Jan. 15, 2025 – Colorado faces a substantial shortfall in legal aid funding. As part of ongoing efforts to seek justice for low-income Coloradans, civil legal aid organizations are asking for signatures to allow for the creation of a new special license plate.
A portion of the fee for the license plate would go to civil legal aid organizations including Colorado Legal Services that serve low-income Coloradans and fight for equal justice for all.
“Representation in civil court is vital to ensuring people have a chance to secure justice, from a person being illegally evicted to someone facing debt collection for a medical bill they should never have been asked to pay,” said Matt Baca, executive director of Colorado Legal Services. “That’s why we’re asking for the Colorado community’s support for this effort.”
Draft license plate, subject to final design work with the Colorado Department of Revenue.
While legal experts at organizations like Colorado Legal Services, which closed more than 8,000 cases in 2023, are working tirelessly to represent as many Coloradans as possible, only 8% of low-income Coloradans facing civil legal problems receive legal help. The issues that people have to confront in court alone include losing housing, fighting for protection from a domestic violence abuser, and older adults working to preserve their incomes.
“We’re seeing civil legal aid organizations having to turn people away because they don’t have enough resources,” said Emo Overall, executive director of the Colorado Access to Justice Commission. “Each story of someone who cannot secure justice because of the high cost of attorneys is heartbreaking, and we are asking Coloradans to continue supporting their neighbors who can’t afford representation.”
The State of Colorado requires 3,000 signatures to consider creating a new license plate. The Equal Justice for All license plate petition currently has around 1,700 signatures. Colorado drivers who support the creation of the plate can sign the petition here: qrco.de/legalaidplate.
“Colorado’s legal community is at its strongest when we work together,” said Kristin Bronson, executive director of the Colorado Lawyer’s Committee. “The organizations that would benefit from this specialty Colorado license plate are an indispensable part of our justice ecosystem.”
The organizations supporting this effort are Colorado Legal Services, Colorado Access to Justice Commission, Colorado Lawyers Committee, Community Economic Defense Project, and Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network.
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About us
Colorado Legal Services is Colorado’s statewide nonprofit legal aid program providing civil legal assistance—which does not include criminal or traffic matters—to low-income individuals and older Coloradans throughout the state. Its 13 offices provide free legal assistance in a broad variety of legal areas, including eviction defense, consumer protection, services to survivors of serious crime and human trafficking, representation for domestic violence survivors, and many others.
About 1 in 8 Coloradans qualify financially for CLS’s services. CLS’s current staff of 85 attorneys and 52 paralegals is supplemented by a robust private attorney involvement program. Learn more at www.coloradolegalservices.org.