Does the high cost of lawyers limit access to justice and fair trials?

[msc545]

Where I live, attorneys and law firms routinely charge $500 an hour and up for the assistance of an attorney. Do you think this tends to have a negative effect on the ability to obtain justice? Further, do you think that courts discriminate against litigants who have no attorney?

Updates

2 mo

So as a corollary question, I know that it is possible to purchase insurance policies or policies of some sort that will pay your legal expenses or give you a discount on legal expenses if you have need of a lawyer. Does anyone know how these things work, and are they worth getting?

[slatyb]

It certainly can in criminal trials, where the alternative is a court-appointed attorney who may not be the best. In civil suits people with no money are generally judgment-proof as they have no assets to garnish to pay a judgment.

[ProbablyClueless]

Absolutely. The cost is so bad that people hear how bad it is and avoid seeking legal counsel as long as possible. It does a huge amount of damage.

[RavVid]

The reality is the legal system is not for the middle class. You have to be very poor or very rich to have a lawyer and go to court.

Also you just don't know enough to be your own lawyer.

[msc545]

Good points

[RavVid]

Thanks but it is not my original thought.

I did try being my own lawyer and yes I didn't know enough. So that is from my own experience.

[msc545]

I did the same thing, and I found out what it's like to lose and lose badly. Never again.

[RavVid]

All I got to do was to piss off the judge and prosecutor. Still at least I made it cost them in some way.

[msc545]

That was a victory of sorts.

[RavVid]

:) What happened in your case?

[msc545]

Lost my daughter. Lost my money.

[RavVid]

Oh no. Damn. That was harsh mate. Are you doing OK?

[msc545]

I am doing okay now. Thanks. I was not doing okay for a period of time.

[RavVid]

Glad to hear you are doing OK though I know a lot who aren't. One friend is very controlled but is very hurt that 3 of his 4 children don't want to see him ever because the ex wife poisoned them against him.

[msc545]

You know, I'm actually more resilient than I would have thought and was able to get over it and move on with my life, but thank you for being concerned. I appreciate that.

[RavVid]

Good that you are resilient and all the best.

[msc545]

Thank you. It really helps to have the support of my friends such as you.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

500$ ? That seems huge but I don't know what you can do with 500 USD anyway, I have no reference points. What's the minimum wage in your area?

Anyway, it's a much too complicated topic for me, because your judiciary system must be very different than the one I (barely) know of.

[Staximus]

For sure. This piece of shit that murdered my friend in Montana got off because he had a great lawyer who claimed self-defense, even though the guy wasn’t even allowed to have guns did you pass criminal convictions and he even shot my friend in the back

[Staximus]

Due to past criminal convictions, not did you

[Staximus]

Rich parents and great lawyer

[tiredandgrumpy]

no lawyer is worth the price they charge, they just read other peoples words and use other peoples work to convince you they are smart

[msc545]

They do a lot more than reading other people's words, but yes, they read the law and then they interpret it and predict how it's likely to affect you in a given situation, which is a hell of a lot more than just reading other people's words.

As far as convincing you that they are smart, apparently you've had some bad experiences with lawyers, and I'm sorry for that. Just because of that, there is no evidence that lawyers attempt to convince you that they are smart. The fact of the matter is these are generally smart people anyway.

Do you know what? The next time you get in some trouble, either financial or criminal, go ahead and be your own lawyer and see how well it doesn't turn out. At least it won't cost you anything except the huge fine that is likely to be imposed on you or the financial loss that you will suffer.

[MisterWack]

It strengthens lack of accountability for the rich and suppresses the poor.

[NathanDavis]

the judicial system is so deeply flawed that, most of the time... this is less of a worry

[LC75LC71]

Not entirely. I've seen public defenders lawyer their skills up for those they ether believed were truly innocent of the charges or were trying to get their name out there..

[alice55]

Definitely poor people stand no chance

[robocop666]

thats a job I wanna have. good pay.

[888theGreat]

in some cases

[beefcakebradybatson]

YA THINK?