Legal Services: Last Line of Defense - NJ Lawyer Editorial Board

I noted with alarm that the Republican Study Committee - representing two-thirds of that party’s Members of Congress - declared in the Spending Reduction Act of 2011 that they would eliminate federal funding of the Legal Services Corporation, whichis now $420 million/year. I understand that in negotiations extreme demands are made which one expects will be compromised. But on this item compromise is not called for: the proposal should be abandoned entirely. Fortunately the New Jersey Law Journal Editorial Board has added its voice. - GWC

Editorial:  Legal Services: Last Line of Defense  

New Jersey Law Journal

Copyright 2011 ALM Media, LLC.  Further reproduction without permission prohibited.

February 04, 2011

Rule of Professional Conduct 6.1 expresses the commitment of our Supreme Court and the profession to providing legal services at reduced or no fee to persons of limited means and to support organizations that provide such services. The federal government is compelled by the Sixth Amendment to provide competent counsel to criminal defendants. A "civil Gideon" movement has urged expansion of civil legal services to the poor.

Few have expressed that commitment more poignantly than the leader of the federal War on Poverty, R. Sargent Shriver, who passed away last month. In 1967, the director of the Office of Economic Opportunity optimistically addressed students at his alma mater, Yale Law School:

"This summer, more than 800 law students will volunteer their time to bring justice to the poor. They will be using the law as a social invention, not as a social prevention. Nothing like this was happening 20 or 30 years ago. I was in law school — here at Yale — and I know. In those days, no one was tougher or more grasping than the average law student. He was a young man on the rise, eager to go up the ladder two rungs at a time. But today, something has changed — 800 of these students are going into the slums for the summer or will be traveling the circuit in rural areas. These young law students are renegades from Easy Street. They don't care about how much money they make, but how much justice they can bring."

The movement that Shriver celebrated and supported with War on Poverty dollars was institutionalized in the Legal Services Corporation and its local affiliates. Federal funding and funding through the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts program have been essential to supporting legal services. Unfortunately, the plunge in the real estate market has devastated Legal Services of New Jersey funding. In calendar year 2009, it received $8,085,228, compared to $25,718,614 in 2008 and $40,226,156 in 2007.

The statewide legal services system — consisting of LSNJ and six regional programs, serving all 21 counties through 23 offices — opened more than 69,000 cases in 2009, of which 1,700 were handled by volunteer attorneys. LSNJ reports that of the cases closed in 2009, 28 percent were housing cases, primarily tenant matters. Family law (divorce, separation, support and custody) accounted for 22 percent, while consumer law (bankruptcy, collection, warranties, unfair sales practices and disputes with public utilities) and income maintenance matters (Social Security, SSI, food stamps) accounted for 18 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

Just a couple of months ago, relying on an LSNJ report on irregularities in residential mortgage foreclosures, the state Supreme Court took various actions to make certain that foreclosure proceedings are adequately supported by knowledgeable affiants.

We believe that legal services carry on an important role and were therefore alarmed to hear of a proposal to eliminate all of its federal funding. We strongly oppose it.

The continued existence of a free and democratic society depends upon recognition of the concept that justice is based upon the rule of law grounded in respect for the dignity of the individual and the capacity of the individual through reason for enlightened self-government. The public will not respect that if they cannot access the levers of the law.

The need of members of the public for legal assistance is met only if they recognize their legal problems, appreciate the importance of seeking assistance, and are able to obtain the services of acceptable legal counsel. For that, legal services play a key role. However pressing disorder in our fiscal house may be, it is critical that we not back away from this historic commitment to a program that is already deeply wounded by economic forces beyond its control.