Posted on 09/30/2009 12:34:21 PM PDT by mainestategop
Nearly a million poor people continue to be denied representation in the nation’s courts because legal aid clinics lack sufficient financing, a federally supported legal agency reported Tuesday. “There still exists a substantial justice gap in this country,” said Helaine M. Barnett, president of the nonprofit agency, the Legal Services Corporation, which receives appropriations from Congress to support more than 900 legal aid offices for low-income clients in civil cases across the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Meeting the needs of those currently turned away would require a doubling of federal aid, with commensurate increases from states and private groups, Ms. Barnett said, along with an increase in the contribution of free services from lawyers in private practice.
Really? I mean How much does this cost? aren't all lawyers obliged to offer their services?
Legal Aid has been focusing on helping illegals and stuff lately.
Their budget has not gone down as far as I know.
Defendants have the right to a free lawyer. Not plaintiffs and not in civil courts. Thats what Legal Aid does, I think.
Isn’t taking cases on a pro-bono basis a requirement of the bar?
It's unfair that in the US, the poor cannot access the critical levels of American jurisprudence. All their rights descend from their access to the law. All their protections are locked out by high costs.
WHY IS AMERICA SO BLIND TO JUSTICE FOR THE LEAST OF US?
/ SARCASM
Obama’s fault. If he’d cut taxes like any sane person would have done, there would not have been such pressure for states to reduce the tax burden.
Why don’t more lawyers step up to the plate and offer their services to the poor at no cost, just like how many doctors do now.
I don’t know. How often would they have to do that?
When is the gub’mint going to start carrying my car insurance and homeowner’s policy?
I know, let’s TAX Tort Lawyers to pay for Legal Aid.
I take it you think this is funny? Do you think its going to be funny when the left starts violating YOUR rights and you have no money? This is very important. The poor are entitled to equal protection under law. When that does not happen, we have a tyranny.
Soak the rich lawyers.
Social justice and economic justice are not about seeing everyone treated equally. They are about putting certain individuals on a pedastal and making excuses.
The wise latina has said that justice should not be blind and should choose sides with those who’ve been historically victimized.
I actually wrote about this awhile back on my blog. Federal legal Aid was actually using taxpayer funds to support left wing causes. When Chaim Ben Pesach was on trial, he got a lawyer from these people. He mentioned that these people were bolshevik commies. They must have been so red that even Stalin would be mortified.
Can we soak the ACLU?
Just think of what an advantage this is to Barack and the Democrats. On the one hand they are championing the little guy but in reality they are very happy.
So you favor slavery then? Forcing certain individuals to work for the benefit of others with no compensation is not right, not matter how unpopular their DC lobby group.
gosh, isn’t that a shame?
i wonder how many working americans cannot afford adequate legal representation?
Lets, have ACORN, SEIU, NAACP, ACLU and Michael Moore give 90% of their capitalist income for this worthy cause.
But even when the persecuted defendants win, the prosecutors are not sent to jail for the abuse of power and waste of taxpayer money.
The music and intertainment industry does this all the time. They call them unpaid interns.
Um, no, I just wanted to correct the impression that lawyers have any such requirement, and to point out that the libs would never force one of their favored constituencies to provide anything for free or even limit their fees.
Understood. I knew I personalized it too quickly. I should’ve just left that first sentence out. My apologies for taking a swipe atchya!
Well, I don’t get any legal aid. I have to pay for my lawyers, but then again, I’m a white guy. I guess blacks are helpless and couldn’t get a lawyer unless someone gave them one, at least that what always needing to give them free stuff says about them.
Let me explain to you how “pro bono” work and the Legal Services Corporation work.
Leftist lawyers volunteer to do pro bono work for poor or indigent clients; also for organizations.
Yet, they still bill someone ... they bill LSC. Not for their full $500 per hour but maybe for $250/hour. And, they do get paid.
So these lib lawyers are never really “volunteering” their time. Their client gets the legal support for free. And we taxpayers get billed. And LSC is only too happy to throw their Gov’t funds at leftist causes.
I learned this back in 1995 when Gingrich et. al. took back the Congress. I was steamed to learn that “pro bono” wasn’t really free service. And that there had been a long-standing conspiracy between Democrats in Congress, leftist lawyers, leftist advocacy groups, and the LSC to use taxpayer money to fund lawsuits against the Government and corporations for their favorite causes.
I recall Gingrich talking about “defunding the left.” You should have heard the hue and cry from these libs, about losing their rice bowls.
It never happened.
I also hear that AmeriCorps pays “volunteers” too
Thank you for the clarification. I am sure there are some lawyers which truly do pro bono work, without us paying for it. But it sounds like most do not.
I think even the local county lawyers doing routine work for the indigent “pro bono” are allowed to submit invoices for payment to state and local governments, at reduced rates.
I know of someone who had his birth certificate taken from him by the portland PD and that they also threatened to arrest him for false charges. He can't get legal aid there because Pine tree is booked and the MCLU is as well. And now this situation with cuts to legal aid.
Imagine having your property and assets forcibly confiscated by the government. Imagine not having a lawyer to defend you.
Imagine being put before an involuntary commitment hearing for anti government disorder. Who will defend you.
Imagine the police arresting you for peacefully protesting Obama and though not charged your rights and perhaps money and belongings are confiscated. What are you going to do?
This is being deliberately done by the liberals. They are paving way for a police state.
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