Ohio Supreme Court chief justice seeks funding for Legal Aid

COLUMBUS — The chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court has asked Ohio lawmakers to reject President Donald Trump's request that they end federal funding for the Legal Services Corporation, the federal agency that funds Legal Aid.Legal Aid provides help in civil cases to people who cannot afford a lawyer, including battered women seeking protection orders and tenants facing eviction. The agency has an office in downtown Sandusky."Providing access to a fair and impartial justice system is a fundamental obligation of government and a fundamental right of all," wrote Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, in a March 31 letter to Ohio's two U.S. senators and 16 U.S. House members. "The defunding of the LSC would deprive the very people most in need of help in gaining access to our justice system."She added, "Equally important, it sends a very dangerous message to the rest of society: That the rule of law is really not all that important, and that you can only get access to the system if you can afford it. Many Ohioans simply cannot."The budget blueprint the Trump administration released a few weeks ago asks Congress to end all funding for the Legal Services Corporation, which provides funding for Legal Aid offices such as the one in Sandusky.The Legal Services Corporation received $385 million in 2016. The president is seeking to raise defense spending by $54 billion and is seeking to cut domestic spending by the same amount.Local Legal Aid officials said in a recent interview that they can only accept about 20 percent of the cases that they are offered.The cases they accept include helping domestic violence victims obtain civil protection orders, helping seniors draw up advance directives for their health care, helping homeowners facing foreclosure and tenants facing eviction, and helping parents obtain education for special needs students or students facing expulsion.In her letter to the Congressional delegation O'Connor wrote that some populations in Ohio would especially be hurt if funding ended for the Legal Services Corporation."Especially vulnerable to the impact of eliminating LSC funding would be Ohioans who live in rural areas that often do not have access to other aid sources, such as pro bono help. These counties simply do not have the lawyer population to close the gap with pro bono assistance," she wrote."Similarly impacted will be the elderly, who comprise a growing sector of the population in need of legal aid services, and veterans who have their own unique needs," she wrote.Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.Maureen O'Connor, chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.