Memorial Day Hours

Miranda Monday: Mirandizing Family Justice

Throughout the month of May, the Harris County Law Library is celebrating Law Day and the historic Miranda v. Arizona ruling of 1966. This decision, which established our right to remain silent when questioned by the police, is a cornerstone of our freedom and, for the last 50 years, an essential safeguard in guaranteeing procedural due process under the law.

Commemorating this decision and the fundamental rights it guarantees, including the protection against self-incrimination, is important. We at HCLL are committed to safeguarding justice and to reducing the barriers that impede equitable outcomes. We embrace all efforts that increase access to the legal system, especially for those in the greatest need, and we fully support any initiatives that improve expediency and fairness in the delivery of legal services. One such effort, which is slowly making a foothold in Texas, is the Family Justice Center initiative. (Bexar County, Hays County, and Tarrant County all have well-established FJC programs.)

Originating in San Diego, the Family Justice model was designed to increase efficiency and eliminate fragmentation in the delivery of legal services for victims of family violence. According to the program's design, combining governmental and community-based agencies under one roof allows for greater efficiency and better coordination of services, resulting in more effective intervention strategies for those in need of domestic relief.

At the same time, however, those who provide intervention services, including police, prosecutors, social workers, safety advocates, and medical personnel, are required to report any instances of violence, leading to a very problematic conflict of interest: the same duty that obligates these professionals to report abuse also grants them de facto authority to open criminal cases against the perpetrators, ostensibly in the best interests of their clients, but often in opposition with the confidentiality to which their clients are entitled.

A brilliant article by UC-Irvine law professor Jane K. Stoever explores this very conflict and raises the need for extending Miranda-like protections to those involved in the FJC system. Her article, "Mirandizing Family Justice," is worth a careful read. In academia, journalism, and politics, much has been written on the expansion of Miranda rights to civil matters.  As discussed in a previous Miranda Monday post, these protections are typically limited to criminal situations despite recent arguments in favor of the need for civil safeguards. 

 

Miranda Monday: National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”

These are the basic rights afforded to all Americans arrested for a criminal act. Once requested, an attorney must be provided before any further questioning can proceed. This is not the case, however, when the legal matter is civil in nature. Neither the Courts nor the Constitution guarantee one's right to legal representation in most matters related to child custody, eviction, probate, divorce, immigration, or any number of other civil or family issues. Organizations like the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel are calling attention to the increasingly dire need for legal representation in civil cases. Everyone will require the services of a lawyer at some time in his or her life, and access to legal counsel should not be impeded by an inability to afford representation.