HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-13-25 Public Comment - B. Moore - Support Right to CounselFrom:Benjamin Moore
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Support Right to Counsel
Date:Tuesday, May 13, 2025 10:05:06 AM
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My name is Ben Moore and I have lived in Bozeman since 2005. My family and I have been
renting in Gallatin county since then and as a member of this community, I have a point that Ihave to drive home.
Under the current US court system representing yourself is almost a guarantee that you will
lose if the other party has a lawyer. Parties that represent themselves in court lose 70%-90% oftheir cases. That is why every legal resource you can find strongly recommends hiring a
lawyer. That is why even the biggest hotshot lawyers will hire a lawyer to represent them ifthey're taken to court.
Under this system, being too poor to afford a lawyer essentially strips you of your rights and
legal protections under the law. I wish we lived in a world where I could say that there isn'tanyone who would take advantage of this fact, but that just isn't the case. We are faced with
the fact that there are unscrupulous landlords, uninformed landlords, and just plain slumlordsin Bozeman and Gallatin County. Landlords who either don't know the laws they are supposed
to abide by, or know the laws and ignore them. These bad landlords can easily hire lawyersusing the rent money that their tenants pay, while the tenants can't afford a lawyer because
huge chunks of their income go into paying rent.
Under this arrangement tenants are almost guaranteed to lose in eviction court, regardless ofwhat the actual facts of the case are. So the proposal is simple. Use a bit of the city budget to
make sure that eviction cases are fair and decided based on facts, not by who has more money.Give equal representation to the people, the way our justice system is supposed to be.
And as a final point for the landlords in the room. If you are a good landlord then tenant right
to counsel will change nothing for you. If you maintain the property that you lease, and abideby the laws you will still win in eviction court if your tenants violate their lease or the law.
Good landlords have nothing to fear here, it's only the bad landlord that this change will bringinto line.
Thank you for your time, and have a good evening.
Benjamin A. Moore75 Redwood Drive
Bozeman, MT59718