News Story (Washington)
Jordan Schrader
Olympian (WA)
November 18, 2015
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Tags: Justice for All, Legal Needs
Organizations mentioned/involved: Equal Justice Coalition (EJC) (Washington State), Northwest Justice Project (NJP) (WA)
DETAILS
Civil legal-aid lawyers are helping Nisbet, but say their numbers are not nearly enough to represent everyone trying to deal with legal problems.
***
Medical bills, debt collection, credit access and other woes pile up for the poor, according to the survey commissioned by the state Supreme Court and conducted by Washington State University.
An advocacy group for civil legal aid, the Equal Justice Coalition, says the state would need to add 124 more state-funded civil legal aid lawyers to the 107 on the job now to meet what the group said are nationally recognized standards for access to legal aid.
That would cost more than $15 million a year at a time when the Supreme Court demands more money for schools, so lawmakers may look for other solutions.