California Government Code

§ 68651

GOV § 68651 Effective Jan 1, 2023Title 8 · Ch. 2.1

Statute text

(a)Legal counsel shall be appointed to represent low-income parties in civil matters involving critical issues affecting basic human needs in those specified courts selected by the Judicial Council as provided in this section.

(b)(1) Subject to funding specifically provided for this purpose pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 70626 and donations provided pursuant to subdivision (e), the Judicial Council shall develop one or more programs in selected courts pursuant to a competitive grant process and a request for proposals. Programs authorized under this section shall provide representation of counsel for low-income persons, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status, who require legal services in civil matters involving housing-related matters, domestic violence and civil harassment restraining orders, probate conservatorships, guardianships of the person, elder abuse, or actions by a parent to obtain legal or physical custody of a child, as well as providing court procedures, personnel, training, and case management and administration methods that reflect best practices to ensure unrepresented parties in those cases have meaningful access to justice, and to gather information on the outcomes associated with providing these services, to guard against the involuntary waiver of those rights or their disposition by default. These programs should be designed to address the substantial inequities in timely and effective access to justice that often give rise to an undue risk of erroneous decision because of the nature and complexity of the law and the proceeding or disparities between the parties in education, sophistication, language proficiency, legal representation, access to self-help, and alternative dispute resolution services. In order to ensure that the scarce funds available for the programs are used to serve the most critical cases and the parties least able to access the courts without representation, eligibility for representation shall be limited to clients whose household income falls at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Programs shall impose asset limitations consistent with their existing practices in order to ensure optimal use of funds.

(2)(A) In light of the significant percentage of parties who are unrepresented in family law matters, proposals to provide counsel in child custody cases should be considered among the highest priorities for funding.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 486, Sec. 1. (AB 2193) Effective January 1, 2023.