Nebraska Program Adds Juvenile Justice Attorneys in Underserved Rural Areas

Nebraska program adds juvenile justice attorneys in underserved rural areas

(Lincoln) -- The University of Nebraska is addressing a shortage of lawyers who represent the state's most vulnerable children, especially in rural areas.

Iowa State University researchers find legal deserts across U.S.

An Iowa State University professor and two students compiled a study looking into the issue of legal deserts in rural areas across the U.S. (Photo via Getty Images)Small towns experiencing population decline often see staples like grocery stores, day cares and schools close, Iowa State University sociology professor David Peters said, leading to less access and hardship. One less-known, missing part of many of these communities is legal represen…

ISU research IDs 'legal deserts' in 18 Iowa counties - Radio Iowa

Researchers at Iowa State University have classified 18 of Iowa’s 99 counties as “legal deserts” because there are not enough attorneys in the area to represent private clients. ISU rural sociologist David Peters led the research, which found Lee County in southeast Iowa has a “critical” lack of attorneys. “What we found is that a […]

Mobile legal aid clinic, the ‘Justice Bus,’ launches in SD • South Dakota Searchlight

The Justice Bus launched in 2025 to help provide legal aid to South Dakotans living in legal deserts. (Courtesy of Unified Judicial System)A nonprofit providing legal aid to low-income South Dakotans launched the state’s first mobile legal aid office this year, aiming to increase accessibility across the state. Swaths of western South Dakota are considered legal deserts, where barriers such as poverty, lack of transportation and internet access,…

ISU study finds 18 Iowa counties are ‘legal deserts’

(Radio Iowa) – Researchers at Iowa State University have classified 18 of Iowa’s 99 counties as “legal deserts” because there are not enough attorneys in the area to represent private clients. I-S-U rural sociologist David Peters led the research, which found Lee County in southeast Iowa has a critical lack of attorneys. “What we found is that a lot of the state’s micropolitan areas — and these are counties that have a city of around 10,000 to m…