The Law: Who Do the Poor Sue?

That the U.S. poor need legal aid has not been seriously disputed. What no one has been sure of, however, is just what the poor themselves want legal aid for. Do they want to bring suit against slumlords, loan sharks and business cheats? Or do they want better treatment under welfare legislation? In Wisconsin last week after six weeks’ operation of federally financed aid to the poor, the answer seemed to be that they most want to sue each other—for divorce.

Wisconsin’s “Judicare” program was adapted from the system introduced in Britain in 1950. It provides cards for the indigent that entitle them to consult private lawyers at regulated fees of $16 per hour, but not more than $300 per case. Of 86 attorney-client conferences, 57 were concerned with divorce actions. The others dealt with such items as bankruptcies, real estate matters, landlord-tenant problems and support and custody cases.