skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Legal-Service Aid for Vulnerable North Dakotans on Chopping Block

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 18, 2017   

BISMARCK, N.D. – When members of Congress return to Washington D.C. next week, the top issue on their agenda will most likely be the budget. Tucked into the Trump administration's proposed $54 billion cut to domestic programs, is the complete defunding of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a funding organization that helps provide free legal services on civil matters to poor Americans.

One of the beneficiaries of this organization is Legal Services of North Dakota. Executive director Richard LeMay, says his organization helps North Dakotans in a vast array of financially trying situations.

"Domestic violence is a big area that we work in, where victims of domestic violence don't have money to hire private attorneys to help them get protection orders or to get other types of relief that they need to survive," he explained.

The LSC currently has a budget of $385 million. Legal Services of North Dakota receives half its funding from the LSC, amounting to around $750,000 dollars. It's the only legal service of its kind in the state, providing free help for low-income residents.

President Trump's budget director, Mick Mulvaney, has said the administration is targeting inefficient programs in the federal budget for elimination.

LeMay says civil legal aid, which includes cases such as the denial of benefits, housing disputes, and other consumer issues, doesn't receive as much attention as some other areas of law. However, he says it can be costly for the state to deal with issues such as homelessness and that providing legal protection for seniors on fixed incomes who may not have the resources to hire a private attorney, for example, benefits society at large.

"Actually, having legal services in place saves the state taxpayer a lot of money," he said.

LeMay says his service already has had to cut back because of budget decreases over the last four years. Two years ago, staff gave up benefits and pay so they wouldn't lose anyone from their team. Cutting LSC funding completely would most likely devastate the organization.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021