Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upholds restrictions on legal aid funding

In 1996, Congress attached certain rules to the budget of the Legal Services Corp., which funds lawyers for the poor in civil cases, in order to restrict Legal Aid lawyers' representation of their low-income clients. The restrictions, contained in each succeeding budget, prohibit the lawyers from filing class-action suits on behalf of numerous clients. They also bar attorneys from seeking fees that are usually awarded to the winning side in cases involving individual rights, and from lobbying for changes in the law. The rules were challenged in court but this past Monday they survived a federal appeals court test Monday in San Francisco. Go here for the full story from the San Francisco Chronicle.