Page 26 - Delaware Lawyer - Summer 2019

FEATURE
James Teufel
and William Pelletiers
Nilda Reed doubles as a staff assistant and interpreter at Community Legal Aid Society.
The Problem
Lower-income
Delawareans face high
barriers to access,
affordability
The United States has three significant deficits with regard to rule of law: discrimination in criminal justice, discrimination in civil justice, and access to and affordability of civil justice.
24 DELAWARE LAWYER SUMMER 2019
Racial discrimination in criminal justice has been well-documented.1 Matthew Desmond’s research on evictions has
highlighted racial inequities in the civil justice system.2 Since 2016, the United States’ country rank has fallen from 94th to 99th out of 126 countries in access to and affordability of civil justice, in a five- way tie with Mozambique, Tanzania, Uz- bekistan and Zambia. During that time, the United States also fell behind Afghan- istan in access and affordability.3
Delaware was 15th among 50 states in the 2016 United States Justice Index rankings on access to justice. In specific categories, Delaware ranked 14th in at- torney access for those in poverty; 24th in support for self-represented litigants; 12th in support for people with limited English proficiency; and 32nd in support for those with disabilities.4 Delaware is above average within the United States in access to justice, but the United States is
well below average within the world in ac- cess to justice.
Prevalence of and Attributions for Civil Justice Issues
Most low-income households in the United States report experiencing at least one civil justice issue in the last year. American Bar Association and Legal Services Corporation surveys suggests that these needs are growing – from 50 percent in 1992 to 71 percent in 2017.5 State-based studies support that the num- ber of civil legal issues impacting low- income households in the U.S. may have potentially tripled since 2003.6 Recent community studies found that the preva- lence of low income households with at least one civil justice issue in the last 18 months was approximately 80%.7 Despite the high prevalence and rising incidence of issues, fewer than 15 percent of all peo- ple receive adequate legal representation. A recent evaluation of civil justice needs
With Civil Justice