NOTE: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Ted Phillips: What is a right to counsel?

Tonya Myers Phillips: Simply put, it’s the right to have legal representation in a legal proceeding. If you’re charged with a crime in this country and you can’t afford your own attorney, you’re provided with a lawyer — that’s a constitutional right. But unfortunately, we don’t have that equivalent on the civil side of the law. So we’re advocating that individuals in Detroit who are facing eviction be provided with an attorney … see ful story at Outlier Media