Judges, attorneys and advocates for low income Mainers are warning that the state's civil legal aid system is at a "breaking point."
They say only about a third of the people who need it are getting help. And they're asking Maine lawmakers to pass emergency legislation that would invest nearly $16 million in civil legal services over the next two years.
Speaking at a news conference at the State House Thursday, former Maine Supreme Court Justice Ellen Gorman said there's been much attention recently about the need for criminal legal services.
"And we don't dispute that," Gorman said. "But the need for civil legal services is equally important. It is civil cases that allow people to stay in their homes, to acquire support for their children, educational services for their children, services for veterans, protection from persons who are threatening or hurting you."
Annie Segalini, who describes herself as a domestic violence survivor, said the protection she and her children received with the help of a civil aid attorney was lifesaving and transformative during a time when she was facing "relentless physical, emotional, legal, financial and mental torment."
"The financial burdens of legal battles can be almost as crippling as enduring a life in an unsafe home especially for a survivor who were isolated and made financially dependent on their abuser," she said.
Without adequate investment to address those needs, advocates say more Mainers may become homeless, remain in abusive relationships or be exploited in consumer scams.
Civil legal service providers in Maine include Pine Tree Legal Assistance, the Volunteer Lawyers Project, Disability Rights Maine, Maine Equal Justice, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project and Legal Services for Maine Elders.
