An Introduction to the Utah Appellate Courts’ Pilot Pro Bono Program

• Jurisdiction: Utah,United States
• Citation: Vol. 37 No. 1 Pg. 14
• Publication year: 2024
• Pages: 14

An Introduction to the Utah Appellate Courts’ Pilot Pro Bono Program Vol. 37 No. 1 Pg. 14 Utah Bar Journal January 2024

January 2024

Article

By Nick Stiles

Legal Services Corporation's most recent Justice Gap Survey reported that 74% of low-income American households experienced at least one civil legal issue in the last year. The most common areas of legal needs are consumer issues, healthcare issues, and issues relating to income maintenance. Utah is not immune from this statistic, and organizations like the Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake City, Utah Legal Services, and the Utah State Bar's Access to Justice Office are working tirelessly to assist our community members facing these challenges. The assistance, however, often does not extend to issues that make their way to the appellate courts.

Recognizing an absence of services at the appellate level, a growing number of federal and state courts have created appellate pro bono programs. A full list of programs and information about the various models can be found in the ABA's Manual for Pro Bono Appeals Programs. Am. Bar Assoc. Jud. Div. Council of App. Laws., Manual on Pro Bono Appeals Programs for State Court Appeals (3d. ed. 2022), available at...