For most of us, facing court with no lawyer and no legal advice in a case that could change the course of your life would be unthinkable.

But that’s the situation currently facing dozens of defendants in the Northern Territory – many of them disadvantaged or with English as their second or third language, some just children – all being forced to go it alone in a legal system most adults would struggle to navigate.

Lawyer Clancy Dane says a shortage of legal aid, exacerbated by the state government’s tough-on-crime agenda, is leaving vulnerable people without the right to a fair trial. Now, he’s fighting to change that. 

Today, Territory Criminal Lawyers principal Clancy Dane, on what he says is the worst legal aid crisis the country has ever seen.

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Guest: Territory Criminal Lawyers principal, Clancy Dane

Photo: AAP Image/Esther Linder

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