One Washington state woman believes that everyone should have the right to a divorce attorney. The woman contends that she was in court, trying to get custody of her children, without any idea what she could say or do. As a high school drop out with a GED and no legal training, she hadn't subpoenaed witnesses, did not know when to object, and had to cross examine her ex-husband and his new girlfriend. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that she told the judge: "I'm a good mother but a lousy lawyer."
The Washington State Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether people involved in custody disputes should be provided free legal consul. The case has drawn the attention of the state's bar association and other groups. Those who oppose the bill say that the state should not have to foot the bill for private court cases. They further argue that this is not a constitutional question and therefore not the court's decision. It should be decided by the legislature. The plaintiffs lawyer responded by telling the Post-Intelligencer:
If the state's only interest is money, that's not necessarily going to outweigh the fundamental rights that a parent has in a very complicated proceeding.
Washington state law does allow for state funded attorney in some civil matters, but no state has a guarantee to representation in a divorce case. The Northwest Women's Law Center and National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel support the right of parents to consul. One member of the state bar association wrote:
Emotionally distraught parents are particularly ill-equipped to navigate the civil justice system against their former spouses, who may enjoy a substantial imbalance of power.
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