Poor struggle to get legal help
Legal experts say this has created a chasm in the civil legal world where money talks and the poor are left powerless.
A recent study shows a vast majority of Utah's disadvantaged struggle to find legal representation for their problems. On Wednesday the nonprofit group "and Justice for all" unveiled a first-of-its-kind study of the "justice gap" of low-income Utahns. The study determined that 67.5 percent of low-income households in Utah are expected to face a civil legal dispute this year. But 87 percent of low-income households in the study told surveyors that when involved in legal disputes they have been unrepresented by an attorney.
This not only results in confusion and frustration by many facing divorce and child custody disputes, "and Justice for all" board member Jody Burnett told a room full of Utah attorneys Wednesday as the study was presented, but it erodes the public's confidence in the justice system and democracy as a whole.
Armed with a group of 68 volunteers, study coordinators with the help of the sociology department at Portland State University questioned 1,500 Utahns in a variety of disadvantaged demographics, including agriculture workers, domestic violence survivors, the homeless, immigrants and refugees, people with physical and mental disabilities, vulnerable seniors and others.
Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham called the study the most thorough and complete assessment of the legal gap that has ever been done in Utah. It's "an extraordinary piece of work," she said.
People in the study were asked why they did not seek legal assistance. Nearly one-third did not know where to turn for help. More than 22 percent felt it was "too much hassle" and nearly 21 percent feared the cost. Almost 19 percent felt that nothing could be done about it. The report also showed only about 24 percent of low-income households knew about free legal service programs, including three nonprofit programs funded through donations by Utah law firms.
Attorneys with Utah Legal Services, the Disability Law Center and Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake City work to help those who can't afford an attorney to help them with everything from protective orders to insurance claims for the disabled.
Utah Supreme Court Justice Ronald Nehring, who himself worked as a legal aid attorney for a time, said the study communicates the need for legal services for the state's low-income residents and should act as a baseline to make improvements.
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