Promises and Realities: The Continuing Myth of Equal Justice for All

No one can really doubt that the U.S. Steel Corporation, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, or H. L. Hunt could obtain a reasonable approximation of justice through our legal process. But can we say the same for a skid row derelict, an Appalachian tenant farmer, a Sheridan County Indian, an Omaha ghetto black, or a Lincoln welfare mother? Much has been done to rectify injustices, yet can anyone deny that the American revolutionary promise of two hundred years is still a substantially unmet pledge? The economic system, the legal system, in short, the system has failed approximately one-fourth of all Americans.

The Legal Services Program represents an attempt to correct this injustice by providing advocates for equal justice for all our citizens.