JEFFERSON — When it comes to legal issues, a Supreme Court of Georgia committee has found that low- to moderate-income households are less likely to seek out representation.

That’s why the Committee on Civil Justice was formed, and in 2007 started a study to look at the legal needs of this segment of the population.

Results from the study were released this summer and since that time, committee members have traveled across the state to share the findings and to get local input. During a roundtable discussion Friday at the Jackson County Courthouse, committee representatives shared the results of the survey.

According to the survey, the top legal needs relate to consumer issues — things such as abusive collection practices, unfair denial of a loan, debt disputes and identity theft. Other top issues, in order of need relate to housing, health, employment and public benefits.

According to the results, more than 90 percent of those surveyed did not obtain legal help for their problem — mainly because they didn’t realize that it was an actual legal issue — and nearly 75 percent said that they tried to resolve the issue themselves without legal representation.

Lack of understanding of the court system and a lack of money to pay for a lawyer are top reasons why many of the surveyed households did not have the necessary legal representation.

The Committee on Civil Justice was formed in 2005 by order of the Supreme Court of Georgia as a way to improve access to justice for all Georgians.

"We knew we needed to gather data before we got started," said Jill Radwin, committee executive director.

In 2007, the committee commissioned an assessment "of the legal needs of Georgia’s low- and moderate-income population, as a starting point for its work to achieve its mission of assuring access to the civil justice system for all."

For the survey, a low-income household was defined as one with up to $30,000 in annual income for a family of four; a moderate-income household was defined as one with up to $60,000 in annual income for a family of four. In addition to deciphering what the legal needs are of low- to moderate-income households, the survey also addressed the obstacles to accessing the justice system and how legal service providers were responding to the needs of the surveyed population.

Although the preliminary data is available, committee members say their work still isn’t finished. After completing its tour of Georgia cities and towns, the group will compile and analyze the local problems and potential solutions that are gathered during the roundtable discussions.

"We hope to publish everything by the end of November," Radwin said. "Using the data, we’d like to come up with a plan to address some of the barriers to accessing the justice system."