,,iv #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #ifj ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #h1 #bjbj,mr4 ,kennedy 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,brooks of ,indiana1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,mrs4 ,dingell1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,ms4 ,omar1 ,mr4 ,raskin1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,serrano1 ,mr4 ,upton1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,ms4 ,kuster of ,new ,hampshire1 and ,mr4 ,nadler7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,,resolution ,recognizing the right to counsel in civil proceedings4 ,whereas the justice system in the ,united ,states depends on fair and equal access to the courts as a fundamental right in a democratic society2 ,whereas the first line of the ,united ,states ,constitution identifies establish ,justice as a purpose of the ,constitution2 ,whereas1 in criminal proceedings involving imprisonment1 the ,united ,states ,constitution guarantees a lawyer for anyone unable to afford one in order to ensure fairness and equal treatment2 ,whereas engraved in stone above the entrance to the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court reads ,equal ,justice ,under ,law2 ,whereas ,chief ,justice of the ,supreme ,court of ,texas and president of the ,conference of ,chief ,justices ,nathan ,hecht has said justice for only those who can afford it is neither justice for all nor justice at all2 ,whereas civil proceedings often determine issues involving basic human needs1 including shelter1 custody of children1 safety from abuse1 health1 and sustenance2 ,whereas the ,american ,bar ,association1 which is the largest voluntary association of legal professionals in the world1 has long urged the ,federal ,government and ,state and territorial governments to provide legal counsel as a matter of right at public expense to low-income individuals in adversarial proceedings involving basic human needs1 including shelter1 sustenance1 safety1 health1 and child custody1 as determined by each jurisdiction2 ,whereas individuals without lawyers face difficult and often insurmountable barriers to obtaining justice in the courts2 ,whereas courts attempting to provide justice to individuals without lawyers often cannot obtain vital information necessary for making fully informed decisions on the merits2 ,whereas the #bjag ,justice ,gap ,report published by the federally funded ,legal ,services ,corporation found that at least #ga percent of low-income households experience a civil legal problem1 including problems regarding domestic violence1 veterans' benefits1 disability access1 evictions1 housing conditions1 and health care2 ,whereas the #bjag ,justice ,gap ,report found that low-income individuals in the ,united ,states received inadequate or no legal help for #hf percent of their civil legal problems2 ,whereas millions of individuals in the ,united ,states cannot afford to hire a lawyer1 including approximately #id1jjj1jjj individuals with family incomes below #bjj percent of the ,federal poverty guidelines 7as defined by the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services72 ,whereas assistance programs support less than #a civil legal aid attorney per #aj1jjj individuals with an income under #bjj percent of the ,federal poverty guidelines2 ,whereas countless studies have shown that programs that provide attorneys to low-income individuals produce fairer outcomes1 promote public confidence in the justice system1 facilitate greater judicial efficiency1 and save taxpayer dollars2 ,whereas a #bjae report titled ,the ,landscape of ,civil ,litigation in ,state ,courts published by the ,national ,center for ,state ,courts found that only #bf percent of defendants have an attorney2 ,whereas the ,conference of ,chief ,justices and the ,conference of ,state ,court ,administrators resolved in #bjae to support the aspirational goal of #ajj percent access to effective assistance for essential civil legal needs2 ,whereas self-represented litigants face significantly worse outcomes in court1 including that-- 7#a7 in ,montgomery ,county1 ,maryland1 domestic violence victims without lawyers are almost three times more likely than those with lawyers to drop their cases before obtaining final protection2 7#b7 in ,maricopa ,county1 ,arizona1 judges take1 on average1 less than a minute to hear eviction proceedings involving unrepresented tenants1 with judgments overwhelmingly favoring landlords2 7#c7 in ,wisconsin1 ,social ,security ,disability claimants with representation succeed up to #gj percent of the time while unrepresented claimants succeed only #cj to #ee percent of the time2 and 7#d7 nationwide1 only #ad percent of defendants in debt collection proceedings have attorneys 7compared with #ii percent of plaintiffs7 and defendants with an attorney are significantly more likely to prevail 7including #aj times more likely to prevail in ,virginia72 ,whereas investing in civil legal aid provides enormous cost savings to ,states1 including that-- 7#a7 in #bjaf1 ,florida saved #fj1djj1jjj by providing civil legal services1 including #b1ijj1jjj in avoided costs of emergency shelter1 #ej1fjj1jjj in avoided foreclosure costs1 and #f1ijj1jjj in avoided costs associated with domestic violence2 7#b7 for every #a spent on civil legal aid for housing cases in ,massachusetts in #bjad the ,commonwealth saved #b4fi on other services1 including emergency shelter1 health care1 foster care1 and law enforcement1 and by providing legal services to survivors of domestic violence1 ,massachusetts saved #b for each #a spent that year2 7#c7 in #bjaa1 a #ec1fjj1jjj investment in civil legal services in ,pennsylvania created #b1fdc jobs and yielded #eid1jjj1jjj in income and cost savings for residents1 including a #be1jjj1jjj savings in emergency shelter costs and an influx of #aah1jjj1jjj in ,social ,security benefits for low-income residents2 and 7#d7 in #bjjh1 civil legal aid in ,missouri helped #acj low-income families avoid homelessness1 saving the ,state #a1ejj1jjj in emergency shelter costs1 and that aid provided representation in domestic violence proceedings that saved the ,state #b1bjj1jjj in avoided costs1 including costs relating to medical care for injuries1 police resources1 and counseling for affected children2 ,whereas every ,state