| HeadLines |
Current Foreclosure Crisis Affects Arkansans
By Gina Cothern
 The ongoing mortgage foreclosure crisis is affecting thousands of Arkansans. Mortgage foreclosures are widespread in lower-income city neighborhoods and in Arkansas’ rural communities. Legal services providers are overwhelmed with the number of requests for assistance they receive. In many cases, only 40% of clients qualify for participation in their lender’s limited loss-mitigation program, so the majority of clients end up losing their homes.
Low-income and limited-income citizens are getting further and further behind due to circumstances beyond their control. Factors such as
... (read full story)
 Justice for All: Civil Gideon By Eric Wolff, San Diego CityBeat
Alone at the table in the San Diego family law courtroom, 5-foot-tall Arella’s words seemed swallowed by the high ceilings and wood-paneled walls. She looks down at the paperwork in front of her as she nearly whispers her answers to Judge Patricia Garcia’s questions. Arella filed the appropriate response form, but she included almost no documentary evidence to support her claims or to defend herself against the arguments of her ex-husband, Tom, who says he shouldn’t have to pay alimony any more....
| “If you’re looking at a few days in jail, you get a right to a lawyer,” said Clare Pastore, a law professor at the University of Southern California ... “But if you might lose your kids, or your house, or get deported, you get nothing.” |
Defendant rights are taken so seriously in criminal proceedings that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1963’s Gideon v. Wainwright that it would be a violation of the 14th Amendment to leave a criminal defendant without a lawyer...but in civil court, “defendants” are called “respondents.” Except in a few cases, no one gets a free attorney. The standard of proof is lower... (read full story)
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| LEGAL AID SUCCESS STORIES |
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LEGAL AID HELPS VETERANS
A legal aid attorney was able to assist a 68-year-old veteran with a debt for medical bills for which he should not have been charged. In March of 2006 he had a heart attack and went to the Baxter County Hospital for emergency assistance. The hospital did not notify the VA to find out if the VA had a bed for him. The Baxter County Hospital checked him in and he was subsequently charged for the hospital stay and doctor bills. The client did not know what to do because he thought his medical care was free because he was a veteran. His account went into collection and the Baxter County Hospital obtained a default judgment against him. He then went to his DHS caseworker who referred him to legal services. The legal aid attorney was able to get the $2,247.00 bill written off for the client.
- LEGAL AID HELPS LOW-INCOME TENANTS
A legal aid attorney helped a low-income tenant retain her home. The burglar alarm at the apartment complex where she lived sounded over the weekend and despite the tenant’s calls for assistance, the housing authority did not shut it off until the following Monday at noon; a period of 48 hours. The tenant was understandably upset and complained to apartment management. After her complaint, the housing authority started eviction proceedings against her. The tenant filed a grievance and a hearing was set. A legal aid attorney was able to attend the hearing, stop the eviction, and have the client’s lease reinstated.
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| Did You Know? |
In October, the Arkansas legal services providers received 2,048 calls from low-income Arkansans seeking assistance. Due to federal restrictions and lack of funding, the providers cannot help all those in need. Volunteer to be a pro bono attorney or make a donation.
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“Equal justice under law is not just a caption on the façade
of the Supreme Court building. It is perhaps the most inspiring ideal of our
society
. . . It is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability,
without regard to economic status.” - Justice Lewis Powell
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