Vol. 28, No. 6 #10 (December 2005). Wyoming: The Equality State?.

• Author: A Call for Increased Accessibility to the Legal System Among the State's Underserved Populations

Wyoming Bar Journal

2005.

Vol. 28, No. 6 #10 (December 2005).

Wyoming: The Equality State?

WYOMING LAWYER December 2005/Vol. XXVIII, No. 6 Wyoming: The Equality State? A Call for Increased Accessibility to the Legal System Among the State's Underserved Populations

By Adrian H. Molina The people of Wyoming pride themselves on the state's motto - "The Equality State" - which was adopted by the state because of the rights Wyoming women have historically enjoyed. Wyoming women were the first in the nation to vote, serve on juries and hold public office.(fn1) The question today is; have we as a state lived up to our challenging motto?

It is indisputable that notions such as fairness, justice, equality, and the right to the pursuit of happiness are deeply engrained in our national culture and state culture, and in our political discourse. Consider the second provision of Wyoming's Constitution: "In their inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, all members of the human race are equal."(fn2)

Because of the appeals made to such notions two centuries ago by the Protestant European males who founded this nation, and thereafter throughout the nation's history by people of color, women, the indigent poor, immigrants, and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community who have challenged America to live up to these ideals, we have become accustomed to the loose use of the terms "equality" and "justice."

Quite often, we discuss equality and justice without considering the significance and the critical implications of these terms. Those of us in the legal community do it daily, as our working reality concerns the business of equality and justice, regardless of whether we take time to consider what that may actually mean with respect to our ethical duties and obligations as professionals.

From the onset, any discussion pertaining to equality begs the question: What is equality? In what context are we discussing equality? Are we talking about equality of outcome or equality of opportunity? Are we discussing political, economic, social, or cultural equality, or some other brand of equality that is not so frequently debated?

While this discussion could take multiple directions in consideration of whether Wyoming has in fact lived up to its motto, the scope of this article will be narrowed to considering accessibility to the state's legal system among the state's underserved populations, particularly the indigent, victims of domestic violence, and the state's immigrant population. For if equality means "rights, treatment, quantity, or value equal to all others in a given group,"(fn3) how can equality exist at all when individuals do not even have access to the system that promises it? In a society in which it is so expensive to seek out justice and equality, accessibility to the legal system should invariably be a starting point in our discussions on equality, regardless of whether we are

speaking of equality of outcome, equality of opportunity, or any other issue relevant to the ideals we profess to uphold.

Let's focus on the accessibility of Wyoming's legal system because, as lawyers, judges, politicians, law students, and other professionals who influence the state's legal system, we not only have the ability, but the duty, to work to increase access to the state's legal system among those who are underserved.

The state of accessibility among Wyoming's underserved populations

The American Bar Association asserts that "Today, despite the combined efforts of LSC-[Legal Services Corporation] funded programs, private attorneys and bar associations, more than 80 percent of the basic civil legal needs of the poor are not being met."(fn4) While the LSC received half the funding it did in 1980, the number of people living in poverty increased by 5.74% between 1990 to 2000, leaving 43 million Americans financially eligible for federally funded legal assistance based on income guidelines of 125% or below the federal poverty level.(fn5)

Despite the small and spacious population of Wyoming, the demand for publicly funded legal assistance among Wyomingites is no different than that of the citizens of other states. In Wyoming, there are only two providers of civil legal aid to the poor: Wyoming Legal Services, Inc. (WLS) and the U.W. College of Law Legal Services Program (UWLSP), both having income guidelines of 125% or below the federal poverty level.(fn6) About 75,000 Wyomingites meet this requirement.(fn7)

Unfortunately, while many Wyomingites, particularly victims of domestic...