Springfield Tenants UNite (STUN) held a town-hall meeting today on the topic of Right-to-counsel for defendants in eviction cases. Here’s my summary.

Eviction filings in Springfield continue to increase. Most landlords are represented by attorneys.

Evictions are ordered in 99% of cases — usually as default judgments, with the defendant never appearing in court. In contrast, when Kansas City added RTC, the rate dropped from 99% to 80%.

The panel included:
Craig Hosner (city council, at-large);
Brandon Johnson (city council, district 2);
Paula Green – Legal Services of SW MO;
Emily Fassler – homelessness;
Elle Fabro – STUN eviction-court watch; and
John Pollack (via zoom) National Coalition for Civil RTC.

Craig Hosner (an attorney for 40 years, and a Missouri legislator for 12 years) mentioned that both landlords and their attorneys typically have past experience in eviction court hearings, while tenants are usually in court for the very first time. He suggested that any right-to-counsel program be started as a pilot project, as a needs-based program.

Brandon asked whether it made sense to limit the program based on income (need). John replied that any screening process adds obstacles to an already-short process.

(My opinion: If RTC is needs-based, how much paperwork and proof would be required? Some simpler criteria would be helpful: is at least one household member a veteran, on disability, qualified for food stamps or Medicaid. Compare to school lunch programs, where even the simplest paperwork leaves children hungry. Recognize that tenants in crisis are likely to have issues getting necessary documents and getting qualified. Would this be another appointment, with the tenant needing transportation and child care and work time off, digging for documents, and revealing more personal information to strangers?)

Craig asked whether there should be a separate court for evictions? Perhaps require pretrial mediation, or even an attempt at mediation before the action can be filed? All agreed that the tenant’s attorney should never be meeting them for the first time at the court hearing.

Brandon also asked whether RTC would be likely to increase rents? Not necessarily, and John noted that some landlords would prefer to work with a tenant’s attorney instead of a hostile tenant. And RTC increases the likelihood that property-condition issues can be addressed. In fact, having an attorney may increase the possibility of the landlord getting paid, or reduce the costs for the tenant to leave.

John also mentioned that many tenants may not appear without counsel because of “issues of race and equity in the courthouse.” (Try searching “Milly Sawyers +Springfield +Campbell,” for a history lesson.)

An audience member expressed concern about the need to evict a roommate, and asked about the “recovery process” after eviction? Quite simply, it’s awful, and our system might eventually spend $15,000 or more to help someone return from homelessness.

Next, someone asked: How can we get the RTC proposal out of committee? How would it be paid for? John noted that across the US, 28 communities found the money because every dollar spent saves $3 to $6 in downstream expenses. Craig mentioned the option of a discharge petition, which recently pushed the campaign-finance bill to a vote.

Next, wouldn’t it be cheaper to just help the tenant pay the rent? No, that would only solve the immediate need, without addressing the underlying problem. An attorney can help identify other options, and we should require proof of the landlord’s claims and the tenant’s defenses.

I thought of these additional questions, but there wasn’t time.

Q: Does Springfield have a tenant workshop or training, or other mechanism to help tenants identify defenses and options?

Q: What if the attorney (or several in a limited pool of attorneys hired to represent tenants) has a conflict, and cannot represent this tenant?

Q: What would be the impact on landlords, especially those few who do not currently hire an attorney, leave the market? If all tenants can be represented, unsophisticated landlords might simply choose to exit the marketplace, with larger landlords becoming even more dominant.

Links:

https://www.springfieldtenantsunite.org/rtc

https://www.google.com/m?q=Milly+Sawyers+%2BSpringfield+%2BCampbell