UNIVERSITY OF UTAH LAW — Every year, 20 million Americans find themselves in state civil courts facing life-altering events such as divorce, child custody deliberations, eviction, and missed bills. But unlike in criminal courts, where defendants have a constitutional right to legal representation, the same guarantee isn’t afforded in state civil courts. Most people in these courts are low- to middle-income and unable to afford help. They must strike out on their own to blindly navigate byzantine legal protocols. Utah Law Professor Anna Carpenter her team call state civil courts “lawyerless courts” because the vast majority of litigants have no counsel.