The Role of the Legal Services Corporation in Improving Access to Justice

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Bibliographic Details
Authors and Corporations: Sandman, James J.
In: Daedalus, 148, 2019, 1, p. 113-119
published:
MIT Press - Journals
Media Type: Article, E-Article

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further information
Physical Description: 113-119
ISSN: 0011-5266
1548-6192
DOI: 10.1162/daed_a_00543
published in: Daedalus
Language: English
Subjects:
History and Philosophy of Science
Political Science and International Relations
Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Collection: MIT Press - Journals (CrossRef)
Table of Contents

<jats:p> The Legal Services Corporation is the United States' largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans. The LSC funds legal-aid programs that serve households with annual incomes at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline. Legal-aid clients face a wide variety of civil legal problems: wrongful evictions, mortgage foreclosures, domestic violence, wage theft, child custody and child support issues, and denial of essential benefits. This vital work is badly underfunded. The shortfall between the civil legal needs of low-income Americans and the resources available to address those needs is daunting. Federal funding is necessary because support for civil legal aid varies widely from state to state. The LSC uses the “justice gap” metaphor to describe the shortfall between legal needs and legal services. Narrowing the gap is central to the LSC's mission. </jats:p>