The Wisconsin Supreme Court is considering a rule change that would require circuit court judges to provide taxpayer-funded attorneys in certain civil cases involving basic human needs.

The court held the first portion of its rules hearing Tuesday at the State Capitol. During the hearing, the Court heard more than two dozen testimonies regarding the petition to establish a right to counsel in civil cases involving food, shelter, safety, health and child custody.

“The court is often placed in a position as a referee, where one of the teams doesn’t know the rules of the game. I see this on a daily basis,” Winnebago County Court Commissioner David Keck said in his opening statement to the court.

Keck said even though there are certain self-help clinics that offer voluntary advice for those who cannot afford an attorney, many of the attorneys are not experts in the field of law particular to the case and do not always feel comfortable answering questions about individual cases.

“Self-help clinics aren’t enough,” Keck said. “It’s like going to a medical clinic and being told you have a serious medical condition, like you need to have your appendix removed, and then going home and figuring out how to remove your appendix.”

Many of the testimonies came from members of the Wisconsin Right to Counsel Task Force. According to the task force’s website, it is an informal association of lawyers and judges that is working to establish the right to the assistance of counsel for persons involved in civil cases in Wisconsin courts.

The task force’s website said it obtained 1,320 Wisconsin resident signatures asking attorneys be appointed to represent impoverished citizens in certain critical civil cases. 

On June 1, 2011, after being presented with the petition, the state Supreme Court voted unanimously to hold the public hearing that occurred Wednesday.

Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, along with the other justices, questioned the costs of the statewide program and alternative techniques other states have used to fund projects like this before.

Legal Action of Wisconsin, one of the plan’s major backers, estimates the requirement could cost $56 million annually.

Executive Director of Legal Action of Wisconsin John Ebbott explained that the attorneys would go to the counties for funding, who would in turn likely ask the state for the money, since this year’s county budgets are so tight.

The Wisconsin County Association’s Legislative Associate David Calendar talked about the impact the program would have on the state counties. Calendar did not take a stance on the civil cases themselves, but did oppose the ruling as it stands now.

“We still don’t know what the cost is going to be,” Calendar said. “The money is simply not there. The money is going to have to come from other services.”

The justices did not make a decision Wednesday but are expected to revisit the issue at its next conference, set for Oct. 17.