Injustice for most
Monday, February 27th, 2006
By Chris Fitzsimon
| Civil legal services continue to be out of reach for many low-income Americans |
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By ANNE ERICKSON
First published: Sunday, February 26, 2006
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| Each time we recite our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance, we reaffirm our shared commitments to each other. "With liberty and justice for all," we pledge. But does our nation deliver on the promise to provide justice to all?
Not by a long shot, according to a recent national study, "Documenting the Justice Gap in America." The study, undertaken by the federal Legal Services Corporation found that 80 percent of the civil legal needs of low-income Americans are not being met. This means thousands of people confront daunting legal issues everyday and when they seek access to justice, when they seek assistance in navigating their legal problem, they are turned away.
Sadly, these findings, based on a 2005 national survey, echo the conclusions of a 1994 study conducted by the American Bar Association that found that legal assistance was reaching only one in five — or 20 percent — of low-income Americans in need of such help.
The new study also echoes the dismal findings of "The New York Legal Needs Study" conducted by New York State Bar Association, which found in the late 1980s that just 14 percent of the legal needs of the poor were being met in 1988 (the year the data was collected).
This is not a new or emerging crisis, but it is all too-often a silent one.
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