Access to Justice and Funding Flashcards
Access to Justice
Where a person cannot get the help they need, they are being denied access to justice. Access to justice involves both an open system of justice and also being able to fund the costs of a case.
Access to Justice - money
The problem of cost remains a major hurdle.
Civil: cases in the High Court can run into £100s, £1,000s. Even in the cheaper County Court, the cost will be more than the amount of money recovered in damages.
Criminal: people’s liberty may be at risk and it is essential that they should be able to defend themselves properly.
Sources of legal advice
A number of different advice schemes are avaliable:
- by telephone,
- by website,
- through face to face advice,
- agencies offer specialist advice on certain topics,
- charities offering advice.
Sources of legal advice - help lines
Civil Legal Advice is a government funded scheme for providing advice. It is possible to get telephone help for problems such as:
- debt
- housing
- domestic abuse
- family issues
- special education needs
- discrimination
From July 2015 - July 2016, nearly 160,000 people rang the service.
Sources of legal advice - Citizens Advice Bureaux
First set up un 1939 and now give advice in over 2,500 locations throughout the county, and a bureau existing in most towns. They give general advice free to anyone on a variety of issues and can advise on legal matters. They can provide information on which local solicitors do legal aid work or give free/cheap initial interviews, Many have arrangements under which solicitor may attend at the bureau to give more qualified advice. It is very important in providing legal advice.
Sources of legal advice - Citizens Advice Bureaux - how many people use it and for what
In 2014-2015 they provided advice to 2.5 million people. 48% were face to face, 45% by telephone and 7% by email or webchat. The main areas they help with are:
- entitlement to benefits
- debt problems
- consumer issues
- housing issues
- employment issues.
Sources of legal advice - law centres
Offer a free, non-means-tested legal service to people in their area. The first centre opened in North Kensington in 1970 and stated its aims as providing:
- a first class solicitor’s service
- an easily accessible service
Aim was to provide legal service in areas with few solicitors. Many of their clients are disadvantaged. In 2016, there were 44 law centres open.
Sources of legal advice - law centres - funding
Always struggled to secure funding. Cuts by local authority in their budgets have meant the withdrawl or reduction of funding from this sorce, meaning in some law centres having to close. They recieve some funding from central government but cuts have also been made into this funding. Some centres have recieved funds from the National Lottery Fund where the law centre is part of a community project.
Sources of legal advice - trade unions
Offer their members free legal advice for all work related problems . Many trade unions also offer free legal advice for other legal problems, even if it is not connected to work.
Sources of legal advice - schemes run by lawyers
Some solicitors offer free half-hour first interviews
Sources of legal advice - schemes run by lawyers - Bar Pro Bono Unit
Since 1996, volunteer barristers staffed the Bar Pro Bono Unit. It gives free advice to those who cannot pay and cannot get legal aid. They will give advice and if needed, represent the client in court proceedings.
Sources of legal advice - advice in criminal cases
Anyone held as a suspect at a police station has the right to free legal advice. There is a duty solicitor scheme avaliable 24hrs a day, which is government funded. In 2016, advice was given to over 650,000 suspects at police stations. The advice can be by teephone or face to face.
Private funding of cases - own funding
Anyone who can pay for a solicitor or barrister to deal with a legal matter.
Private funding of cases - own funding - firms
There are solicitor firms in most towns, often specialised in certain types of law. The bigger firms work in the major cities, often specialising in commercial law and majority of clients are businesses.
Private funding of cases - own funding - cost
Consulting a solicitor can be expensive: average cost outside London is £150/hr, in London: at least £600/hr, or as much as £1000/hr.
Civil issues: possible to consult a barrister first, may be cheaper since barristers have lower business expenses.
Private funding of cases - insurance
Legal insurance can cove funding for a court case. Most motor insurance policies offer cover for help with legal fees and policies for home insurance will cover for any legal claims. Policies purly for insurance against legal costs exist and can be ‘before the event’ (where there is no known legal claim) and also ‘after the event’, which is often used alongside a conditional fee agreement.
Private funding of cases - conditional fee agreements (civil)
One of the main problems of taking a case to court is that it is difficult to estimate how long it will last or how much it will cost. This can be a major problem for those paying out of pocket and the chance that they lose the case and have to pay extra there rides up the costs immensley. In order to overcome these problems, a conditional fee agreement can be used in all civil cases (except family), but not in criminal cases.
Public funding in criminal cases
Since 2013, criminal legal aid services have been under the Legal Aid Agency in the Ministry of Justice. The agency makes contracts with law firms to provide legal services to those charged with criminal offences. Most service providers are solicitors.
Public funding in criminal cases - interests of justice
In order to get representation at court for a criminal case, d has to qualify under the ‘interests of justice’ test, where they can show they come within at least 1 of 5 factors:
1) if they lose the case, the individual would suffer serious damages with their reputations, lose their liberty or livelihood
2) the case will involve consideration of a point of law
3) the individual is unable to understand the proceedings in court or to state their own case
4) the case may involve tracing, interviewing or expert cross-examination of witnesses
5) it is in the interests of another person that the individual be represented
Public funding in criminal cases - Magistrates’ Court means testing
As well as the ‘interests of justice’ test, in the Magistrates’ Court, there is a strict means test, often described as the ‘in or out’ scheme where applicants are either:
- eligible for legal aid (because they pass the initial or full means test) or
- ineligible (they do not pass the intitial or full means test) and are therefore expected to py for legal representation privately.
Public funding in criminal cases - Magistrates’ Court means testing - passing the test for legal aid
Those who are:
- on Income Support
- under the age of 16
- under the age of 18 in full time education
automatically pass the means test. For everyone else, the test starts with a first stage simple means test which is calculated on gross annual income. If too high, d does not qualify for legal aid. If income is below a certain level, they do. Those in the middle bracket are further means tested to calculate their disposable income, and if above the set limit, they will not be able to qualify for legal aid. The levels allowed are very low; about 3/4 of adults do not qualify in the Magistrates’ Court.
Public funding in criminal cases - Crown Court means testing
Main difference from the Magistrates’ Court is that there is no upper limit on disposable income - most ds can recieve legal aid. It is free for those on low income. Those on high incomes must pay towards their legal aid (below £37,500 disposable income). Those whose disposable income is over £37,500 are ineligible and have to pay privately.
Public funding in criminal cases - Crown Court means testing - where d has to pay
Where d has to pay, the higher their income, the higher the contribution they will have to pay towards the case. The max they will have to pay is set up by the type of case. If d is found guilty, they may also have to pay extra from their capital, but if d is found not guilty, any contributions paid will be refunded.
