NC legal leaders: Our state stands alone in a shameful denial of justice | Opinion

“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:24 (RSV)

In the summer of 2025, the North Carolina General Assembly decided to deny those who cannot afford legal services access to justice the rest of us have. The legislature did so by freezing grant funding from a longstanding state program that funds free civil legal services for those who cannot afford them. The program — known as IOLTA — has received broad support in North Carolina for more than 40 years. With this freeze, we are now the only state in the country not providing free civil legal services through IOLTA.

North Carolina’s IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts) program was established by the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1983. All North Carolina lawyers are required to participate. Simply explained, interest earned on client monies deposited in lawyers’ trust accounts is transferred from the lawyers’ trust accounts into the IOLTA fund. That money is then used to provide grants to organizations like Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. (LANC). Not a dime comes from taxes imposed upon the citizens of North Carolina.

Legal aid organizations, all of which are non-profit entities, provide legal services to those who cannot afford to hire an attorney for civil matters and who are often the most vulnerable among us. Examples include advising persons facing evictions and potential homelessness, obtaining orders from the courts to protect victims of domestic violence and abuse, and representing persons facing other dire hardships. These services have been critical in helping citizens in western North Carolina recover from Hurricane Helene.

The General Assembly’s funding freeze has hit legal aid services with severe force: closing offices and laying off staff. Prior to the freeze, IOLTA funding constituted about 20% of the budget of LANC, North Carolina’s largest provider of civil legal aid. As a result of the freeze, nine Legal Aid offices have closed. LANC and similar legal service providers are losing staff attorneys and support staff, professionals who cannot be replaced quickly. Without IOLTA funding, more offices may close their doors, and those able to remain open will be forced to reduce staff and services. These closures and losses of staff equate to the loss of hundreds of “first responders” for our fellow citizens.

This denial of justice to those in need affects all of us — not only legal aid clients. Court dockets are becoming clogged and delayed due to improper pleadings. Courthouse personnel, who cannot ethically give legal advice, face recurring questions like “how do I do this?” when they should be engaging matters within their training. Businesses are now subject to lawsuits that a qualified legal aid lawyer may have headed off. And many claims with merit are not being identified or are unable to be brought, allowing unfair and illegal practices to go unchecked.

When some of our citizens are denied access to justice, we all lose. Respect for our legal system diminishes, and societal disaffection grows — increasing distrust in the rule of law.

North Carolina is better than this. Let us heed the following lesson, given to us over two thousand years ago:

“As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40 (ESV).

In this statement, Jesus identifies Himself with the vulnerable among us. Jesus is telling that when we render compassionate, meaningful service to marginalized people, we are rendering direct service to Him.

Please tell your legislators to move forward now — unfreeze the freeze — so that justice and righteousness can be restored to for all our citizens.

Signed: John R. Wester, past president, NC Bar Association, Charlotte; Henry Van Hoy, past president, NC Bar Association, Mocksville; George Mast, past president, NC Bar Association, Smithfield; Larry S. McDevitt, past president, NC Bar Association, Asheville; Robin E. Hudson, Associate Justice, NC Supreme Court (ret.), Raleigh; Linda M. McGee, Chief Judge, NC Court of Appeals (ret.), Corolla; Julian Mann III, Chief Judge, NC Office of Administrative Hearings (ret.), Raleigh; Robert F. Orr, Associate Justice, NC Supreme Court (ret.), Burnsville.

This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 5:00 AM.