Chief Justice John Roberts and Attorney General Merrick Garland honored legal aid lawyers on Tuesday, stressing that more effort is needed to ensure equal access to the legal system.
Both men spoke to a large audience in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a nonprofit organization established and funded by Congress to provide civil legal assistance to low-income Americans.
“Achieving equality under the law is still a goal, not a complete achievement,” Roberts stated. “And achieving equality under the law requires lawyers.”
The chief justice’s comments were made just before the Supreme Court's final argument session of the term, which will include former President Trump’s appeal claiming presidential immunity from criminal charges in Washington, D.C. Roberts did not mention the upcoming historic argument or any other case on the high court’s docket. Instead, he praised the LSC’s decades of legal aid work.
“Similar to most forms of public service, the work of legal aid lawyers is not a path to wealth or fame,” Roberts explained. “But it is a way to make a meaningful contribution to our society and to the cause of equality and justice for all.”
Garland expressed similar feelings, informing the audience that the idea of equal justice is meaningless without equal access to legal services.
“We gather at a time when safeguarding the legal system is as pressing as it has ever been,” Garland stated. “Public confidence in the legal system relies in no small part on public confidence that our system will guarantee equal justice under law. And that confidence depends on there being equal access to justice.”
Chief Justice John Roberts and Attorney General Merrick Garland paid tribute to legal aid lawyers on Tuesday evening, insisting more work remains to achieve equal access to the legal system. Both men addressed a crowd of hundreds gathered in the nation’s capital to mark the 50th anniversary of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), an independent…
