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Why We Need a Right to Counsel in Civil Matters Where Basic Human Needs Are at Stake

  • 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
  • By: St. John's University School of Law, Public Interest Center
  • St. John's University School of Law
Topics:
  • Bar Association
  • Seminar
  • Law School

2013 is the 50th Anniversary of the US Supreme Court's decision in Gideon v. Wainright, in which the Court established the right to representation by an attorney, at government expense, for people who cannot afford to pay for counsel. The court found
that it was an "obvious truth" that a criminal defendant cannot have a fair trial unless counsel is appointed. Find out why it is an equally obvious truth that there should be a right to counsel for low-income people who face court cases that may result in
orders evicting them from their homes, denying them custody of their children and affecting other basic human needs.

In addition to the broad program, our local program will include:
Following the broadcast, Professor Ann Goldweber of the Consumer Justice for the Elderly: Litigation Clinic and Donna Dougherty, Attorney-in-Charge and Dianne O. Woodburn, Senior Staff Attorney, JASA/Legal Services for the Elderly in Queens will invite participants to discuss Civil Gideon and ideas for expanding the availability of legal services for poor people. They will share their perspectives on the crucial role legal services lawyers have in protecting housing and other essential needs of vulnerable persons, including elderly, low-income clients.

Sponsored by the New York State Bar Association and the following law schools: Albany Law School, Brooklyn Law School, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Columbia University School of Law, Cornell Law School, CUNY Law School, Fordham University School of Law, Hofstra University School of Law, New York Law School, New York University School of Law, Pace University School of Law, Rutgers School of Law, St. John's University School of Law, Seton Hall University School of Law, Syracuse University College of Law, Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, University at Buffalo Law School, Yale Law School.