Many individuals try to represent themselves in divorces, eviction proceedings and other civil matters because they can’t afford to hire an attorney. The influx of self-represented parties has put a strain on Connecticut’s court system and has raised questions about whether justice is being done when one party in a dispute has a lawyer and the other one does not.
Now Connecticut is joining a number of other states in considering whether low-income parties should be provided with attorneys in certain types of civil cases, just as defendants in criminal cases are guaranteed representation because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1963 ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright.
