Pro-Con : Should Legal Aid Funds Be Cut?
PACE LOU CARTER, Northridge
NO: ‘I Shudder to Think Where I’d Have Ended Up’
I am 62 and legally blind. The first time I went to Legal Aid for help was nine years ago when the building that I was living in had been condemned by the city building and safety department and the landlord slapped me with a three-day eviction notice. I am handicapped and I had been living in there for 10 years. It would have been impossible for me to relocate in such short notice.
I had heard of Legal Aid so I went there for help and it turned out that I was supposed to have 30 days to move out. But because of my willingness to fight the eviction, I was blacklisted. I was put on the U.D. Registry [a tenant’s screening agency that provides reports about tenants and eviction cases to landlords] and that prevented me from finding a new place to live. I found out this had happened to other people so we filed [a class action] suit.
It is my understanding that that is the kind of thing would not happen if these cuts are made. Going to Legal Aid is the court of last resort for the poor. If I had not had those people to go to I shudder to think where I would have ended up.
I think that the federal government should aid the poor and the disabled to better their situation. They shouldn’t pay for legal services for everyone, but they should look after the poor who are cheated or mistreated by business. It is government’s role to make sure the government itself doesn’t trample on people and they should make laws to make sure the poor and the weak are not swallowed by the system.
I don’t know what percentage of private attorneys do pro bono work. But how quickly is that help available for situations like mine where I had the three day notice? If I had called an attorney, do you think he would make room for me, away from paying clients?
JERRY FACTOR, Former president of The Apartment Assn. of Greater Los Angeles, a landlords’ group
YES: ‘There’s a Terrible Abuse of Bankruptcy Laws’
There is a need for both tenants and landlords to have legal assistance. The question is whether the federal government is where it should come from. There is already a considerable apparatus at city and state levels for aiding in landlord-tenant relations.
If we were looking for some way to [replace] federal funds, the places are already there. We have a large housing administration that is concerned with the enforcement of our present rent control laws. Similar organizations exist in most cities.
Generally when there is a landlord-tenant dispute [the perception is that] you have an innocent tenant and an inconsiderate landlord. That is just not always the case. We are now experiencing a terrible abuse of the bankruptcy laws. There are organizations that are advertising for tenants to use the bankruptcy laws to hold the legal process at bay.
The Apartment Assn. has proposed a greater emphasis on mediation. We do what we can when we are called up [by tenants in distress]. But normally a tenant won’t call us. There are mediation organizations that operate pro bono and they would certainly be available to tenants and landlords. It is conceivable that that kind of effort could be emphasized more.
There are also local charitable organizations that support local legal aid organizations. One of the things that may be accomplished with the downsizing of the federal government is that state and local governments may become more creative with their own solutions to local problems.
Owners generally are sympathetic and concerned with the way we appear in the community. We make our living by having good relationships with our tenants.
