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Tom Fritzsche is the executive director of Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Maine’s oldest and largest provider of civil legal services. His father, Paul Fritzsche, is a retired Maine Superior Court justice who served for over 37 years. Justice Fritzsche also previously served as Managing Attorney of Pine Tree Legal Assistance’s Lewiston and Portland offices and as Public Advocate prior to his appointment to the Judiciary.
Mainers meet our obligations to one another and to our communities. In turn, we have fundamental rights that accompany these duties. These include the rights to be free from domestic and sexual violence and to have stable housing, access to education, and opportunities to earn a reliable income and a secure retirement.
Our justice system is central to ensuring that these basic rights are protected and that everyone has a fair hearing when these rights are at stake. Our courts can only do their job when both sides have adequate legal representation.
Our society relies on trust in our justice system. That trust is undermined when people who cannot afford lawyers represent themselves and stumble without individualized, careful legal advice.
For many people in Maine experiencing poverty, having their day in court does not always feel like a fair opportunity to be heard about important matters. It can often be frightening or disorienting. None of us should worry that court proceedings we do not understand will decide whether we remain in our home or face homelessness.
While Maine’s hardworking clerks and judges do their best to ensure that unrepresented people have a chance to be heard, it is not the same as having independent counsel. Judges must remain neutral and cannot advise individuals. Good lawyers illuminate a process that feels obscure, build trust, and bring hope to people facing despair. They often make the difference between danger and safety, risk and security, confusion and understanding. Even when someone does not get their desired outcome, knowing that they had their own representative and were fairly heard ensures trust in due process and respect for the result.
Unrepresented people often leave court alienated, cynical and convinced that the benefit of the law — justice — exists only for the affluent and the privileged. As a state, we must make the promise of justice a reality for all.
A defendant charged in criminal court with domestic abuse is entitled to a court-appointed lawyer. A survivor seeking an order for protection from abuse in civil court is not. As many as three out of four people involved in civil litigation go to court without an attorney, and the impact on their lives can be enormous. These civil matters affect protection from domestic, sexual, and financial abuse and neglect; housing; employment; child custody; access to healthcare; veterans’ benefits, and much more.
According to the National Justice Index, states need 10 legal aid attorneys per 10,000 people living below 200 percent of the poverty line, but Maine has fewer than two. More than 360,000 Mainers are eligible for legal aid.
Maine has an active community of pro bono lawyers and seven efficiently run civil legal service organizations: the Clinical Programs at Maine Law, Disability Rights Maine, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Legal Services for Maine Elders, Maine Equal Justice, the Maine Volunteer Lawyer Project, and Pine Tree Legal Assistance. In 2023, these providers directly served over 17,000 households and helped thousands more, across all 16 counties. Unfortunately, many more people who need representation are turned away each year due to insufficient funding.
A commitment to justice for all means equal access to legal representation, which can only be achieved through ongoing support for the civil legal service providers.
Investment in civil legal services also benefits our state’s economy. A 2016 study concluded that the positive impact of civil legal services totaled $37 million statewide and brought in additional federal dollars.
We must invest public funds in both our criminal defense system and our civil legal aid infrastructure. Without access to legal counsel in both kinds of cases, people are at an unfair disadvantage as they attempt to navigate the often confusing and intimidating legal landscape. Without representation, equal justice cannot be achieved.
