why i wrote this book....

If you've been following my posts about my book you might have wondered, "who the hell is this guy and why'd he write this book?" Don't worry, you're not alone. I've periodically wondered the same thing - put more pointedly, who am I to write a book like this?

Obviously there are more gifted writers who could have better tackled the subject of my book - access to justice for the low income litigant. It might have been a better book if they had. But they didn't.

This book deals with dense issues. It's not beach, or pandemic, reading. It's not short, it's two volumes. So I guess it's not lite either.

My attempt was to combine the components that impact the indigent litigants' ability to obtain legal counsel - the components of poverty, politics, and the law itself. Clearly, these topics have been addressed by scholars: economists writing about economic issues; political scientists writing about politics and policy making; and tenured law school faculty writing about the law and its application to real people seeking something called "justice." This last component, "justice," is more philosophical than temporal and has been addressed by philosophers from Aristotle to Sandel (who's a law professor but when you write about justice and ethics it seems to me that you have one foot in the law and the other in the stratosphere of philosophy).

See, I know this to be the case because I've happily cited many of these authors to make my case.

As I said in my book, I'm no scholar. I'm a guy who tried to serve the underserved members of his community, nothing more. Through that effort I came face-to-face with the evils of poverty, the incrementalism of the political process, and the tradition laden group think of the legal academy. In the course of this I had my existential epiphany regarding the nature of law its relation to justice.

My book is based on experience, and that's what makes it different. I write about issues we confronted as my organization, The Rhode Island Center For Law And Public Policy, tried to help those in need, confronted the impediments that ultimately forced us to disband, and in the process served the needs of thousands of people. It's my experience in the trenches where few people fight the injustices, both large and small, that afflict many of our neighbors who are invisible to broader society.

That's what I bring to the table. I know of no other book to have tackled this issue as I have done. I will be happily corrected if that's not the case.

My experiences enable me to write about real people and real events. Regarding our clients, I use aliases (unless you think Popeye is a real person), and scrubbed their legal issues to protect their identities. Regarding those we met in the political arena, I use real names and discuss real events. Some might be flattered, others not so much.

Some might argue that this is merely a revenge book written by a failed, disgruntled person who didn't get what he thought he deserved. Or maybe he's disgruntled precisely because he got what he deserved. My simple answer to these charges is that "he" didn't gain or lose anything - I'm fine. It's those who we tried to serve that took it in the neck. And it's not like those in power decided to approach the issue of Access to Justice in another way - they haven't addressed it at all. Instead, crickets.

My purpose in writing this book is to make clear a problem long ignored. The unavailability of legal counsel and services for the poor, for example, facing eviction (nationally 23 million evictions over the next few months), will create even greater problems of homelessness, increased strain on often strained family dynamics, push people downward into greater levels of poverty, with a social cost that's incalculable.

Robert Kennedy once called poverty an "evil." He was right, it is an evil that we can correct if we so choose. He went on to say that government belongs where evil needs an adversary and people are incapable of defending themselves. Once more, he was right.

My purpose in writing this book is not to exact "revenge" on people who are mostly immune from the consequences of their actions or inactions, but bring into stark relief a problem that exists in our midsts that we either don't recognize or if we do recognize its existence, we ignore it.

Going forward, I will use this space to address - briefly - the components of my argument, starting with "politics." Let's face it, that's the juicy part anyway. Then in succession, the issues of poverty, then the law, then the ephemeral and elusive issue of "justice." You'll still need to buy both volumes if only because all proceeds will be distributed to those legal services organizations continuing the effort to serving the underserved.

The recent passing of Congressman John Lewis reminded me of something he said: "If you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something about it."

That is why I wrote this book.