In Civil Society, Poor Have Measure of Justice

Cyrus Dugger

In Civil Society, Poor Have Measure of Justice

In civil society, poor have measure of justice
RUBÉN ROSARIO

"A"And justice for all.'' The last three words in the Pledge of Allegiance are seared into our memories from childhood. I still know the pledge by heart. Sounds great. Wish it were true.

Consider this, gleaned from a Minnesota State Bar Association report:

One megapower Wall Street law firm that represents just a handful of corporate clients annually rakes in more than four times the total budget Congress sets aside to fund legal services to the nation's poor.

The firm earned $1.4 billion, compared to $300 million in federal funds to provide legal representation to poor and low-income civil litigants.

The scales of civil justice are in need of serious recalibration, which is partly the reason the so-called "Civil Gideon'' movement is slowly starting to take root in this country.

Gideon is the name of the plaintiff in the landmark 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling more than 40 years ago that guarantees a constitutional right to a lawyer, particularly for poor and low-income people accused of crimes.

There is no such guarantee in civil cases. But a call for such a measure is now starting to percolate in the nation's legal and judiciary communities.

This "movement'' remains strictly at the discussion stage here in Minnesota. But California recently approved a measure to provide legal representation to poor civil litigants in three counties as part of a legislatively approved pilot project. (keep reading)

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Posted at 9:24 AM, Mar 21, 2007 in
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The legal community has been trying to apply Civil Gideon to poverty law; it is NOT about the right to counsel for the poor. It is about the right to counsel in civil litigation for EVERYONE. The ruling of Gideon v. Wainwright didn't limit right to counsel in a criminal case to poor, or unpopular defendants. It ensured right to counsel. Period. The legal community seeks to apply Civil Gideon to poverty law, when in fact it applies to every citizen in this country to receive equal justice by the courts, and this includes acceptance by the courts of those who must or who choose to represent themselves as pro se litigants.

The national exposure of the corruption of the Administration is only a very small reflection of what is happening in the courts and legal community throughout this country. Accountability of the judiciary and the legal community, and fair and equitable application of the laws as written by legislators, without being redefined and reinterpretated by self-serving attorneys and judges is another requirement of the true Civil Gideon.

Without accountability, and without equal treatment for all litigants, regarless of financial or social position, there is no justice in this country.

I'm surprised that Americans so willingly accept that they are equated with the Fascist system of government of Germany in the WWII years. The behavior of the courts and legal system in this country is one method used extensively by that regime as well.