With limited funds and manpower, legal groups cannot help all
By Jeremy Lim 17 June 2012
Going to court without a lawyer can be like stepping into the ring against a trained boxer, says the Law Society’s pro bono services director Lim Tanguy.
It can be intimidating, especially for the poor and lowly educated.
But last year, about 78,000 people accused of crimes at the Subordinate Courts had no lawyer. These represented one-third of all cases, said the courts. It is not known how many could not afford a lawyer, as some might have preferred to represent themselves.
The Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (Clas) and Association of Criminal Lawyers (ACLS) have been helping those who cannot afford lawyers.
Last year, they defended about 350 poor people for free. But with limited funds and manpower, they can only help selectively. For example, a person with no dependants must earn under $1,300 a month to qualify for Clas. Because of this and other restrictions, the scheme turned away 794 people last year.
Clas is run by the Law Society’s Pro Bono Services Office and calls on a force of 332 volunteer lawyers to represent cases, while ACLS has about 10 volunteer lawyers.
A ‘plead guilty’ case can require 12 to 15 hours of a lawyer’s time, while a ‘claim trial’ case might need 60 to 70 hours, said Mr Lim.
Clas hopes to help more people, but it needs more funding and volunteers, he added. The Pro Bono Services Office is supported by donations from law firms, as well as $300,000 a year from the Ministry of Law and $100,000 a year from the Academy of Law.
The money is mainly used to run Clas and walk-in legal clinics. Clas chairman Gopinath Pillai said although he would like to pay volunteer lawyers for their time, the scheme has insufficient funds.
The Legal Aid Bureau provides help for those in civil cases like divorce and inheritance disputes. It is staffed mainly by full-time lawyers paid by the Ministry of Law.
When it comes to criminal legal aid, the State has a Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences, for those facing the death penalty or life imprisonment.
The Ministry of Law said it is reviewing how it can do more for criminal legal aid. But it added that spending more on aid could mean raising taxes or reducing other types of expenditure.
Most lawyers interviewed said the deck is stacked against the accused who go to court without lawyers, especially the low income. National University of Singapore criminal law lecturer Michael Hor said: ‘Those who cannot afford appropriate legal representation, when compared with those who can, are less likely to be acquitted.’
ACLS president Subhas Anandan said: ‘It is very important for accused persons to be represented. The State has an overwhelming advantage in terms of resources even when the accused is defended by lawyers, and the odds are further stacked against accused persons when they are not represented.’
To apply for criminal legal aid, call Clas on 6534 1564.
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One-third of accused have no lawyers
With limited funds and manpower, legal groups cannot help all
By Jeremy Lim
17 June 2012
Going to court without a lawyer can be like stepping into the ring against a trained boxer, says the Law Society’s pro bono services director Lim Tanguy.
It can be intimidating, especially for the poor and lowly educated.
But last year, about 78,000 people accused of crimes at the Subordinate Courts had no lawyer. These represented one-third of all cases, said the courts. It is not known how many could not afford a lawyer, as some might have preferred to represent themselves.
The Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (Clas) and Association of Criminal Lawyers (ACLS) have been helping those who cannot afford lawyers.
Last year, they defended about 350 poor people for free. But with limited funds and manpower, they can only help selectively. For example, a person with no dependants must earn under $1,300 a month to qualify for Clas. Because of this and other restrictions, the scheme turned away 794 people last year.
Clas is run by the Law Society’s Pro Bono Services Office and calls on a force of 332 volunteer lawyers to represent cases, while ACLS has about 10 volunteer lawyers.
A ‘plead guilty’ case can require 12 to 15 hours of a lawyer’s time, while a ‘claim trial’ case might need 60 to 70 hours, said Mr Lim.
Clas hopes to help more people, but it needs more funding and volunteers, he added. The Pro Bono Services Office is supported by donations from law firms, as well as $300,000 a year from the Ministry of Law and $100,000 a year from the Academy of Law.
The money is mainly used to run Clas and walk-in legal clinics. Clas chairman Gopinath Pillai said although he would like to pay volunteer lawyers for their time, the scheme has insufficient funds.
The Legal Aid Bureau provides help for those in civil cases like divorce and inheritance disputes. It is staffed mainly by full-time lawyers paid by the Ministry of Law.
When it comes to criminal legal aid, the State has a Legal Assistance Scheme for Capital Offences, for those facing the death penalty or life imprisonment.
The Ministry of Law said it is reviewing how it can do more for criminal legal aid. But it added that spending more on aid could mean raising taxes or reducing other types of expenditure.
Most lawyers interviewed said the deck is stacked against the accused who go to court without lawyers, especially the low income. National University of Singapore criminal law lecturer Michael Hor said: ‘Those who cannot afford appropriate legal representation, when compared with those who can, are less likely to be acquitted.’
ACLS president Subhas Anandan said: ‘It is very important for accused persons to be represented. The State has an overwhelming advantage in terms of resources even when the accused is defended by lawyers, and the odds are further stacked against accused persons when they are not represented.’
To apply for criminal legal aid, call Clas on 6534 1564.
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