As we mark the 60th anniversary of Gideon v. Wrainwright and the now well-established right to a lawyer in criminal cases, there has been growing attention on creating a similar right for evictions and other serious civil cases.
While legal assistance plays a vital role in these cases too, there are key differences from the criminal side. Rather than everyone getting a lawyer for the whole case regardless of the merits of their position, we should be focused on making sure people have the right amount of legal help necessary to level the playing field in their case.