Justice for all is America’s essence. The more justice we do, the more “American” we become. Conversely, our known and willful failure to do justice is the very antithesis of America. It rips the heart and soul out of all that America is, and all it ever hoped to be. Such injustice mocks lady liberty, turning her instead into a statue of shame, for freedom means nothing without justice. Indeed, for those who lack access to justice, there is no freedom.
“Pursuing Justice in the 21srt Century” is therefore the perfect theme for this year’s outstanding Kentucky Bar Association Convention being held this week in Lexington. Too many Americans cannot afford access to justice and the system is failing them. 80% of the legal needs for working poor Americans are unfulfilled. And while we pride ourselves on what we believe is the world’s leading judicial system we must bear in mind these humbling statistics: we spend less than one fifth on legal aid to the poor than New Zealand and less than one half of what Britain spends. Worse, in the 2010 Rule of Law index the United States was dead last among developed nations in regards to access to legal justice.
Kentuckians can take some solace that for once we are actually ahead of many states. We mandate court-appointed attorneys for indigent parents in Termination of Parental Rights and DNA (Dependency, Neglect and Abuse) cases. But across our great land aggrieved citizens whose basic rights are threatened stand no chance in a legal system that demands competent representation for they simply cannot afford to hire a lawyer. Homes are lost, families destroyed, and what little safety net remains gets shredded, all because we failed to live up to our heartfelt motto of “justice for all.”
The fix is to more fully fund legal aid for certain civil proceedings—those involving basic human needs—for those who are truly indigent. Locally, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John D. Minton, Jr. formed the Kentucky Access to Justice Commission to engage the delivery of legal aid to low income citizens. Hopefully, the legislature can be persuaded to allot funding to this critical need.
California leads the nation in this regard. Even though it is among the most cash-strapped states in the union they figured out that funding indigent access in civil cases actually saved the state money. Proper representation can prevent homelessness, lower domestic violence, protect children and prevent medical crises, all of which end up costing the state much more in the long term.
Better access to justice is affordable, it is moral, it is Constitutional and it is time. The sacred screeds of Deuteronomy ring as fresh and true for us today as it did for the ancient Hebrews then: “Justice, justice shall you pursue.”
Richard F. Dawahare 6/16/11
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