Access to Justice is Lacking Across America

The American legal system is based on a simple concept: that the adversarial process of two sides making their cases through a fair process produces a better understanding of the truth. In civil disputes, that allows the court to render a fair judgment. In criminal proceedings, it provides a way for the accused to defend themselves.

Justice should always be a pursuit of fairness. In many ways, the design of the American system provides the structure to achieve fairer outcomes.

But that opportunity requires access, and while a considerable amount of attention is paid to overwhelmed urban courts, rural Americans often suffer just as poor, if not worse, access to the legal system. It’s a challenge that has real-world impacts, from wrongful convictions and unfair civil judgments to the erosion of many rural Americans’ faith in the justice system.

To have access to the system, those with legal issues need access to counsel. That’s especially true for lower-income Americans, who often require more help to effectively advocate for their side of a dispute. But throughout rural America, capable, affordable counsel is hard to come by. In Yuma, AZ, for example, there’s only one legal aid lawyer. There are three in Ocala, FL, serving 400,000 people.

According to the Legal Services Corporation, 92% of Americans don’t receive adequate help with their legal issues, most of which involve child custody, housing, debt, and access to benefits.

Adequate help also includes access to physical courts. Courthouses play an important role in the system of justice, far beyond simply being the place where cases are heard. Especially for lower income litigants, court staff become a valuable resource in navigating the process, and “days in court” are an important opportunity to spend time in-person with counsel.

In rural America, however, those facilities are quite literally out of reach for many residents. Holding court proceedings virtually has made it easier for some to attend, but a lack of broadband access makes even that option unattainable for many. In large rural counties, it can take over an hour to get to the courthouse by car, and public transportation is often virtually nonexistent. That requires individuals to take time off work to access justice, which isn’t an option for many. The basic tenet of “innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t apply to workers who have to be absent to attend court hearings.

Taken together, rural Americans’ lack of access to legal counsel and court proceedings deprives them of the full benefit of the justice system. This leaves people unable to pursue just compensation when they’re harmed. It makes resolving family issues more challenging. When accused of a crime, they’re unable to defend themselves effectively, excluding them from the right to a fair trial. It’s not hard to see how these injustices would undermine faith in our system of justice.

Granted, real solutions to the physical and technical challenges rural Americans face in accessing lawyers and the courts aren’t easy. But to the extent that these problems persist, our system, which has such potential to administer justice fairly, will continue to fail those who live in rural areas.