What is Right to Counsel (RTC)?
Scenes from STUN's Right to Counsel Mass Meeting on May 11th. Photo provided by STUN Social Media Team.
This article was originally published in our January 2025 newsletter. It is included again here as a refresher for the topic. Where more recent data is available, Editor's Notes have been added to update the original text. The data referenced in the article is sourced predominantly from the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel.
If you’ve been participating in STUN activities or have spoken with our leaders for any length of time, you’ve probably heard us talking about Right to Counsel (RTC). It is one of our most important goals to achieve to empower Springfield tenants. But what is it, and why is it such a big deal?
Right To Counsel means securing a legal guarantee that tenants facing eviction can obtain legal representation during the eviction process. This is crucial because eviction is a complicated legal proceeding that the average tenant has no hope of navigating without help. For instance, being named in an eviction proceeding creates a permanent record that can make it impossible to find new housing, even in instances where the tenant won their case, but few are aware that they can ask for such records to be sealed. In cases such as these, having a knowledgeable legal guide can be the difference between having a stable home or not.
A wonderful example of RTC being implemented is found in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, being one of the 18 cities [Editor's Note: there are now 20] across the United States to enact a Right to Counsel program (along with 5 whole states and 2 specific counties in New York and California). Before the RTC program’s debut in 2019, Cleveland was about average in terms of eviction rates, ranked 53rd out of the 100 largest American cities. In 2016, 8,079 eviction filings were made in Cleveland, and there were 4,483 evictions, which means that 55% of filings resulted in actual evictions. In these proceedings, only about 2% of tenants were represented by attorneys, which aligns with national averages according to a national study conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2020, the year after the program was implemented, that percentage shot up to 20%, and case outcomes became dramatically more favorable to the tenants. A report by the advisory firm Stout showed that of the represented tenants seeking to prevent their eviction between 2020 and 2023, 86% were able to achieve their goal. For represented tenants seeking smaller goals, such as monetary relief, the number was as high as 95% [Editor's Note: Stout has produced many subsequent reports with similar results. Their most recent report on Cleveland shows that 85% of represented tenants from 2022 to 2025 avoided disruptive displacement].
Cleveland isn’t alone in its success either - other RTC programs across the country have reported a substantial decrease in evictions. In New York City, 84% of represented households between 2022 and 2023 were able to remain in their homes [Editor's Note: A subsequent report also noted that the number of eviction filings has fallen 49% since RTC was enacted]. In Kansas City, 86% of represented tenants in 2023 remained housed [Editor's Note: a report for 2024 has lowered that percentage to 78%, still significantly higher than the rate for unrepresented tenants]. And in Louisville, a whopping 97% of represented tenants in the fourth quarter of 2024 were able to avoid eviction or delay it long enough to find alternative housing. Boulder, Colorado also reported that only 4% of represented tenants had eviction filings left on public record, compared with 42% of unrepresented tenants. And on top of all of that, these RTC have also saved more money than they cost to implement, due to the reduced number of evictions that need to be enforced.
Altogether, that adds up to a lot of reasons to push for a Right To Counsel in Springfield. That’s why STUN has chosen it as one of our priorities. With effort and unity, we believe that we can make it happen. When we fight, we win!
Additional scenes from the Right to Counsel Mass Meeting. Photo provided by STUN Social Media Team