View our archives of President's Page columns. The first duty of Society to the poor is not to give them charity but to secure them justice. I t is a fundamental tenet of our democracy that all persons should be afforded access to justice.
Meaningful access requires the availability of legal assistance.
Providing that assistance is a shared responsibility of government and lawyers. In Minnesota, over 640,000 people, or 14.5 percent of the population, are considered too poor to pay for legal services. Some are elderly, mentally impaired, physically disabled, immigrants, migrant workers, farm families, homeless, abused, minorities, or children. Their critical needs include shelter, food, health care, protection from abuse, and public services. Legal services are provided to the disadvantaged by civil legal aid programs and volunteer lawyers.