On September 28, the Legal Aid Foundation of S.B. County (LAF) hosted its annual Taste for Justice Chowderfest to raise funds for the civil legal services it provides countywide to low-income and vulnerable residents.
Held at the S.B. Carriage and Western Art Museum, the event featured tasty chowders and other food, along with beer and wine, from nearly 30 purveyors, all of whom donated their offerings. Guests voted S.B. Shellfish Company the Chowder Champion, Joe’s Café as First Runner-Up, and Scarlett Begonia as Second Runner-Up. The popular band Spencer the Gardener performed in the historic courtyard throughout the afternoon.
In the short program, Executive Director Jennifer Smith explained that while criminal defendants have the right to counsel, those who are harmed by a civil wrong do not. So, a survivor of domestic violence in need of a restraining order or a tenant facing an unjust eviction has no right to counsel. LAF addresses this civil justice gap.