ONLY 28 PERCENT OF CALIFORNIA'S POOR HAVE ACCESS TO JUSTICE

MEDIA CONTACT:  Jack Londen, 415-2687415 or Judge Laurie Zelon, 213-974-6047   

San Francisco, November 20, 2002 — Nearly one and a half million poor families in California do not have access to justice when their rights to employment, housing, health care, transportation or other basic human needs are denied, according to a report issued today.

"The Path to Justice: A Five-Year Status Report on Access to Justice," prepared by the California Access to Justice Commission, also found that only one lawyer is available for every 10,000 poor Californians, leaving the state lagging far behind comparable states when it comes to providing access to justice for poor people.

The situation is so dire, the report found, that only 28 percent of the civil legal needs of the state's poor and low-income residents are being met.

"As a practical matter, in most cases there can be no access to justice without access to legal assistance," said Jack Londen, past chair of the Access to Justice Commission and a partner in the San Francisco firm of Morrison & Foerster.

"Whether we like it or not, sometimes landlords illegally evict tenants, children with disabilities are denied proper care, veterans don't get services guaranteed to them, and elderly people need legal assistance to escape the abuse of a caregiver."

"As Chief Justice Ronald George has observed, Californians cannot allow 'and justice for all' to become 'and justice for those who can afford it,'" added State Bar President James Herman. "I never tire of pointing out the generosity of California lawyers. But these numbers cry out for more funding and greater commitment to pro bono work by our lawyers."

In 1997 the governor, attorney general and legislature joined forces with the judiciary and State Bar as well as business, labor and community groups to create the California Access to Justice Commission to grapple with the issue of meeting the legal needs of all Californians.

The state's Equal Access Fund, which has allocated $10 million annually to the 100 legal services programs in California since 1999, has increased funding for civil legal services for the poor and chipped away at the gap between need and services.

However, the new report found that the state would need to triple its combined public and private investment in legal services to close the gap.

In addition, low interest rates, higher unemployment and an economic downturn are exacerbating the problem. And the current government investment still amounts to only $13.20 worth of legal services for each of California's poorest people.

States like Minnesota and New Jersey spend three times that amount per poor person, Connecticut and Massachusetts more than twice as much, and countries including England, Canada, Australia, Scotland, New Zealand and Hong Kong spend anywhere from two to 14 times more proportionally than California, despite the fact that California is the 6th largest economy in the world.

Despite the gloomy portrait it paints of California's poor, the report outlines some gains in the past five years:

• The Equal Access Fund has provided $40 million for legal services programs, placing California among the 40 state governments which fund legal aid;
• Self-help centers have been created in every county; and
• A more cost-effective system of delivering legal services through cutting-edge computer and internet technology and other strategies has been developed.

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