Hearing Health and Eviction in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia City Council held a hearing on Monday, March 20, about evictions in Philadelphia, their impact on wellbeing and health, and one possible solution: the right to counsel in housing court.

Blog Post, Op-Ed (Pennsylvania)

Abraham Gutham
Huffington Post
March 24, 2017
READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Tags: Civil Right to Counsel, Housing: Eviction

Organizations mentioned/involved: Community Legal Services (CLS) of Philadelphia


DETAILS

In the United States, every defendant in a criminal case has a right for legal representation, a right-to-counsel. Housing matters, such as eviction are handled through civil courts. As such, as an evicted tenant the right to counsel does not extend to you and the only way to have a lawyer is to pay for one. Both New York City, and Washington, D.C., have taken steps to extend the right-to-counsel to housing cases.