About the Report

“You have the right to an attorney” — everyone is familiar with the Miranda rights, thanks to television crime shows. Our constitution ensures access to no-cost legal counsel when someone is accused of a serious crime and cannot afford an attorney. Yet many do not realize there is no such constitutional right to legal counsel in eviction cases.

As of July 1, 2020 – the City of Cleveland was only the 4th city in the United States to legislate a Right to Counsel in eviction cases.  The effort is funded initially as a public-private partnership, with a goal of being fully funded by City support once studies prove long-term sustainability and return on community investment.

In September 2020, Stout was engaged as the independent 3-year evaluator of Right to Counsel in Cleveland Housing Court.  Stout collaborates with United Way and Legal Aid to assess program success.  Over the past year, Stout has developed more than 100 analyses (with thousands of variations through filters and selections) in a data visualization platform to monitor key performance metrics, identify opportunities for refinement and further research, and evaluate the impact of Cleveland’s novel and nationally recognized Right to Counsel in housing.

This site highlights Stout’s Cleveland Eviction Right to Counsel Annual Independent Evaluation for 2021, published January 31, 2022.