Kia Franklin

Gov. Spitzer Cares about Civil Justice…

An editorial from today’s New York Times discusses Governor Spitzer’s efforts to “close the justice gap.” By requiring banks to pay competitive interest rates on IOLTA accounts, and by including civil justice money in his executive budget, Gov. Spitzer is helping legal services organizations to meet the needs of their surrounding communities. These efforts will increase legal aid funding by tens of millions of dollars. The editorial reminds us of the need for and benefits of such funding:

Poor people can count on free legal aid in criminal cases, but in civil proceedings — battles with landlords, employers, government bureaucracies — justice costs money, which means lots of people have to do without it…

…The benefits are widespread, since each dollar for legal assistance saves many that would be spent on other social services. People unfairly rejected for Medicaid wind up in emergency rooms. Families that can’t fight unfair evictions end up in homeless shelters. By finally patching the state’s threadbare legal safety net, Mr. Spitzer is doing right by all New Yorkers, poor, rich and in-between. (Read more)

Posted at 5:21 PM, Jun 26, 2007 in Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)