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**Who Is Enforcing Civil Rights inArkansas: Is There a Need for a State Civil Rights Agency?**

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**Chapter 4**

**Where toTurn for Legal Assistance**

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Duringthe course of the Advisory Committee�s study of the need for a state civilrights agency in Arkansas, issues surfaced regarding citizens� lack ofinformation on where to turn for legal services and repeated reports that therewere only a few attorneys in the state willing to accept civil rights cases. Inthe absence of appropriate state civil rights laws, citizens are either left topursue a federal investigation or seek an attorney to file a civil rights casein the courts, assuming the plaintiff can afford an attorney.[1]

According to Phillip Kaplan,attorneys are very selective in accepting such cases because they are timeconsuming, expensive, and hard to win.[2]He stated:

> 
[T]hefact is that you�re not going to get that many lawyers to handle [civil rightscases]. It just isn�t going to happen . . . I�ve watched the development ofa number of lawyers who handle these cases with dexterity and ability, and therejust aren�t that many. . . . Moreover, it is too difficult to make a living. .. . Most lawyers going to law school are not interested in handling this kind oflitigation because it takes significant start-up money. . . . Those [attorneys]who handle them are exceedingly selective about the cases they handle becausethey are so hard to win. . . .[3]

Judge Wendell L. Griffen said good civil rights attorneys have courageand integrity:

> 
Civilrights law is not for the faint-hearted or the ignorant. While a lawyer may bevery able and informed in the area of municipal finance or tax law, civilrights litigation is very much a specialty unto itself. You�re going to haveto have somebody who can walk the walk. Anybody who has a law degree butdoesn�t particularly believe in the notion of civil rights should not considersuch a profession.[4]

Carolyn Wagner, a parent who needed a civil rights attorney to representher son in a sexual harassment case based on his sexual orientation, alsocomplained that it is almost impossible to get an attorney to representcomplainants.[5]Mrs. Wagner said, after many attempts, she finally found an attorney torepresent her son, but he soon retired from practicing law before the complaintwas resolved. Since that time, all her legal representation has come from out ofstate.

Jim Moore, an attorney whorepresents employers, on the other hand, believes there is a sufficient numberof attorneys in Arkansas who are willing to accept civil rights cases.[6] According to Mr. Moore,there is a sizable group of skilled and aggressive lawyers who practice civilrights law in Arkansas. Mr. Moore also provided the Advisory Committee a list of48 attorneys in Arkansas who litigate civil rights cases (see appendix C). Hestated:

> 
There isa Civil Rights Bar in Arkansas and there are many fine plaintiff civil rightsattorneys in the Little Rock area [where most practice] . . . and there areothers now throughout the state.[7]

[1]    Arkansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights,    fact-finding meeting, Little Rock, AR, Sept. 23�24, 1998, transcript    (hereafter cited as *Transcript*); Phillip Kaplan, *Transcript*,    vol. 1, pp. 58�59; Carolyn Wagner, *Transcript*,    vol. 1, p. 246; Bill Lewellen, *Transcript*,    vol. 2, pp. 332�34, 340�41; Dale Charles, *Transcript*    vol. 2, pp. 360�61; Candance Odom, interview, Aug. 27, 1998.

[2]    Phillip Kaplan, *Transcript*, vol.    1, pp. 58�59.

[3]    Ibid.

[4]    Wendell L. Griffen, *Transcript*,    vol. 2, p. 348.

[5]    Carolyn Wagner, *Transcript*, vol.    1, p. 246.

[6]    Jim Moore, *Transcript,*vol. 1, pp.    179, 183�84.

[7]    Ibid., pp. 183�84.