Growing number of Tennesseans don’t have legal aid

The chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court says the economic recession has created a crisis because of a growing number of people needing legal representation but who cannot afford it.
Chief Justice Janice Holder said in a recent report on the state of the judiciary system that there are about 1 million Tennesseans who are eligible for free legal aid, but only 81 federally funded, full-time attorneys to help them.
The problem will only worsen, she said, as the state’s poor face unemployment, predatory loans, uninsured medical bills, evictions and foreclosures.
The state Supreme Court is expected to adopt new policies recommended by the Access to Justice Initiative, which called upon 140 judges, lawyers, teachers and citizens to look for solutions.