Thousands of poor New Jersey residents are being forced to represent themselves in civil cases
Emil Michaels of Freehold successfully defended himself in a case against his landlord. Michaels is pictured outside of the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick.TRENTON — When 40-year-old Barbara Daub was evicted from her studio apartment in Montclair, she didn’t know she could fight her landlady in court until someone at a homeless hotline referred her to an organization offering free legal help to those who can’t afford a lawyer.
Daub, a former nurse who lives on $900 a month in Social Security disability benefits, said at first it sounded like a good idea. That was until she spent a day waiting to talk to someone at Legal Services in Newark, only to be told there weren’t enough lawyers to help her.
She lost her case — and her apartment — and is convinced she could have bought more time if she had been provided with an attorney.
"I had to file the reports, which I didn’t know how to do," Daub said. "How am I supposed to know what you’re supposed to write?"
Thousands of people in Daub’s circumstances — who know little about the complexities of the judicial system — are being forced to represent themselves because of drastic budget cuts at Legal Services of New Jersey.
Neither the state Administrative Office of the Courts nor Legal Services keeps track of the number of people who represent themselves, known as pro se litigants.
But Nancy Manuele, manager of litigant services for the administrative office, said it’s clear the number of people representing themselves is on the rise. In the Special Civil section, where litigants without lawyers routinely go, the overall filings went from 502,199 in 2006 to 609,648 last year, she said.
"The issue is a significant one for us," the acting administrator of the AOC, Glenn Grant, told an Assembly committee.
The pool of available lawyers at Legal Services of New Jersey, which provides attorneys in civil cases for people at or below the poverty level, began to shrink just as the number of cases reached an all-time high.
Over the past three years, nearly 300 of its 703 attorneys have been let go, said Melville D. Miller Jr., president of Legal Services of New Jersey. In 2009, there were a record 69,300 new court cases, he said, noting that last year, when the cuts took hold, the number of new cases dipped to 62,000.
The agency projects an even further drop in new cases this year, to about 55,000. "It’s definitely grim for people who are dealing with courts,’’ Miller said.
Legal Services receives its financing from three sources — the state, the federal government and what is known as Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts — and contributions have plummeted.
In 2008, Legal Services received $40 million from the trust accounts, which are affected by interest rates. With interest rates now near zero, Miller said, the funds dropped to $8 million last year. The state slashed financing from nearly $30 million in 2009 to $9.7 million in 2010.
With the June 30 budget deadline looming, the state Legislature is turning its attention to the problem. The Assembly Budget Committee has held one hearing on the issue, and the Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take it up today.
Susan Feeney, the new president of the New Jersey Bar Association, said finding a steady stream of funding for Legal Services and increasing the number of pro-bono lawyers — "we have an obligation to fill this gap" — is a priority.
"We’ve got to come up with a funding source that is somewhat recession resistant,’" said Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth), a member of the Budget Committee.
Assemblywoman Nellie Pou (D-Passaic) questioned whether increasing the fees for filing court documents would help generate more money for Legal Services. But Grant cautioned that such a move might discourage people from filing valid complaints in court.
"We are hurting the individuals who can least afford to make up those reductions," Pou said. "I’m hoping that between the AOC and members of the Legislature and the administration, we can help to identify possible funding sources or the ability to generate additional revenue so we can provide funding on an on-going basis."
In an effort to fill the gap, Manuele said there are now three centers — in Monmouth, Union and Essex counties — run by the state court system for people who want to defend themselves, and they are always in great demand.
"If we put a service in place and we can’t keep up with the demand, we know we got it right," she said.
Emil Michaels, an anesthesiologist who was sued by his landlord for withholding his rent on an apartment in Edison, found himself in Special Civil Part recently. He said it didn’t make sense to get a lawyer because he would have paid more in attorney’s fees than he could have recovered in a court fight.
It wasn’t an easy time, said Michaels, who lost his case in Superior Court but won on appeal. He said he faced an impatient judge, and then had to write legal briefs for the appeal — still without a lawyer.
In Daub’s case, she said she thinks that having a lawyer would have helped her stay in her former apartment until she found another home. For now, she’s renting a cramped studio in Nutley.
Miller, president of Legal Services, sees the gravity of the situation. "Two out of three people who come to us, we can’t handle," he said.
Previous coverage:
• Legal Services of N.J. fighting to help the poor overcome a growing barrier to justice