The editorial board of the New Jersey Law Journal has lauded as a "step in the right direction" the Civil Access to Justice Act of 2009, S-718 , recently introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin. It would restore Legal Services Corporation funding to 1981 levels: $750 million in 2009 dollars.
The Board observed that "Legal Services was born in the War on Poverty as the Office of Economic Opportunity. It irked many with its early projects challenging Federal and especially state laws and practices that affect the poor, the disabled, military families, and others served by the program. Mobilization for Youth Legal Services (MFY) and California Rural Legal Assistance were emblems of the aggressive legal services litigation that engendered resistance."
Congressional opponents not only cut federal funding for Legal Services, the Board observed They also imposed "practice restrictions — barring class actions, and barring Legal Services-funded agencies from collecting counsel fees — even when fee-shifting statutes warranted an award."
"One of the first programs -Mobilization for Youth (MFY) in New York City - brought the landmark case Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254 (1970), in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that a state could not terminate "public assistance payments to a particular recipient without affording him the opportunity for an evidentiary hearing prior to termination." The concept of fair hearings is now commonplace, and millions of Americans continue to benefit from this decision.
Twenty years later, MFY prevailed in New York v. Sullivan, 906 F.2d 910 (2d Cir. 1990), a class action that successfully challenged procedures of the Social Security Administration for evaluating cardiovascular disabilities, the board noted.
Nine years ago MFY gave up federal funding to avoid practice restrictions that would have prevented it from again bringing New York v. Sullivan . Few local legal aid organizations have such an option. All are laboring under severe economic constraints, exacerbated as one of their primary sources of funding — interest on lawyers' trust accounts — has collapsed with the real estate and credit markets."
The Harkin measure, which has 15 senate co-sponsors has been referred the the Health EducationLabor andPensions Committee. For the text and current status of S 718 check out Open Congress here.
Although the omnibus appropriations bill signed by President Obama on March 11 gave Legal Services a $40 million increase, the programs remain hobbled by the collapse of the housing markets - and interest rates- an ironic result of the Fed's efforts to stabilize the financial system. Legal Services agencies have depended heavily on interest on lawyers' trust accounts. The courts collect the interest on lawyers trust accoount balances during the brief period between deposit and disbursement of routine transations like house closings.
To learn about the work of Legal Services go to the website of LSC - the national legal services corporation.
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