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Bypassing Civil Gideon: A Legislative Proposal, Erin B. Corcoran
Bypassing Civil Gideon: A Legislative Proposal, Erin B. Corcoran
Law Faculty Scholarship
Eighty-four percent of immigrants appearing before immigration judges are unrepresented. Immigration judges are overwhelmed with the dual role of adjudicating cases and serving as counsel to pro se individuals appearing before them. In addition, due to the rising costs of retaining a lawyer, immigrants are turning to immigrant consultants. These incompetent and unscrupulous individuals are preying on vulnerable immigrants and engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. In addressing unmet legal needs for immigrants, most advocacy efforts for immigrants regarding the acquisition of competent representation focus on persuading the courts that immigrants appearing before an immigration judge have a constitutional …
Triaging Appointed-Counsel Funding And Pro Se Access To Justice, Benjamin H. Barton, Stephanos Bibas
Triaging Appointed-Counsel Funding And Pro Se Access To Justice, Benjamin H. Barton, Stephanos Bibas
All Faculty Scholarship
For decades, scholars and advocates have lauded Gideon’s guarantee of appointed counsel in criminal cases and sought to extend it into a civil-Gideon right in a range of civil cases. This past Term, the Supreme Court disappointed the civil-Gideon movement in Turner v. Rogers, unanimously rejecting an across-the-board right to counsel while encouraging reforms to make courts more accessible to pro se litigants. Turner is mostly right, we argue, because funding limitations require reserving counsel mostly for criminal cases, where they are needed most. For the first time, the Court recognized that lawyers can make cases not only slower and …