Bridging the Justice Gap with Jazz4Justice
Monica never thought she’d need a lawyer. She worked hard, paid her bills on time, and took care of her two kids. But when her landlord decided to sell the building, he told her she had to leave within two weeks, ignoring the fact that she had a valid lease with six months left on it. When she refused, he shut off her heat and water, hoping to force her out.
Monica knew something wasn’t right, but when she called the police, they told her it was a "civil matter." Her landlord kept pushing her out by sending threatening letters and even changing the locks while she was at work.
Without legal help, Monica and her children were forced out of their home. What her landlord did was illegal, but he got away with it because Monica couldn’t afford an attorney to fight back.
This is the Justice Gap—the widening divide between those who need legal help and those who can actually afford it. The 2022 Justice Gap Report, published by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), sheds light on just how vast this problem has become.
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What is the Justice Gap?
It all begins with an idea.Eighty Six percent (86%) of low income Americans who have civil legal problems receive inadequate or no legal help. Seventy One percent (71%) of low-income households experienced at least one civil or legal problem in the last year. (Source: 2017 Justice Gap Report). This discrepancy between legal representation for civil cases and the need for legal services for low-income individuals is known as the “Justice Gap.”