California Will Pay Lawyers for Poor in Eviction, Custody Cases

Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill to fund public interest groups to provide lawyers for civil litigants in key cases.

The pilot program is the nation’s first to provide representation for people in cases involving eviction, loss of child custody, domestic abuse and neglect of the elderly or disabled, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The project will be funded with a $10 increase in court fees for prevailing parties. The programs will be launched in 2011, according to the Recorder, and will continue until 2017, when they will be evaluated for possible continued funding, the Times says.

In 2006, the ABA adopted policy that supports government-paid lawyers for poor people in civil matters where basic human needs are at stake. Since then, nine states have moved to give limited representation to the poor, but California “will be the first to extend that to a broad array of family law and social justice issues,” the Los Angeles Times says.

Additional coverage:

North County Times: "New law gives poor people right to attorney in civil cases"

Updated on Oct. 26 to link to subsequent North County Times article.