Tuesday, October 27th 2009
New Law Gives Poor Right to Lawyer in Divorce and Civil Cases
A new law signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger two weeks ago provides poor people embroiled in serious civil cases the right to an attorney. The law, discussed in this article in the San Diego North County Times, is the first of its kind in the nation.
For years, people accused of petty criminal offenses have been entitled to an attorney. That has not been true in civil cases, until now. The new law, a pilot program scheduled to run from July 2011 to June 2017, is an experiment based on giving poor people the right to a lawyer in important, sometimes life-altering cases that play out in the state's civil courtrooms, such as divorce and child custody cases.
Throughout California, over 70 percent of all people involved in a divorce case in California do not have a lawyer. The reason is simple: Cost. This creates what is known as "the justice gap:" The gap between those in need of an lawyer for their divorce, custody or other civil case, and those who can afford one.
The new law does not go into effect until 2011. Both before the new law is effective, and after, there will be many issues to resolve,
At Crider Law, we recognize that legal fees for a divorce or child custody lawyer can be difficult for many clients. Please visit www.criderlaw.net, the website of Crider Law, for more information on California family law and divorce from our Roseville Divorce lawyers.
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