MAINE’S NEED FOR INCREASED RESOURCES FOR LEGAL AID

History - Legal Needs in 1990

In its report issued in May 1990, The Maine Commission on Legal Needs found:

Some Comments from the Maine Commission on Legal Needs – 1990 report illustrate how close to the edge many low income people live.  If they had legal assistance, they may have been able to avoid situations which made them more reliant on the state for assistance:

“The people in Washington County do not have money for wood or oil and they do not have any money for legal fees.  They do not know which way to turn…  There are so many different things we cannot help people with….  We do almost 5,000 fuel assistance applications in Washington County per year.  If you get into trouble [with your utilities], sometimes you have to stay that way because there are no answers.” (pg. 34)

“Poor peoples don’t get Food Stamps, general assistance, fuel assistance or anything with out fighting for it.” (pg. 40)

“I haven’t been able to get winterization assistance since 1981…I have to depend on mini-bus, friends, neighbors in order to get to an attorney and I couldn’t afford an attorney.  I am blind and I do receive disability and food stamps but I have not sought and attorney.” (pg. 36)

“If you are a poor person whose spouse may be abusive or….an actual danger to the children…and you have no resources, you have no way of going to court and getting any kind of defense and custody of those children unless you happen to find a volunteer lawyer who is willing to do it.” (pg. 35)

“I was told by my landlord that if I did not come up with the rent, I was going to be evicted.  I am on AFDC and I can’t make it.  I need [legal] help, more help than what I am getting.” (pg. 40)

“I am permanently injured.  A doctor says I’m incapable of work and supporting myself.  In the meantime, I have spent every stitch of money I have saved.  I’ve been served an eviction notice; the phone is about to be shot off; the electricity is next.” (pg. 29)

The report concluded that the number of legal service lawyers working in Maine was woefully inadequate, even with the bar providing pro bono services.  And, even with an increase in pro bono services, the additional cost for more legal service lawyers, with their associated expenses in 1988, was estimated at $12 million/year to fulfill the legal needs of Maine’s poor. Now, more than 15 years later, there has still not been an increase in the number of legal service lawyers, but with inflation the additional cost to meet the need has increased to $18.5 million.

Legal Needs in 2005

If another study of Maine’s legal needs was done in 2005 it would find that with one significant exception, little has changed since the 1990 report:

Maine’s Significant Exception – A Very Supportive Private Bar

Maine’s legal community, through its donation of pro bono hours and its direct contribution of financial resources, provides 40%, or $3.1 million, of the current funding to meet the legal needs of low income Maine people. However, even if every attorney in the state handled three pro bono cases per year, tens of thousands of people needing legal help would still go without service.

Funding for Legal Services is a Good Investment and May Save Dollars in Other Programs

Pulitzer Prize winning author, David Shipler, in his most recent book, The Working Poor: Invisible in America, (2004, Alfred A. Knopf) illustrates how one problem for a poor person can impact others and produce a chain reaction that can plunge that person further into poverty and more dependent on government support to stay afloat:  “A run-down apartment can exacerbate a child’s asthma, which leads to a call for an ambulance, which generates a medical bill that cannot be paid, which ruins a credit record, which hikes the interest rate on an auto loan, which forces the purchase of an unreliable used car, which jeopardizes a mother’s punctuality at work, which limits her promotions and earning capacity, which confines her to poor housing.” (Lisa Brooks, Newport New Hampshire, pg. 26/27)

 Lisa’s story is no different than that of many Maine people living in poverty.  If she, or any of them, had legal help at a critical moment when they needed to challenge a poor housing situation, deal with a credit problem, or even remove themselves from an abusive situation, not only could the quality of their lives be improved, but their dependence on government assistance might also be reduced ultimately costing the state less money.

 Funding Needs

In 1990 Maine’s leaders understood that an additional $12 million should be spent to meet the legal needs of the state’s low income population.  In 2005, with the need for an additional $18.5 million, today’s leaders need to come forward with a down payment and a plan to meet this need to provide full access to legal services for Maine’s most vulnerable populations.  At a time when Maine’s leaders must make some very difficult choices given the state’s budget shortfall, increased funding for legal services should be seen as an investment and a part of the solution to reducing or preventing increased demands, and their related costs, for other types of government assistance.

Summary Chart of Funding for Legal Services¹

1.  Based on current fiscal year figures/estimates from each legal service provider.

2.  Valued at $80/law student; $150/attorney. Pine Tree values all volunteers, including lawyers, at $10/hour.

Maine Legal Services:  Current Funding Including

Value of Pro Bono Services  and

Breakdown of State Support

Prepared by:  Sally Sutton, Executive Coordinator, JAG, December 29, 2004