Most Americans know that in all criminal cases – those filed by the government against an accused individual – the defendant has a constitutional right to a lawyer. The Supreme Court established this right in 1963 in the landmark case Gideon v. Wainright.

What many people may not know is that no such right exists in civil cases. Civil cases are those filed by individuals or businesses against other individuals or businesses – for example, a landlord against a tenant, a bank against a borrower or an employee against an employer. These cases affect rights that many Americans take for granted, including housing, healthcare and education.

But calls for a civil right to counsel, or “civil Gideon,” have gone unanswered for years. Meanwhile, the United States ranks 112th of 143 countries on access and affordability to civil legal services. This is 40 spots lower than a decade ago, despite a 6% increase in the U.S. practicing lawyer population during the same period.

Studies show that low-income Americans receive insufficient or no legal help for 92% of their civil legal problems. Nonprofit legal aid organizations fill some of this “justice gap.”

However, 49% of those whose income is low enough to qualify for services are turned away because legal services........

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