Posted at 5:04 p.m., Saturday, July 28, 2007
Micronesians in Hawaii to get free legal aid
Advertiser Staff
The Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i will now accept Micronesian clients, following a vote in Nashville today of the Legal Services Corp., the federal agency that provides major funding to the organization.The unanimous vote opens the door to free legal aid for the more than 40,000 Micronesians living in the United States, 12,000 of whom are in the Islands.
"I feel like this is something that should have been done years ago," said Chuck Greenfield, executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i.
Legal Aid attorneys were forced to stop helping Micronesians in 1996, after the Legal Services Corp. made a ruling that befuddled many advocates.
The board said the Compact of Free Association with Micronesia barred federal monies from going to Micronesians in the United States for legal aid.
However, Micronesians in Micronesia were never excluded from being helped by the Legal Aid Society.
The vote means a rule change will go out for public comment over the next 30 days. Micronesians in Hawai'i and elsewhere in the United States will be able to seek help from Legal Aid as early as October.
