When someone would ask my dad how he was, he often would reply, “Can’t complain” and then after a pause, and with a grin, would say, “No one listens anyway.”
Our forefathers took listening to complaints seriously. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution says that no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Due process can mean many things depending upon the context; however, as a longtime judge, my most basic definition of due process is “the right to be heard by someone willing to listen.”
The most common place where the right to due process takes place is in a legal setting, such as a court or agency hearing. To comply with basic due process the person who decides must listen fairly to the people presenting their dispute. In Russia, for example, courts often decide cases before they begin. That is not due process listening.
The right to be heard has, over many years of history, become the right to have someone speak on your behalf as your advocate. Not everyone is able to appear before a judge or jury or agency and effectively communicate. Most commonly, such advocates are attorneys.
Not all persons can afford to hire an attorney. One of the basic functions of the Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers organization is to ensure that the poorest of us all have the right to be heard effectively.
Pro bono publico (for the public good) is usually shortened to pro bono. It is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment.
Volunteer attorneys working with Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers assist individuals with their cases to ensure that people know how to navigate the process of going to court, or how to respond to actions filed against them; to speak on their behalf in court or before an agency; or to assist in negotiating a fair resolution.
Family law, housing issues, employment law and more are addressed. These matters are civil matters, which, essentially, are disputes between individuals or between individuals and agencies.
Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers does not handle criminal cases. In criminal cases due process requires that the court appoint an attorney when a defendant charged with a crime is unable to provide their own.
The law does not require that an attorney be provided in most civil cases and that is the reason why pro bono services are so important. Without such services, the right to be heard by someone willing to listen may not be exercised, and individuals might be deprived of property or other rights unfairly.
Our Constitution was enacted, and Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers was founded, to make deprivation of due process far less likely.
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Ken Williams is a retired Clallam County Superior Court judge and a member of the board of Clallam-Jefferson County Pro Bono Lawyers, clallamcountybar.com/pro-bono/. Do you have a legal question, or a suggestion for a topic to be addressed by LegalEase? Email editor@sequimgazette.com with the subject line LegalEase.
