Nearly 80 percent of Hawai'i's poor and moderate-income residents can't get civil legal help when they need it, a situation that can and must be changed, says a study by a group that includes the Hawai'i Judiciary and the Hawaii Bar Association.

"We all, especially the legal profession, need to do much more," state Supreme Court Justice Ronald Moon told the annual meeting yesterday of the Hawaii Justice Foundation, an arm of the bar association that provides legal aid to the poor.

The report, called "Achieving Access to Justice for Hawaii's People," found that "the vast majority of Hawai'i residents who live in poverty have nowhere to turn for legal assistance."

Among the critical legal issues facing the poor, the report said, are securing affordable housing, loss of a home, domestic violence, child custody and protection from consumer fraud.

Patricia McManaman, executive director of Na Loio — Immigrants Rights and Public Policy Center, cited one example.

An immigrant who is "a human trafficking victim" and speaks little English was "told to bring her own interpreter" when she sought help from a government agency, she said.

In a situation like that, due process rights are being violated and the individual needs legal assistance, McManaman said.

IOLTA PROGRAM

Chuck Greenfield, director of the Legal Aid Society, noted that a major source of funding for indigent legal assistance programs comes from interest earned on trust accounts maintained by Hawai'i lawyers for their clients.

Under Hawai'i law, interest from such accounts flows into what's called the IOLTA program — Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts — that is run by the Hawaii Justice Foundation. Last year that income totaled some $600,000, according to the report issued yesterday.

Greenfield noted that the income has increased substantially in recent years, but the interest rate earned on some $70 million now held in trust accounts here "is less than 1 percent."

Other states have "doubled and tripled" IOLTA income by requiring lawyers to place their trust accounts with institutions paying higher rates of interest, according to the report.

Last year, IOLTA funds were used by the foundation to make $425,000 in grants to nonprofit agencies that provide legal help to the poor, an increase from only $68,500 in 2003.

The report contained a 10-step "action plan" for improvements which could be accomplished over the next 10 years. The first two steps would require increased involvement by the Hawai'i Judiciary and more money from the Legislature.

The state Supreme Court should create an Access to Justice Commission that would find more money and oversee improvements to delivery of legal service to poor people, the report said.

MORE MONEY

Other states have adopted such commissions, and improved access to justice by the poor is "much more likely to occur" if the state Supreme Court is involved, the report said.

The report also called for more money for legal aid to low- and moderate-income residents.

In this fiscal year, three programs get legislative assistance: