Saving Basic Civil Justice in America

As you may know, the new administration’s proposed budget aims to eliminate all federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation. As in, no funding at all. Zero. Zilch. Nothing.

Why is that a problem?

The LSC is the single-largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans. In other words, if you’re poor and accused of a crime, you’d have access to a lawyer because we fund a public-defense system for that (albeit poorly); but in civil matters, you’d have nothing to help you deal with a legal problem if it weren’t for the LSC and other agencies like it.

Congress created the LSC in 1974 through a bipartisan vote. At the time, President Nixon said it would address “small claims in the Nation’s eye [that] loom large in the hearts and lives of poor Americans.”

Today, the agency funds over 130 nonprofits that handle more than 750,000 cases each year for low-income clients. Overall, it helps nearly two million people per year for less than $1.20 per taxpayer. It keeps families in their homes, finds affordable housing for veterans, protects seniors from predatory scams, and provides lifelines to victims of natural disasters.

Who qualifies for help?

Households who live at or below 125% of the federal poverty line. That’s about $15,000 for an individual or $30,000 for a family of four.

Already, the legal profession is mobilizing in defense. The American Bar Association immediately issued a statement condemning the plan. Even before the administration unveiled it, the leaders of 157 major law firms wrote to explain why the LSC represented the kind of public-private partnership the government should encourage, not eliminate. That was followed last week by a letter to Congress from the deans of 166 law schools, whose clinical programs work with nonprofits that rely on the LSC. And that was followed this week by a letter to Congress from 185 of corporate America’s chief legal officers. For the latest summary of these developments, see here.

Please lend your voice, too. The ABA has set up an easy way to send a message to your members of Congress, and you can find the campaign on Facebook too. Please call on them to fund the LSC responsibly. The ABA will print these messages and hand-deliver them to each member of Congress between April 25 and 27.

Because there’s no justice without access.