Right to Counsel in New York State Foreclosure Proceedings
Civil Gideon! Kind of! The New York Times reports on civil-right-to-counsel program being unveiled in New York State foreclosure proceedings: “New York court officials outlined procedures Tuesday aimed at assuring that all homeowners facing foreclosure were represented by a lawyer, a shift that could give tens of thousands of families a
better chance at saving their homes. Criminal defendants are guaranteed a lawyer, but New York will be the first state to try to extend that pledge to foreclosures, which are civil matters. There are about 80,000 active foreclosure cases in New York courts. In more than half of them, only the banks have lawyers.” The program is going to launch in Queens and Orange Counties in the immediate future. By the end of the year it should be rolled out throughout the state.
For those interested in learning more about the civil-right-to-counsel, or “Civil Gideon”, movement, visit the National Coalition for a Civil to Counsel’s website.
