The Role of Lawyers in Protecting Access to Justice Post-LASPO Essay

Introduction

Life would be very difficult if there were no laws to guide human behavior, however, people are affected by criminal activities and seek legal intervention to get justice. Howard says that this may be elusive if the victim has no resources to finance the legal process since it requires hiring lawyers to represent them ¹. Richardson claims that recent developments have seen this profession threatened by the intended move to stop the provision of legal aid to marginalized groups ³. This paper shows the role of lawyers in protecting access to justice post-LASPO.

Definition

LAPSO (legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offender’s bill 2012) refers to the bill that ensures (LASPO) is a proposed amendment to restructure the provision of legal aid to poor families and ensure offenders are given lenient and proportional punishments for their crimes. Abraham explains that lawyers bridge the gap between courts and civilians by ensuring they communicate different issues that affect clients regarding their cases ⁵. Therefore, lawyers are actively involved in ensuring this bill does not affect access to legal information by poor victims. Cannon and Jackson explain that justice refers to all processes, involved in ensuring criminal activities, are punished and the victims get a reprieve for the offenses committed against them ⁶.

Role of Lawyers in Protecting Access to Justice

Jefferson and Anderson claim that the role of lawyers in a legal institution is to ensure their clients get justice regardless of the time taken to achieve this ⁸. Jetson explains that lawyers protect their clients against unfair trials and argues that these changes will hurt the poor in the community ⁹. The bill will eliminate the possibilities of lawyers, engaging prosecutors to prove the innocence of their clients, therefore, lawyers are opposed to this bill. Angela and Johnston claim that most nations acknowledge that legal aid beneficiaries are amongst the marginalized groups in the society¹⁰. The bill does not recognize this and assumes everybody is able to get legal aid.

However, lawyers claim that not everybody can afford to pay legal fees, therefore, they protect all attempts to deny clients their rights. In addition, Biggs argues that lawyers have advised their professional bodies to reject the bill since it will not only interfere with the rights of the poor but also affect their profession¹¹. Julianne claims that the independent commission of inquiry into legal aid considered the above situations and proposed that, the scrapping of legal aid will devastate poor people in the society, and thus formed alliances to oppose the move ¹².

Newman observed that lawyers are concerned since most people that get legal aid are poor and unable to provide basic needs to their families ¹³. Therefore, they dispute this bill since it violates their right to justice and fair hearings during trials. Kruger underlines the fact that society has discriminated against some members of the community and made their problems worse¹⁴. Candy believes that these groups have suffered various challenges due to economic, social and gender discrimination¹⁵. Leila proposes that lawyers have pushed the government through its legal framework to address the needs of these people and not interfere with their right to get justice through lawyers¹⁶. Markson claims that poor people will suffer most if this proposal is approved ¹⁷. Cornell states that this committee underlined the fact that if this suggestion is adopted, it will contradict the role of the state to care and protect marginalized groups¹⁸. Martins points out that lawyers have been very active in claiming the fact “many of those who receive legal aid are amongst the most vulnerable in society. They include the elderly, the disabled, the abused, children and the mentally ill. They each have legal rights which they would not have been able to enforce without legal aid.”¹⁹.

Secondly, Donovan explains that lawyers aspire to uphold the rule of law and ensure everybody gets a fair share through the justice process ²⁰. Davidson explains that this is the reason the lawyers feel bitter because the proposal will undermine the rule of natural justice and law that is enshrined in the constitution ²¹. Marylyn claims that lawyers have opposed the scrapping of legal aid since this will make it more difficult for poor people to demand their legal rights²².

Meyers observed “there can be no semblance of equality before the law when those who cannot afford to pay a lawyer privately go unrepresented or receive a worse kind of representation than those who can” ²³. Davis adds that lawyers appreciate the importance of legal aid since it helps civilians and advocates to hold the state to account by regulating and correcting the mistakes it commits ²⁴. Nyokabi states that the Justice Select Committee noted “a significant volume of incorrect decision-making for those tasked by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to make decisions about benefits” ²⁵. Dominise noted that lawyers have demanded the removal of this proposal since it will make it impossible for people to get their only way of challenging irregular decisions by the government ²⁶.

In addition, Johnson explains that lawyers have opposed these changes since this will be another way of implementing a false economy that will cause malpractices in this profession²⁷. Patrick supports the Green Paper Cumulative Impact Assessment committee that claimed that there is potential for an increase in resource costs for some departments and if family and civil issues are not resolved properly, people will continue to depend on the state, which may lead to other issues, arising in the process of seeking justice ²⁸. Peterman claims that these issues include housing, health and education and other services provided by local authorities and voluntary organizations.

Scott explained that the state is already experiencing financial challenges due to a number of problems that were yet to be resolved. Francis states that when this department is allocated insufficient funds, it will not function fully since there will be management and logistic challenges that will not be handled properly ²⁹. George points out that lawyers argue the fact that it is prudent to oppose this proposal and ensure people access legal aid as they are used to ³⁰. Casenote claims that layers have expressed their dissatisfaction that the bill will increase government spending and pass the burden to civilians³¹. In addition, Hatchway argues that the proposed changes have not been properly timed since they coincide with crucial changes in other sectors, including the introduction of universal credits, Localism Bill, Green Paper on employment disputes and the replacement of Disability Living Allowance ³².

Conclusion

The LAPSO Bill 2012 has faced a lot of criticism from lawyers that demand the immediate scrapping of this regulation since it violates the rights of poor people to get legal aid, fair hearing during trials, and proportional sentencing. However, their efforts are yet to bear fruits even though they have vowed to continue fighting for the rights of the marginalized groups in society.

References

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