Access to justice

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Access to justice

Deborah L. Rhode

Oxford University Press, 2004

  • : pbk

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-240) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

ISBN 9780195143478

Description

"Equal Justice Under Law." This promise appears on courthouse doors across the land. But it by no means describes what goes on inside them. Equal access to justice is one of America's most proudly proclaimed principles. And one of its most frequently violated. In theory, the United States is deeply committed to individual rights. Yet few Americans can afford the legal representation necessary to exercise them. Only one percent of the nation's lawyers serve our poorest citizens, translating to one lawyer for every 1,400 poor people. The nation with the world's greatest concentration of lawyers has one of the least accessible systems of justice. Written by America's leading expert on legal ethics, Access to Justice vividly chronicles the wide gap between the lofty aspirations and harsh realities of American justice. As Deborah L. Rhode demonstrates, America is overlawyered and underrepresented: there is too much law for those who can afford it and too little for everyone else. Although indigent defendants are entitled to legal representation, what satisfies that standard is an affront to the civilized world, and especially shameful for a nation that considers itself a world leader in human rights. Convictions are regularly upheld when lawyers are asleep, on drugs, mentally incapacitated, or even parking their car during the prosecution's case. The justice system is not only inaccessible for the poor; it is increasingly out of reach for the American middle class as well. Rhode's analysis also includes on the first comprehensive national study of lawyers' charitable pro bono work ever conducted, encompassing some 3,000 attorneys. The average lawyer, she finds, contributes less than half an hour a week and fifty cents a day in support of representation for those who cannot afford it. Access to Justice avoids both simplistic lawyer-bashing and liberal lament. Rhode outlines what could and should be done to curb frivolous litigation, but focuses her attention squarely on the far greater problem of unnecessary expense and unaffordable remedies. A scathing indictment of America's legal status quo, Access to Justice presents no mere manifesto but a reasoned and realistic agenda for lasting reform.

Table of Contents

1: Equal Justice Under Law: The Gap between Principle and Practice 2: Litigation and Its Discontents: Too Much Law for Those Who Can Afford It, Too Little for Everyone Else 3: Historical Perspectives: Legal Rights and Social Wrongs 4: Access to What? Law without Lawyers and New Models of Legal Assistance 5: Locked In and Locked Out: The Legal Needs of Low-Income Communities 6: Presumed Guilty: Class Injustice in Criminal Justice 7: Pro Bono in Principle and in Practice 8: A Roadmap for Reform Notes: Index:
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780195306484

Description

"Equal Justice Under Law" is one of America's most proudly proclaimed and widely violated legal principles. But it comes nowhere close to describing the legal system in practice. Millions of Americans lack any access to justice, let alone equal access. Worse, the increasing centrality of law in American life and its growing complexity has made access to legal assistance critical for all citizens. Yet according to most estimates about four-fifths of the legal needs of the poor, and two- to three-fifths of the needs of middle-income individuals remain unmet. This book reveals the inequities of legal assistance in America, from the lack of access to educational services and health benefits to gross injustices in the criminal defense system. It proposes a specific agenda for change, offering tangible reforms for coordinating comprehensive systems for the delivery of legal services, maximizing individual's opportunities to represent themselves, and making effective legal services more affordable for all Americans who need them.

Table of Contents

  • 1. Equal Justice Under Law: The Gap between Principle and Practice
  • 2. Litigation and Its Discontents: Too Much Law for Those Who Can Afford It, Too Little for Everyone Else
  • 3. Historical Perspectives: Legal Rights and Social Wrongs
  • 4. Access to What? Law without Lawyers and New Models of Legal Assistance
  • 5. Locked In and Locked Out: The Legal Needs of Low-Income Communities
  • 6. Presumed Guilty: Class Injustice in Criminal Justice
  • 7. Pro Bono in Principle and in Practice
  • 8. A Roadmap for Reform

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