Current Events

I am writing about a current event i found in the New York Times on our justice system. When we are accused of committing a crime or brought to court, we are allowed to use public counsel. This is a constitutional obligation. It is also a way for our government to try to strengthen its fight for equal justice for every American. Right now defense offices across the United States have fallen into chaos. With a lack of finance and an increase in caseloads it is hard to serve justice equally to everyone. The civil legal aid system is said to be in the same condition. “Short on resources, local offices supported by the Legal Services Corporation, the federal agency that provides legal assistance for low-income Americans in civil cases, must turn away about half the eligible individuals who contact them for help with life-altering issues such as child custody or saving their homes from foreclosure.”(An Advocate For Equal Justice, NY Times) It is unacceptable for people to not be able to get representation when the constitution guarantees it. Justice looks like it is declining with the economy being in the state that it is in. On the good side Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. hired Laurence Tribe, a Harvard Law School professor and constitutional scholar to help him narrow the gap on the administration of justice. They will be looking for ways to improve indigent legal services. Hopefully they will be able to form some kind of policies or strategies to solve this issue at hand. Everyone deserves to be represented in a court of law and has a right to a fair trial.