Shouldn’t legal aid be saved for “deserving” cases and not given to convicted criminals and asylum seekers?
The vast majority of legal aid is spent on cases which aren’t publicised because their merit is never questioned. Funding decisions must be objective and based on the interests of justice, regardless of how unpopular some recipients may be. To ensure the justice system remains fair and accessible to everyone, especially the socially-excluded, the Legal Services Commission has to award legal aid to all people who do not have the financial means to fund their case and whose case has a strong prospect of success. Some of the most publicised cases funded are test cases. These are important as they often clarify the law and, therefore, save money in the long-term. Frequently, only very small amounts of funding are made available so that a solicitor can investigate whether their client has a case. In these instances, additional funding will only be made available for a case to be fully prepared and taken to trial if it is warranted.
