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64 Wash. St. B. News 24 (2010)
Civil Legal Representation and Access to Justice in Washington - An Invitation to an Important Conversation

handle is hein.barjournals/wasbn0064 and id is 94 raw text is: Civil Legal Representation and Access to Sashington - An Invitation to an Important Conversation BY DEAN KELLYE Y. TESTY You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court oflaw. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. hese are familiar words; a refrain many people recognize, if not from a difficult personal experience, then from its too-common invocation in television and movies. Despite its familiarity - perhaps even because of it - the scope of its application is widely misunderstood. Many non-lawyers do not understand that the right to an attorney extends only to criminal matters. Currently, there are few civil proceedings in which indigent litigants have the assistance of counsel provided by public funding. That is so even for civil matters with enormously serious consequences. For instance, ten- ants face represented landlords in eviction proceedings, survivors of domestic violence face their represented abusers in custody battles, and homeowners facing foreclosure must navigate its complex processes (and the myriad of bank, collection agency, and mortgage company attorneys) without the benefit of counsel. A national discussion on expanding the right to counsel for indigent persons to civil cases has emerged under the leadership of the American Bar Association as part of its mis- sion of expanding access to justice. In 2006, the ABA House of Delegates unanimously passed a resolution urging local, state, and national governments to recognize such a right in civil proceedings where basic human needs are at stake:' including safety, health, sustenance, shelter, and child custody.1 Both the Washington State Bar Association 24 Washington State Bar News February 2010

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