PT02 Connecticut’s Eviction Crisis and the Right to Counsel Movement (2020CLC)

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

10:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Eastern Daylight Time)

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The President’s Track

Presented by the Executive and Pro Bono Committees

About the Program

Connecticut faces an eviction crisis. According to data made available by Pulitzer-Prize winning scholar Matthew Desmond, four of Connecticut’s cities have the highest eviction rates in the country. Studies increasingly reveal the eviction crisis as a racial justice issue, disproportionately affecting women and children of color. With growing evidence of legal representation as one of the most effective tools to prevent housing instability, cities and states across the country are passing right to counsel legislation and investing in eviction defense programs for low-income renters.

You Will Learn

  • About the eviction crisis in Connecticut from local and national experts
  • About the national right-to-counsel movement (commonly referred to as “Civil Gideon”)
  • Lessons from nearby jurisdictions that have enacted right to counsel or increased access to justice for low-income tenants facing eviction

CLE Credit: 1.0 CT (Ethics); 1.0 NY (D&I)

Speakers

Emily A Benfer Emily A. Benfer
Wake Forest University School of Law, Winston-Salem, NC

AJ Johnson Pastor AJ Johnson
 Center for Leadership and Justice; Urban Hope Refuge Church, Hartford

John Pollock John Pollock
National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel, Baltimore, MD

Hon Cecil J Thomas1 Hon. Cecil J. Thomas
 Connecticut Superior Court, Norwich