50 years later after Gideon, inconsistencies diminish the right to counsel

The Plain Dealer published an editorial today titled "50 years later after Gideon, inconsistencies diminish the right to counsel."   Writer Joe Frolik highlights,

"...Then there is the system of civil law, where people can face enormous, life-altering decisions -- eviction, foreclosure, repossession, divorce, child support -- without any right to counsel. Gideon covered only the criminal side of the law, and efforts to establish a civil equivalent have made little headway.

Cleveland's 108-year-old Legal Aid Society, which serves low-income people with civil problems, is considered among the best in the country, and yet it turns away half of those who ask for help. The local bar, with an enviable history of pro bono work, picks up some of the slack, but still many defendants go to court without representation.

Statewide, more than 1.2 million Ohioans live beneath the poverty line. And yet the number of legal aid attorneys available to represent or advise them has fallen by 30 percent since the start of the Great Recession. Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor is preparing to launch a task force to look for ways to improve access to the courts on the civil side..."

Click here to read the full editorial on Cleveland.com.   Or, click here to read a PDF of the article.