Legal Services and Equal Justice for the Poor: An Exploration in Constitution Change

FAIN: FB-13248-77

James E. Jordan
Ohio University Zanesville Branch (Zanesville, OH 43701)

To study the role of the poor in influencing American public policy and specifically their impact on the policies and practices of the legal system. The three parts of this study will be (1) a survey and analysis of all Supreme Court Sixth Amendment, due process of law, and equal protection of the law decisions concerning the poor's access to legal services; (2) an application of the constitutional change thesis of Clement Vose which states that such change reflects important social forces; and (3) an analysis and forming of conclusions in terms of the basic humanistic issue: to what extent has the U.S. Supreme Court recognized or rejected wealth as a basis