A hearing Friday evening before the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, created by the state Supreme Court, showed that most residents at or below the poverty level are shut out of the civil legal system. The Gulfport hearing was the first planned for each of Mississippi's congressional districts.
The hearings are designed to gather statistics and information that show the need for change, Supreme Court Justice Jess Dickinson told the audience.
"It's at crisis proportions in our Chancery Court," said Judge Margaret Alfonso, who said poor parents are without representation when the courts decide whether their children should be removed from the home because abuse or neglect has been alleged.
Although legal issues have grown more complex, federal funding for legal services has decreased. The Mississippi Center for Legal Services received $7 million in 1995 but only $5 million last year. A staff of 31 attorneys serves 82 counties.
One suggestion was a better system of coordinating free, or pro bono, work offered by private attorneys. Mississippi attorneys are now asked to offer 20 pro bono hours a year, or contribute $200 toward legal services. Publicizing contact numbers for legal resources also was discussed. Participants said access to the courts also could be improved by simplifying some procedures so non-lawyers could handle them.
The poor in Mississippi have for too long been denied legal services and this attemot should go further, but it is a start to change the fact that justice in the state is a bit one sided.
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