Changes in Support for Civil Legal Services: a Crisis in the Making
| Publication year | 1996 |
| Pages | 49 |
| Citation | Vol. 25 No. 11 Pg. 49 |
1996, November, Pg. 49. Changes in Support for Civil Legal Services: A Crisis in the Making
This article is the first of several that will comprise a new bimonthly department in The Colorado Lawyer. These articles will cover the changes occurring in programs providing legal services to the poor. A government based on laws necessitates access by its citizens to the civil legal system. The profession's aspiration to fill this need through pro bono services was and is inadequate.
In response to this gap between obligation and service, federal support of civil legal services to the poor developed in the mid-1960s. Federal financial support for legal services comes through the Legal Services Corporation ("LSC"), which was created by Congress in 1974. LSC is the national organization that receives and distributes federal legal services funding.
This article discusses the changes in support for legal services and provides background on legal services programs and organizations in Colorado.
In 1995, an attack on federal support for civil legal services was mounted. Congress initially called for eliminating its support of civil legal services through a three-year phase-out of funding, culminating in elimination of all federal support in 1998. The effort to eliminate all federal funding for legal services has been successfully resisted by those in Congress who support reduced funding rather than its total elimination. Congress did in fact reduce federal funding by one-third and added significant restrictions to representation by programs accepting federal support.
The restrictions imposed by Congress on recipients of federal funds include the following:
--- prohibit whole ranges of legal activity such as participation in class actions and limit legislative and administrative advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels.
--- prohibit fund recipients from bringing lawsuits in specific legal areas such as redistricting, welfare reform, and abortion.
--- prohibit the representation of certain categories of people such as prisoners and undocumented aliens.
--- prohibit fund recipients from requesting certain remedies in litigation such as attorney fees.
However, the most damaging restriction and...
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