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ABA House of Delegates Unanimously Passes Trio of Civil Legal Aid
Resolutions
NLADA Update
8/28/06 Vol. 8 No 13
August 8 will be remembered as the day that the
American Bar Association (ABA) strongly recommitted itself to the principles of
equal justice for all that stand as the bedrock of this country’s promise of
democracy to each of its citizens. On that date, the ABA’s 532-person House of
Delegates endorsed three resolutions aimed at improving the nation’s system of
providing legal assistance to indigent and disadvantaged people. NLADA
co-sponsored all three of the resolutions. The three
resolutions adopted were: 1) the revised Standards for the Provision of Civil
Legal Aid, 2) a defined right to counsel in certain civil matters where basic
human needs are at stake and 3) ten principles for a state system for the
delivery of civil legal aid. Fittingly, four outstanding bar leaders who
have supported the legal aid movement for more than a quarter century handled
these resolutions before the House. Three of these
equal justice advocates, Mike Greco, Bill Whitehurst and Jon Ross, formed Bar
Leaders for the Preservation of Legal Services to the Poor, an organization
instrumental in moving the ABA to the forefront in the fight in the early 1980s
to preserve LSC in light of efforts by the Reagan Administration, through the
appointment of a generally hostile board, to secure its elimination. In part due
to these efforts, the three of them have assumed the highest leadership roles
within the ABA, with Greco serving as president during the last year, Whitehurst
chairing the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants and Ross
serving as chair of the Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service.
The final
supporter prominently featured before the House of Delegates was Howard Dana, who chaired the Presidential Task Force on Access to
Civil Justice, appointed by President Greco. The Task Force developed the
defined right to counsel and the ten principles resolutions. Dana has long
supported legal aid, both through his long service on the LSC Board and in his
efforts to promote access to justice in his home state of Maine. Whitehurst
presented the resolution revising the Standards for the Provision of Civil Legal
Aid. The Standards were developed through the arduous work of a special Task
Force appointed by Whitehurst. The Task Force was chaired by Sarah
Singleton, former member of SCLAID and current LSC board member. Singleton
deserves the enormous thanks of the legal aid community for her steadfast
leadership in overseeing a process that significantly updated the former
standards, last revised in 1986. The new material provides a wealth of
information and guidance to deal with a legal aid environment that has shifted
enormously during the last 20 years, with an explosion in the use of technology
and limited legal assistance techniques, the much larger size of most legal aid
providers, the tremendous cultural and demographic changes reflected in
providers’ client populations and many other changes affecting legal aid
practice. In a very
unusual move, the House of Delegates adopted not only the black letter
principles incorporating the standards (their usual practice), but also adopted
the extensive commentary that provides extensive practical information and
guidance to providers and practitioners alike around the common issues they
face. Thus the entire package constitutes formal policy of the ABA. Justice Dana
followed by introducing the two resolutions emanating from his Presidential Task
Force. The defined right to counsel resolution proved somewhat controversial,
with the ABA Family Law Section raising objections to the provision defining
child custody as a basic human need suggested to jurisdictions to include in the
right to counsel concept. With Ross leading the behind the scenes discussions,
the Section offered what Dana conceded to be a friendly amendment to the
resolution, noting that the right is to be defined by each state depending on
the law and realities of each particular jurisdiction. That concept was
essentially included in the report of the Task Force accompanying the
resolution. The impact of
this resolution is to put the ABA on record in support of local efforts,
currently underway in at least eight jurisdictions, to establish a defined right
to counsel in adversarial matters in certain civil cases. The resolution defines
the basic human needs the ABA finds compelling for inclusion in such rights as
shelter, sustenance, safety, health and child custody. President
Greco, in another unusual move, spoke passionately on behalf of the resolution,
underscoring the tremendous importance of the issue before the House. Greco
urged the unanimous support of the body, which he duly received. The 10
principles resolution is aimed particularly at emerging access to justice
commissions across the United States. They clearly set out the critical
components of a successful state justice community and commit the resources of
the bar to the development of a strong array of supporters for equal justice in
every state. The following
three resolutions (links below) can also be viewed on the ABA Web site: - Standards
for the Provision of Civil Legal Aid NLADA and the entire legal aid community are greatly pleased with
this extraordinary expression of commitment to equal justice by the American Bar
Association. We note the extraordinary volunteer efforts by the bar leaders who
made these statements possible and applaud the lasting legacy that they have
created. |