has enacted legislation to guarantee counsel for some types of civil proceedings1 most commonly child welfare and mental health proceedings1 but the reach of these laws is very limited2 ,whereas a few ,states1 counties1 and cities throughout the ,united ,states have sought to address unmet civil legal needs by guaranteeing attorneys for individuals who cannot afford them in proceedings affecting basic human needs1 including that-- 7#a7 since #aige1 the ,state of ,new ,york has provided a right to appointed counsel for individuals living below #bej percent of the ,federal poverty guidelines in critical family law proceedings1 including proceedings related to adoption1 child custody1 and domestic violence2 7#b7 since #bjji1 ,california has funded the provision of attorneys in several counties for individuals living below #bjj percent of the ,federal poverty guidelines in proceedings involving basic human needs1 including housing and family law proceedings2 7#c7 since #bjjh1 ,wyoming has provided a right to appointed counsel for unrepresented individuals subject to civil commitment proceedings for mental illness2 7#d7 in #bjag1 ,new ,york ,city enacted legislation to provide a right to counsel by #bjbb for all tenants subject to eviction who are living at or below #bjj percent of the ,federal poverty guidelines and appropriated funds to guarantee1 in some areas of the city1 the provision of full legal assistance to income-eligible tenants and brief consultation services to all other tenants2 7#e7 in #bjag and #bjah1 the ,district of ,columbia and ,newark1 ,new ,jersey1 respectively1 began appropriating funding to provide legal counsel in eviction proceedings for individuals who live below #bjj percent of the ,federal poverty guidelines1 with ,newark1 ,new ,jersey providing legal counsel as a matter of right2 7#f7 in #bjah1 the ,san ,francisco ,mayor's ,office of ,housing and ,community ,development began providing #e1hjj1jjj to #aj nonprofit law firms to implement the voter-approved ballot measure to guarantee representation for all tenants facing eviction in the city2 7#g7 in #bjai1 ,los ,angeles ,county1 ,california1 provided funding for pilot projects to provide legal assistance in eviction proceedings for individuals living below #hj percent of the median income in rent-burdened ,,zip ,codes2 7#h7 in #bjai1 the ,cleveland ,city ,council established a right to legal services provided through city-funded legal aid programs for all tenants in eviction proceedings who have children and live at or below #ajj percent of the ,federal poverty guidelines2 and 7#i7 in #bjai1 the ,philadelphia ,city ,council established a right to legal services provided through city-funded legal aid programs for all tenants in eviction proceedings who live at or below #bjj percent of the ,federal poverty guidelines2 ,whereas access to free legal representation has successfully helped low-income individuals in the ,united ,states preserve the necessities of life1 including that-- 7#a7 in ,new ,york ,city1 during the first year of a city-funded program to provide counsel in eviction proceedings1 #hd percent of the tenants who received a lawyer remained in their homes 7#ba1iee individuals in #g1hdg households72 and 7#b7 during the first #e years of ,california's ,sargent ,shriver ,civil ,counsel ,act1 adopted in #bjji1 #aj pilot projects served nearly #bg1jjj individuals in proceedings involving the loss of their homes1 child custody disputes1 or the urgent need for a family guardianship or conservatorship1 with housing services alone affecting over #gc1jjj household members2 and ,whereas the unprecedented health and economic crises caused by the ,,covid-#ai pandemic are compounding and intensifying the legal needs of low-income individuals1 including that-- 7#a7 millions more individuals and families will become eligible for legal assistance through legal aid programs due to lost jobs1 furloughed employees1 and medical debt2 7#b7 more than #cj1jjj1jjj individuals filed for unemployment benefits during the period beginning on ,march #ae1 #bjbj1 and ending on ,april #be1 #bjbj2 7#c7 millions of individuals are unable to make rent or mortgage payments and are at risk of1 or are facing1 eviction or foreclosure proceedings2 7#d7 according to an analysis of over #ac1jjj1jjj housing units nationwide conducted by the ,national ,multifamily ,housing ,council1 #ca percent of tenants failed to pay rent during the first #e days of ,april #bjbj1 compared with #ah percent of tenants who failed to pay rent during the same period in #bjai2 7#e7 according to a survey completed in ,st4 ,louis1 ,missouri1 #de percent of renters do not have enough money in savings to pay rent for even a single month2 7#f7 police departments across the ,united ,states are seeing dramatic increases in reports of domestic violence while1 as of ,april #aj1 #bjbj1 over #ij percent of individuals are subject to stay-at-home orders2 and 7#g7 a survey of the requests for legal assistance received by ,legal ,services ,corporation grantees during the last two weeks of ,march #bjbj1 compared with the requests received during the same time period in #bjai1 showed that-- 7,a7 ,legal ,services of ,vermont had a #ej-percent increase in requests for legal assistance2 7,b7 ,legal ,aid of ,arkansas had a #ac4b-percent increase in overall requests for legal assistance and a #ej-percent increase in requests for housing-related cases2 and 7,c7 ,montana ,legal ,services had a #cj-percent increase in demand for legal aid1 with most cases involving evictions1 domestic violence1 consumer debt1 and unemployment benefits3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,house of ,representatives finds that-- 7#a7 the lack of counsel for low-income individuals in civil proceedings diminishes the justice system in the ,united ,states2 7#b7 to effectively and efficiently address the national crisis described in paragraph 7#a71 there must be a right to counsel in the civil justice system for cases involving basic human needs1 including health1 safety1 family1 shelter1 or sustenance2 and 7#c7 the ,federal ,government shares the burden with1 and should support1 ,state and local efforts to guarantee the right to counsel in the civil justice system and reduce the justice gap by providing counsel in appropriate civil proceedings without cost for low-income individuals4