Equal Access to Justice: Ensuring Meaningful Access to Counsel in Civil Cases, Including Immigration Proceedings

Only a small fraction of the legal problems experienced by low‐income and poor people living in the United States — less than one in five — are addressed with the assistance of legal representation. Many people who are low‐income and poor in the United States cannot afford legal representation to protect their rights when facing a crisis such as eviction, foreclosure, domestic violence, workplace discrimination, termination of subsistence income or medical assistance, loss of child custody, or deportation. There is no federal constitutional right to counsel in civil cases, including in immigration proceedings. On the contrary, the Supreme Court has created a presumption against appointing counsel in any civil case where physical liberty is not in the balance. In fact, the Court’s decision in Turner v. Rogers refused to find a categorical right to counsel even in some civil cases where lengthy jail sentences are imposed. And despite international consensus to the contrary, the United States Department of Justice participated as amicus in that case to expound on its position that there is no general right to civil counsel. Compounding these problems, the primary mechanism for providing civil legal services to people who are poor and low‐income is both underfunded and severely restricted. The result is a crisis in unmet civil legal needs that disproportionately harms racial and ethnic minorities, women, and immigrants

Human Rights, Social Justice and State Law: A Manual for Creative Lawyering

This manual is written to help lawyers consider the role of transnational law as an interpretive tool in state constitutional and other state law litigation to protect economic and social rights.9 In Chapter I, the manual provides an overview of the relationship between state law and transnational law. In Chapter II, the manual covers key economic and social rights and provides examples of how courts have found those rights to be justiciable in a range of contexts. The principal economic and social rights discussed in Chapter II are: The right to health The right to housing The right to food The right to work The right to education The right to social security In Chapter III, the manual provides strategies for employing transnational law, specifically international human rights and foreign law, in state constitutional and statutory litigation

Equal Access to Justice: Ensuring Meaningful Access to Counsel in Civil Cases, Including Immigration Proceedings

Only a small fraction of the legal problems experienced by low‐income and poor people living in the United States — less than one in five — are addressed with the assistance of legal representation. Many people who are low‐income and poor in the United States cannot afford legal representation to protect their rights when facing a crisis such as eviction, foreclosure, domestic violence, workplace discrimination, termination of subsistence income or medical assistance, loss of child custody, or deportation. There is no federal constitutional right to counsel in civil cases, including in immigration proceedings. On the contrary, the Supreme Court has created a presumption against appointing counsel in any civil case where physical liberty is not in the balance. In fact, the Court’s decision in Turner v. Rogers refused to find a categorical right to counsel even in some civil cases where lengthy jail sentences are imposed. And despite international consensus to the contrary, the United States Department of Justice participated as amicus in that case to expound on its position that there is no general right to civil counsel. Compounding these problems, the primary mechanism for providing civil legal services to people who are poor and low‐income is both underfunded and severely restricted. The result is a crisis in unmet civil legal needs that disproportionately harms racial and ethnic minorities, women, and immigrants

Human Rights, Social Justice and State Law: A Manual for Creative Lawyering

This manual is written to help lawyers consider the role of transnational law as an interpretive tool in state constitutional and other state law litigation to protect economic and social rights.9 In Chapter I, the manual provides an overview of the relationship between state law and transnational law. In Chapter II, the manual covers key economic and social rights and provides examples of how courts have found those rights to be justiciable in a range of contexts. The principal economic and social rights discussed in Chapter II are: The right to health The right to housing The right to food The right to work The right to education The right to social security In Chapter III, the manual provides strategies for employing transnational law, specifically international human rights and foreign law, in state constitutional and statutory litigation