DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Chicano conference programs and speeches, April 1973-May 1974 | 1974-04-14 Workshop IV, Chicano: Legal Process Page 6

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Chicano conference programs and speeches, April 1973-May 1974

1974-04-14 Workshop IV, Chicano: Legal Process Page 6

6

In Detroit, if I can pull in that experience again, the Welfare Rights Organization had regular ongoing classes with poverty lawyers to teach them how to represent themselves in welfare hearings. They were much better at representing themselves than the lawyers were because they understood much better what was really involved. But they had to have some basic knowledge of how to go about it.

   In terms of the case you have in Chicago, I suppose I shouldn't really comment without knowing more the facts involved, but it does strike me that it is exactly the type of case that could go straight to federal court tomorrow without exhausting any of the state remedies or administrative remedies. Federal courts do not always require you to exhaust your state remedies. That is the kind of thing a lawyer can tell you. 

Audience Response: The other problem with that, A.C.L.U., a lot of people might think, well these lawyers sit in an office, that is not the case. They have a secretary and a director and they farm out their cases to people working with other law offices. So, essentially they can write it off on their income ta saying they did all this charity work. They have to all say, "Oh you have a good case and I know a guy who likes to do this type of case for free." So he will do it for us as A.C.L.U., but they become the intermediaries. So, it took almost two months to round up lawyers who were willing to do it. The funny part of this is they have never done anything like this. It just struck them as being a nice legal problem that they would like to do something about. We are at the mercy of those people. This is the primary reason why we need Chicano lawyers. We can say, if you're working in the barrio you are going to be working with our problems.

PETE RAEL: I think that's a very fair comment. I think what is happening is we are getting some help, we are getting some cases in the courts, but then we get back to that same version that we are nothing but a token.

AUDIENCE RESPONSE: I would like to address this to Professor Bartel or to you. Do you feel that perhaps class suits are being initiated more so today then they were previously as opposed to individual suits? Would it be more to the advantage of Chicanos to institute class suits as opposed to individual suits?

PETE RÅEL: It is to the person's advantage to institute a class suit.

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6 In Detroit, if I can pull in that experience again, the Welfare Rights Organization had regular ongoing classes with poverty lawyers to teach them how to represent themselves in welfare hearings. They were much better at representing themselves than the lawyers were because they understood much better what was really involved. But they had to have some basic knowledge of how to go about it. In terms of the case you have in Chicago, I suppose I shouldn't really comment without knowing more the facts involved, but it does strike me that it is exactly the type of case that could go straight to federal court tomorrow without exhausting any of the state remedies or administrative remedies. Federal courts do not always require you to exhaust your state remedies. That is the kind of thing a lawyer can tell you. Audience Response: The other problem with that, A.C.L.U., a lot of people might think, well these lawyers sit in an office, that is not the case. They have a secretary and a director and they farm out their cases to people working with other law offices. So, essentially they can write it off on their income ta saying they did all this charity work. They have to all say, "Oh you have a good case and I know a guy who likes to do this type of case for free." So he will do it for us as A.C.L.U., but they become the intermediaries. So, it took almost two months to round up lawyers who were willing to do it. The funny part of this is they have never done anything like this. It just struck them as being a nice legal problem that they would like to do something about. We are at the mercy of those people. This is the primary reason why we need Chicano lawyers. We can say, if you're working in the barrio you are going to be working with our problems. PETE RAEL: I think that's a very fair comment. I think what is happening is we are getting some help, we are getting some cases in the courts, but then we get back to that same version that we are nothing but a token. AUDIENCE RESPONSE: I would like to address this to Professor Bartel or to you. Do you feel that perhaps class suits are being initiated more so today then they were previously as opposed to individual suits? Would it be more to the advantage of Chicanos to institute class suits as opposed to individual suits? PETE RÅEL: It is to the person's advantage to institute a class suit.