Page 11 - Delaware Lawyer - Summer 2019
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   Meghan Crist,
Assistant Public Defender (right), prepares a case.
at a distinct disadvantage: both statistics and experience show that inadequacy (or absence) of representation can often be outcome-determinative. For example, victims of spousal abuse seeking protec- tive orders are less likely to succeed with- out representation.
Thus, the absence of adequate civil le- gal assistance affects the basic quality of life of Delaware’s citizens. It can mean requiring a landlord to provide housing that satisfies the law, or even the differ- ence between staying in one’s home or be- coming homeless. It can be the difference between obtaining a PFA Order against an abuser or remaining vulnerable. The legal protections that many of us take for granted simply do not exist for the large portion of the population that does not have adequate access to the courts due to their economic circumstances.
A report recently commissioned by Delaware’s Combined Campaign for Jus-
A large, professional legal aid corps is necessary to ensure that no citizen is denied the right to equality before the law for lack of funds.
tice (CCJ), the annual fundraising cam- paign for legal services, measuring the economic value of the social return that followed from funding legal services,4 found that the economic return to society far outstripped the cost of providing the services in the first place. The calculated return includes better health outcomes from averting homelessness and the deni- al of services, and economic benefits from averting homelessness and debt relief.
It is easy to see why this is the case — providing a child with decent housing can mean the difference between success and failure in school, which can com- pletely change the trajectory of a life. The ability to obtain what one is legally enti- tled to is necessary to grow and maintain self-sufficiency (meaning less dependence on the state over the long run). By the same token, providing adult citizens with the tools to obtain what they are legally entitled to may mean more education, less unemployment and increased self- sufficiency — all of which decrease state burdens in the long run.
But it isn’t just an economic question — it’s an ethical question of basic justice. We pride ourselves on living in a country where (ideally at least) we are all equal be- fore the law. But equality before the law means little if some have access to legal expertise and others do not — or do not even have the basic tools to make self-rep-
resentation a viable option. The resultant unequal playing field is antithetical to the very idea of justice.
Current Efforts
The current budget for Delaware’s three legal aid agencies is $11 million. The funds are provided by a combination of federal and state funding, interest on client accounts, grants, an annual cam- paign among the legal community and other contributions. Members of the Del- aware bar make greater per capita contri- butions to legal services than do lawyers in any other state. Some members of the bar also give considerable time to repre- senting clients on a pro bono basis.
The Commission has been working to increase the provision of legal services to underserved communities by increasing pro bono assistance, improving tools for self-representation, searching for sources of increased funding and finding effi- ciencies within the legal aid community. Programs to encourage greater pro bono participation and CCJ contributions have been initiated, and centers for assistance with self-representation have been estab- lished. A Four Pillars initiative has been established, emphasizing the importance of every member of the Delaware bar (1) joining the DSBA, (2) contributing to the CCJ, (3) serving the courts and (4) providing pro bono assistance to the poor.
The Need for Greater Bar Participation
The Delaware Bar has been extremely supportive of access for the underserved. A very significant portion of the lawyers participate in pro bono assistance and contribute to the Combined Campaign. These are important aspects of being a member of the profession. It would be better if more lawyers participated, and that is certainly one of the key initiatives of the Commission — finding ways to en- courage greater participation, so that ev- ery member of the bar contributes to the Combined Campaign, and every member provides pro bono service to those who cannot afford it.
For those of you reading this and un-
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