If you are accused of a crime, you are entitled to a lawyer, even if you can’t afford one. But in civil cases, — things like evictions, foreclosures, or wrongful denial of government assistance — there is no guarantee of an attorney.
These cases can be nearly impossible to navigate without representation, leaving many low-income people at a disadvantage.
So in many places, legal aid organizations provide free legal representation to low-income people in civil cases.
A new rule under consideration by the Florida Supreme Court would limit the way that legal aid groups can use certain funding, effectively curtailing the ability of legal aid firms to innovate and prepare for the future, according to opponents of the proposal.
