The state provides an abusive husband with an attorney for his criminal trial. But when his battered wife needs a restraining order, there's no lawyer to assist her.

As an attorney and director of Poverty Resistance, Mary Ann Budenske has witnessed the scenario unfold numerous times. Wyoming is one of only two states that doesn't have a statewide legal assistance program for people who can't afford to hire their own lawyer.

The absence of such a program, experts say, leads to a public increasingly disenfranchised by the legal system.

"One of the things that has always bothered me is that if you are an ax murderer, you are going to get better legal representation than if you are the victim of the ax murderer," Budenske said. "Somehow that doesn't quite feel like it is fair to me. But with the resources we have, that is what happens."

To address the situation, a group of attorneys, judges and others in the legal community have formed the Wyoming Access to Justice Commission. Together, they are working to craft a statewide program that would provide legal assistance to people who can't afford to hire an attorney for civil matters, like child custody and divorce cases.

The group gathered at the old Natrona County Courthouse on Monday to learn how such a system might benefit low- and moderate-income people. For more than two hours, they heard stories about people who've suffered because they couldn't afford an attorney.

Without a legal-aid system, laws designed to help abuse victims offer a false hope, said Natrona County Circuit Judge Michael Huber. Victims need an attorney who can help them take advantage of the legal protections that have been enacted by lawmakers.

"When you pass these things and there isn't an effective remedy at the end to help people with these things, frankly from where I sit, I think those laws are hollow, useless things," Huber said. "To me, the worst thing you can do to somebody is say 'I'm going to help you,' and then hand them something that deep inside your heart you know is not going to help them."

Local legal assistance programs do exist in Casper and other places. But those programs are swamped and can't meet the demand that exists in Wyoming, experts say.

The nonprofit Legal Aid of Wyoming, for instance, recently opened an office in Casper, but can only offer assistance to people who make less than about $1,100 a month. That means a person who works full-time for $8 an hour earns too much to qualify for help.

"Our income levels are very restrictively low," said Legal Aid of Wyoming Executive Director Raymond Macchia. "We are going to help the most desperate in need."

Discussion about a statewide legal-aid system follows a dramatic, 10-year rise in the number of civil cases where people choose to represent themselves. That has caused problems inside the courtroom, according to Natrona County District Judge Scott Skavdahl.

People who represent themselves often don't understand court procedures and rules, explained Skavdahl, who serves on the access to justice commission. That can leave them frustrated or angry when a judge makes a ruling they don't agree with.

"In the end, they become disenfranchised and disgusted with the legal system, which in turn leads to ignoring court orders and rules in general," he said.

Judges also have a difficult time making effective rulings because litigants who act as their own attorneys often don't provide adequate information to the court, Skavdahl said.

"Meaningful access to justice requires more than just a warm body and some forms or a packet," he said.

Reach reporter Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com. Visit tribtown.trib.com/JoshuaWolfson/blog to read his blog.