Legalities

Legalities, a weekly column that appears in the Help section of the Southern Illinoisan, is a free service of the Self Help Legal Center. You can visit the Southern Illinoisan website at: http://www.southernillinoisan.com

Q: I have a lawsuit that I would like to file in civil court but I cannot afford the high retainer fees that attorneys want to charge. I called the free legal assistance office for our area but they cannot help me because they "don't do these kind of cases." I cannot find an attorney to do the case on a contingency basis or pro bono (for free). Finally, I cannot find the forms or the books to do it myself. Isn't there supposed to be "justice for all" in this state or country? Or is justice is only for the rich?

A: There are people who lose in court, or do not even get the opportunity to bring their case to court, simply because they cannot afford the cost of legal assistance. This is not against the current laws of this state or this country.

Whether the law requires "justice for all" depends on what you mean when you use that phrase. If you mean that everyone who cannot afford an attorney should be given an attorney, then no, there is no law that provides such a right. The laws of this country provide that all persons who are faced with a criminal punishment of more than one year in jail must be given the opportunity to have a lawyer if they cannot afford one. There is no such right, however, for civil cases. Legal services offices, law school clinics, pro bono programs, and self help books and projects like the Self Help Legal Center try to help with the need for free civil legal assistance, but these efforts will not reach everyone.

Similar to health care, home repair, or accounting, legal assistance is a service that is bought and sold. Like these other services, unless someone offers the service for free, there will be people in this country who cannot afford the cost and will suffer harm to themselves or their family.

If you mean that everyone who has a meritorious and timely claim should have the right to bring it to court, then yes, this right does exist in this state and in this country. Unfortunately, as you have discovered, without the assistance of an attorney, bringing your own claim to court can be difficult if not impossible. Self help books and centers like our Self Help Legal Center try to help with this problem by providing easy-to-understand forms and instructions on commonly faced legal problems. We do not, however, have forms or instructions for every problem or legal issue. Consequently, while you may have this right, without the instruction or knowledge to use it, in the end, it doesn't really matter if you had it or not.

Do you have a legal question? Write us at Self Help Legal Center, SIU School of Law, Mailcode 6804, Carbondale, Illinois or e-mail us at selfhelp@siu.edu. Not all questions will be answered and may be edited for space or content.

Legalities is written by the Self Help Legal Center, a public service of the SIU School of Law. The Self Help Legal Center cannot provide legal representation. It can, however, help you find the answer to your legal problem. This column is for general legal information purposes only and the advice given in this column may not apply to your situation. For specific legal advice about your situation, you should consult an attorney licensed to practice in Illinois. This column is not meant to give legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.