by Michael Strickland
The American people are screaming out saying it's unfair that the wealthiest, the largest corporations who can afford the best attorneys, the best accountants, take advantage of these special tax treatments that the lobbyists have, along with lawmakers, have cooked in the books here. - David Plouffe
Students at the College of Western Idaho now have a resource for legal questions with the addition of a monthly legal clinic at the college, an effort that is spreading across community colleges in Idaho,
according to Kelcie Moseley of the Idaho Press Tribune.
The CWI effort was led by Trustee Guy Hurlbutt. The first session took place this week and will continue every month. About 11 students signed up for the first clinic. and Hurlbutt said he expects the clinic to gain popularity.
“Students tend to have two things: one is legal issues, and two is they tend to have a lack of funding, which makes it difficult to achieve that service sometimes,” Hurlbutt said. “I don’t think CWI is any exception; a lot of students can’t afford to get a lawyer.”
Hurlbutt said about 25 volunteer attorneys responded to the call for CWI’s clinic. Once a month, students will be able to sign up to spend 30 minutes with an attorney between 4 and 8 p.m. on a Thursday.
This searching for help can also go to:
http://www.idaholegalaid.org/
Every year Idaho Legal Aid Services helps thousands of Idahoans with critical legal problems such as escaping domestic violence and sexual assault, protecting abused and neglected children, preserving housing, helping vulnerable seniors and stopping discrimination. Our Indian Law Unit provides legal help focused on Idaho’s Indian Reservations. The Migrant Farmworker Law Unit provides services tailored to the needs of Idaho's migrant population.
Moseley said that the
Idaho Volunteer Lawyers program helps provide attorneys for clinics, and that is work is being done to expand the service to North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene and Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston. Up until now, only the University of Idaho and Boise State University had legal clinic resources for students.
For many people, such assistance is their only access to the system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.