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Group Says Virginia's Legal System Is Stacked Against The Poor

Legal Aid Justice Center

For 50 years, Virginia’s Legal Aid Justice Center has been working to assure that poor people get a fair shake under the law.  Now, the organization says it’s launching a new program to identify the biggest problems with this state’s legal system. 

As she thinks about the cases she’s seen at Legal Aid Justice, Director Mary Bauer comes to one big conclusion:

“Frankly, a lot of people are locked up way too long for dumb reasons.”

And most of those people are poor – often unable to pay court costs and fees.  If they can’t come up with the cash, the Commonwealth takes their driver’s license away, making it hard for them to get to school or work.

“That is one of the main reasons that people get arrested and incarcerated for driving on suspended licenses.  It’s funneling people directly into the criminal justice system.” 

Likewise, Bauer argues,  the poor are often unable to make bail – so they stay locked up, even though they haven’t been convicted of anything. 

“When people are locked up because they can’t afford to pay money, that’s a real problem," she says. "We know the statistics about the likelihood that you’re going to get found guilty if you’re locked up is just a lot greater than if you’re out free.”

So her organization is launching the Civil Rights and Racial Justice Program to study Virginia’s legal system, identify laws and rules that work against the poor, and promote reforms through the legislature and the courts.