By Tom Solberg, Media Relations Coordinator, State Bar of Wisconsin
Aug. 2, 2010 – A new commission met last week to develop plans to help address the unmet legal needs of more than 500,000 Wisconsin residents who face serious civil legal problems without the assistance of an attorney.
The Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission board convened in Stevens Point July 27 to explore ways to overcome roadblocks encountered on a daily basis by low-income Wisconsin residents coping with consumer, housing, public benefit, domestic and other civil legal issues.
“Every day Wisconsin residents who face complex legal problems are forced to go at it alone, in court, before government agencies, or in negotiations with their adversaries,” explained commission member Marsha Mansfield. “For these people, one of the fundamental promises of our democracy – equal justice before the law – is unfulfilled, because they cannot afford the professional legal help they need, and they cannot effectively represent themselves.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court created the commission in June 2009 in response to a petition filed by the State Bar of Wisconsin. The court directed the commission “to develop and encourage means of expanding access to the civil justice system for unrepresented low income Wisconsin residents.”
Mansfield explained that although Wisconsin has a network of independent legal aid programs that serve low-income people in need of legal help in communities across the state, it lacks the resources to serve up to 80 percent of the eligible clients who seek assistance.
These and other findings were documented in “Bridging the Justice Gap: Wisconsin’s Unmet Legal Needs,” a report issued by the State Bar in March 2007.
Other key findings in that report include:
- Overall, 45 percent of the low-income households surveyed (more than 500,000 people) experienced an average of two civil legal problems;
- Among the poorest families surveyed, the level of need was even higher, with 48 percent of those in the lowest income group encountering an average of two civil legal problems;
- Nearly 32 percent of rural households reported a civil legal need;
- Nearly two-thirds of the low-income households who proceeded without legal representation in court or at an administrative hearing faced opposing parties represented by counsel.
This problem is not limited to Wisconsin households. A report – “Survey of Judges on the Impact of the Economic Downturn on Representation in the Courts” – released earlier this month by the American Bar Association Coalition for Justice, revealed that judges nationwide are seeing growing numbers of pro se (self-represented) parties appearing in their courtrooms as the recession continues to take its toll on household budgets.
A majority of the responding judges also said that both the parties representing themselves and the courts were negatively impacted by this trend.
One of the goals of the new Wisconsin commission is to reduce this burden by encouraging a more coordinated approach to meeting the needs of low income litigants, thereby maximizing limited legal assistance options for individuals who lack sufficient resources to retain counsel.
These strategies could, for example, include sharing limited resources on a regional basis, collaborating with other community-based agencies and expanding the use of internet, video, and other electronic technologies.
Other key Access to Justice Commission goals include: educating the public about the growing challenge Wisconsin faces in meeting the legal needs of low-income persons; increasing funding for civil legal assistance; coordinating support for self-represented litigants; and improving access for people with limited English fluency.
The Access to Justice Commission is a non-profit Section 501 (c)(3) corporation created with financial and staffing support provided by the State Bar, which has set aside up to $300,000 for at least the first three years of the commission’s operation. The commission’s activities are directed by the 17-member board that met in Stevens Point.
