Posted on August 20, 2015 by Jillian Jorgensen in New York Observer New York Observer, By Jillian Jorgensen “You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you.” That right—enshrined in many minds thanks to repeat viewings of cop shows—comes with an asterisk: it applies only to criminal cases. But a growing coalition of lawyers, legislators and judges hope to expand the rights set out in the 1963’s landmark Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright to apply to civil cases—seeking a so-called Civil Gideon. “I think anyone facing a life-altering judgment—whether it’s incarceration, eviction, deportation, loss of custody of your children, foreclosure on a mortgage you have—anyone facing those kinds of judgements should have representation, in my opinion,” City Councilman Mark Levine told the Observer.
