charles E. Price

The state budget gives one-time boost to programs that give poor Mainers legal aid in civil cases

LEGAL

The newly signed state budget includes a one-time $4 million boost for a program that provides low-income Mainers with legal representation in civil cases – a big addition to the baseline $650,000 the program currently receives each year. But the funding in the budget is significantly less than what the Legislature approved. Lawmakers passed a bill, sponsored by Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, that called for an $11 million investment over two years and an ongoing appropriation of $7.8 million a year – and was projected to help an estimated 10,000 additional Mainers. Carney, an attorney who used to volunteer with a nonprofit that provides legal services, said she was pleased that her bill received funding, even though increasing the baseline funding would offer more stability to people needing legal help.…

28Jun 2023 by Charles E. Price

Why legal aid matters | opinion

LEGAL

When I speak to civic groups about Alpine Legal Services, I'm surprised how many people have heard of us but aren't sure what we do.People also tell me they don't realize the right to legal representation applies mostly to criminal cases. They didn't know that those facing a life-altering civil legal matter — an eviction, a protection order from abuse and violence, a custody case, an emergency guardianship — are most often not entitled to an attorney. That's where civil legal aid comes in. That's what we do.Alpine Legal Services has been around in one form or another since 1987. A group of lawyers saw the need to uphold justice for people who had strong cases but didn't know how to present them and couldn't afford to hire an attorney.…

25Jun 2023 by Charles E. Price

Courts see a boost in salaries, tech funding: Civil legal aid also sees a boost in funds for the coming fiscal year

LEGAL

The state's multibillion-dollar biennial budget enacted during the 2023 legislative session includes increasing all around for the satay's judiciary, including additional funding for including civil legal aid, salaries and court technology. The funding for fiscal years 2023-2024 will take effect July 1. Indiana Supreme Court The final budget bill allocates $21,841,985 to the Supreme Court in FY 2023-2024 and $22,330,232 in FY 2024-2025. That's an increase from $19,400,605 in FY 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. In a letter to lawmakers at the beginning of the 2023 budget session, Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush made her case for budget increases. “Indiana's judicial branch budget accounts for less than 1% of the state's total budget,” she wrote. “We're proud of that, and we don't ask for it very much very often. We've operated efficiently…

25May 2023 by Charles E. Price

Study outlines barriers to civil legal service aid in South Dakota

LEGAL

There's a lack of civil legal aid services across South Dakota, and a group of three legal aid services have come together to publish a report illustrating the need for services.The recently published statewide legal needs assessment was a partnership between East River Legal Services, Dakota Plains Legal Services and Access to Justice. The study surveyed and conducted in-depth interviews with community partners and potential clients across South Dakota.“We're really in a crisis when it comes to civil legal access to courts,” said Lea Wroblewski, the East River Legal Services executive director. She noted the crisis isn't unique to South Dakota, but rather the nation.Courtroom 2B sits on the second floor of the Lincoln County Courthouse, across from the state's attorney's office, on Tuesday, January 25, 2022.What is unique to…

30Mar 2023 by Charles E. Price

Larger state investment in civil legal aid is needed

LEGAL

The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com. Maine's chronic shortage of attorneys for low-income criminal defendants has rightly gotten a lot of attention. The US and state constitutions guarantee those accused of crimes a right to a speedy trial, a pledge that Maine is in danger of not fulfilling as the state's program struggles to recruit and retain lawyers. Maine also faces a critical shortage of lawyers to represent low-income Mainers in civil cases, such as those involving evictions, protection from abuse and discrimination. In Maine, there are more than 360,000 low-income people who are eligible for free legal services, and most of them will face at least one…

28Mar 2023 by Charles E. Price

Our View: Civil legal aid is falling short, hurting all of us

LEGAL

Too many Maine residents aren't able to get the legal representation they need. No, we're not talking about those charged with crimes — though we absolutely could be. Instead, we're talking about people who need civil legal aid to help them entangle a variety of messy problems with the potential to upset their lives. Legislators are struggling to fix an indigent criminal defense program that they've been allowed to fall apart. Filling the gaps in aid for civil complaints, however, is much easier. A bill before the Legislature is asking for $11.2 million over the next two years to be distributed through the Civil Legal Defense Fund, which supports the work of providers of civil legal services in Maine. Unlike the criminal side, there is no constitutional right to representation…

Tag: civil legal