Many states and counties do not offer lawyers to the poor in major civil disputes, and in some criminal ones as well. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/us/16gideon.html?ref=us The promise inherent in the 1963  Gideon v. Wainwright  ruling  that those accused of a crime have a constitutional right to a lawyer whether or not they can afford one remains unfulfilled […]