The Atlantic

What Will Happen to Americans Who Can't Afford an Attorney?

President Trump’s budget would eliminate the Legal Services Corporation, which helps low-income individuals obtain representation in civil proceedings.
Source: Andrew Burton / The Atlantic

On the campaign trail, President Trump pledged “to bring hope to every forgotten stretch of this country.” But his new budget has critics questioning whether that pledge can be reconciled with his plan to eliminate the Legal Services Corporation, a move whose impact would be severe for low-income Americans living in impoverished rural and urban communities.

Established by Congress in 1974 as a public nonprofit corporation, it funds more than a hundred civil legal-aid programs throughout the country. In most states, those funds account for between one-third and one-half of the organization’s budget; in some poorer states, like Alabama, LSC provides about 80 percent of the funding.

“If you look at the states that have the lowest ranking when it comes to access to help from a civil legal-aid program, nine out of 10 of them supported Trump,” said Martha Bergmark, a

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic4 min read
Private Equity Has Its Eyes on the Child-Care Industry
Updated at 1:30 p.m. ET on February 22, 2024. Last June, years of organizing in Vermont paid off when the state’s House and Senate passed landmark legislation—overriding a governor’s earlier veto—that invests $125 million a year into its child-care s
The Atlantic5 min readSocial History
The Pro-life Movement’s Not-So-Secret Plan for Trump
Sign up for The Decision, a newsletter featuring our 2024 election coverage. Donald Trump has made no secret of the fact that he regards his party’s position on reproductive rights as a political liability. He blamed the “abortion issue” for his part
The Atlantic4 min readAmerican Government
How Democrats Could Disqualify Trump If the Supreme Court Doesn’t
Near the end of the Supreme Court’s oral arguments about whether Colorado could exclude former President Donald Trump from its ballot as an insurrectionist, the attorney representing voters from the state offered a warning to the justices—one evoking

Related Books & Audiobooks