[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 146 (Thursday, September 12, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1140-E1141]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN HONOR OF THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY OF LEGAL SERVICES ALABAMA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 12, 2019

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Legal 
Services Alabama on their 15th Anniversary Award Dinner. Legal Services 
Alabama provides quality legal services to low-income residents of 
Alabama, filling a gaping need in a state that does not offer a 
statewide public defense program.
  So often our legal system, whose creation and purpose is to maintain 
equal justice under the law, regardless of economic factors, 
connections or other indicators, fails to do so. The reality is that 
under-resourced individuals are provided decreased access to quality 
legal counsel, while those who can afford it are granted superior 
services. This fundamentally contradicts the intent of our court system 
and undermines the very framework of our country. The work of Legal 
Services Alabama is to

[[Page E1141]]

right that imbalance, restoring justice not only to the economically 
disenfranchised, but to every Alabamian and American.
  Founded on February 1, 2004, Legal Services Alabama began as three 
separate Legal Services programs, Legal Services Corporation of Alabama 
(founded 1977), Legal Services of Metro Birmingham (founded 1977) and 
Legal Services of North-Central Alabama (founded 1969). The three 
regional offices merged resources to become the statewide entity Legal 
Services Alabama which provides free legal services to low-income 
Alabamians across all of the state's 67 counties. The merger reflected 
a nationwide imperative, initiated by the Legal Services Corporation, 
which encouraged consolidation in order to provide improved and more 
efficient services to those in need.
  Alabama has long been a bastion of grassroots activism in pursuit of 
civil rights and economic justice. Alabama is the birthplace of the 
civil rights movement of the 1960s and played a prominent role in Dr. 
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign. Economic inequalities 
are inextricably tied to racial inequalities and Alabama has, since our 
nation's birth, been ground zero for some of the worst racial and 
economic injustices and the greatest moments of uprising and activism. 
Along these lines, it is impossible to consider the work of the Legal 
Services Alabama on behalf of low-income Alabamians without pointing 
out the systems of racial hierarchy that our current justice system 
tacitly endorses through its passivity.
  The reality is that the vast majority of those unable to afford 
adequate legal representation in Alabama are African American. It is 
essential that organizations like the Legal Services Alabama do the 
important work of uplifting those who have been historically 
marginalized and disenfranchised, despite the fact that our current 
system is not set up to do so. Just as we, as a nation, must reflect 
openly and honestly on the ills of a criminal justice system that 
disproportionately jails people of color, we must commend those 
organizations like LSA that have stepped in and addressed an urgent 
need.
  Legal Services Alabama has eight offices across the state as well as 
a centralized call center in order to provide the best possible service 
and access to Alabamians in need. LSA's offices are located in 
Anniston/Gadsden, Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, 
Selma and Tuscaloosa. Each of those offices is staffed and equipped to 
serve low income people with legal matters and to promote collaboration 
in support of providing solutions to the myriad issues associated with 
living in poverty. Currently, Legal Services Alabama is the only non-
profit law firm in the state of Alabama that provides free civil legal 
assistance to economically disenfranchised Alabamians.
  In addition to providing free, quality legal representation to those 
in need, Legal Services Alabama also provides mediation services to 
clients, in the hope that they might avoid the court system entirely. 
Mediation can often be prohibitively expensive and many people may not 
even know that it is an option available to them prior to engaging the 
courts. By offering mediation, LSA encourages Alabamians, when 
possible, to seek an alternative that may ultimately be more 
beneficial.
  Further, Legal Services Alabama practices ``preventative law,'' 
working within the community to educate members on their rights and 
responsibilities in the hope of avoiding potentially devastating legal 
issues. Legal Services Alabama develops and distributes informative 
literature, legal self-help materials and forms throughout the 
community to help educate and engage those in need. This holistic 
approach to providing legal services shows an intrinsic understanding 
of the ways in which not only the criminal justice system but also 
community and social situations contribute to cycles of crime and 
prosecution and thoughtfully applies that understanding to a better and 
more comprehensive solution.
  I am pleased to be granted this opportunity to recognize Legal 
Services Alabama for the important work they do for those Alabamians 
most in need. We as legislators must continue to work toward correcting 
our criminal justice system, but as that work is done, I am grateful to 
LSA for doing the important and necessary work of filling in the 
missing gaps.

                          ____________________