Category Archives: Supreme Court

Interesting Simplifiation/Right to Counsel Argument from Justice Sotamayor in Immigration Case

Posted on April 24, 2013 by

Yesterdays immigration opinion, MONCRIEFFE v. HOLDER, from the Supreme Court, holding possession of small amounts of marijuana outside the definition of “aggravated felony” ineligible for discretionary relief from deportation, contains an interesting nugget for possible citation in simplification and right … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Immigration, Simplification, Supreme Court | Leave a comment

Thoughts After the Gideon Fifty Year Anniversay Gathering at DOJ

Posted on March 16, 2013 by

I was privileged to be invited to be at the gathering yesterday at the Dept of Justice to mark the 50th anniversay of Gideon v. Wainright.  The gathering was organized by the Access to Justice Initiative of DOJ.  Among those … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Criminal Law, Defender Programs, Dept. of Justice, Supreme Court | Leave a comment

Troubling Post Turner Decision from the Wyoming Supreme Court

Posted on February 12, 2013 by

In State Dept. of Family Services v. Currier, 2013 WY 16, the Wyoming Supreme Court rejected the claim that the risk of incarceration required appointment of counsel in civil contempt child support cases in which the relief was sought by … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Supreme Court | 2 Comments

Turner Lives

Posted on January 3, 2013 by

An Ohio intermediate appellate court of appeals case, Crain v. Crain, 2012-Ohio-6180http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/2/2012/2012-ohio-6180.pdf correctly reads Turner v. Rogers, and reverses a contempt judgement in which counsel was denied. The defendant had been found in civil contempt for failure to make child … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Child Support, Supreme Court, Triage | Leave a comment

A Big Step for Pro Se Forms — Supreme Court Access to Justice

Posted on September 28, 2012 by

As reported by the ABA Journal and the AP (in Seattle Times here), on Tuesday, the Supreme Court granted cert in two self-represented cases.  And, as the ABA Journal detailed “One was written in longhand, in pencil, by an inmate … Continue reading →

Posted in Forms, Self-Help Services, Supreme Court | Leave a comment

Video of Turner v. Rogers Anniversary Symposium Now Online

Posted on August 2, 2012 by

The video of the June 20 OSCE/DOJ Turner Symposium is now online.  Here is part of the description from the invite:  [S]peakers include George Sheldon, Acting Assistant Secretary Administration for Children and Families; Vicki Turetsky, OCSE Commissioner; Daniel Olmos, Department … Continue reading →

Posted in Child Support, Meetings, Supreme Court | Leave a comment

Judicature Article on Broad Strategic Impact of Turner v. Rogers

Posted on July 26, 2012 by

I am proud that Judicature has just published my new article on Turner v. Rogers:  The Implications for Access to Justice Strategies. The article is aimed at courts, the bar, legal aid programs, and access to justice Commissions, with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Supreme Court, Systematic Change | 1 Comment

More on the Turner v. Rogers Anniversary Forum — DC In Person and Streaming Seats Available

Posted on June 12, 2012 by

Here is the text of the invite from HHS to the 2 PM Eastern, Wed June 20th session, to be held at Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 1st Floor Auditorium, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20201: You are invited to … Continue reading →

Posted in Meetings, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Supreme Court, Systematic Change | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Supreme Court Narrows Meaning of “Interpreting” in Cost Shifting Statute

Posted on May 21, 2012 by

As Claudia Johnston points out in a Comment, the Supreme Court has (6-3) come up with a narrow definition of “interpreting” in a cost shifting statute, excluding translation of documents.  The decision, TANIGUCHI v. KAN PACIFIC SAIPAN, LTD, is here. … Continue reading →

Posted in LEP, Supreme Court | 1 Comment

Mediation and the Self-Represented — Towards a New Paradigm

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

The mediation world seems to be starting seriously to engage the issue of self-represented litigants. Indeed, last week at the ABA Conference of the Section on Dispute Resolution, I was on a panel on the subject with Heather Scheiwe Kulp, … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Mediation, Supreme Court | 5 Comments

Some Procedural Fairness Lessons for Assessing the Supreme Courts Oral Arguments in the Affordable Care Act Cases

Posted on March 27, 2012 by

Justice Steven Leben (Kansas Court of Appeals) and Judge Kevin Burke (Minnesota trial Court) have a fascinating article in the MinnPost about how the lessons of procedural fairness can help guide how the Supreme Court judges conduct oral arguments on … Continue reading →

Posted in Judicial Ethics, Supreme Court | Leave a comment

Arguument Feb 21 in Supreme Court Case on Scope of “Interpreter” Costs

Posted on January 6, 2012 by

This could make a difference in the language access debate. On February 21, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case of Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, Ltd. This case, appealed from CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mauritania … Continue reading →

Posted in LEP, Supreme Court | Tagged | 2 Comments

Larry Tribe Nails it on Layers and Judicial Supremacy

Posted on December 20, 2011 by

Larry Tribe lays it out simply, as reported in the New York Times.. “I think part of the advantage I have is I’m not a lawyer,” Mr. Gingrich said Sunday on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “And so as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Supreme Court | Tagged , | Leave a comment

One Year of Blogging — Some Reflections on the Year in Access to Justice

Posted on December 11, 2011 by

Today is the first anniversary of this blog.  306 posts, over 16,000 web views (and maybe the same number of subscriber push views), and counting.  Please celebrate with me by passing the word, and by encouraging folks to use the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Budget Issues, Dept. of Justice, Funding, Legal Aid, LEP, LSC, Metrics, Research and Evalation, Supreme Court, Systematic Change, Technology, This Blog, Triage | 1 Comment

Justice Breyer Urges Debate on Need for Triage and Generally Urges Experimentation

Posted on December 9, 2011 by

Today was the NLADA Centennial Conference Awards Luncheon. Supreme Court Justice Breyer, Attorney General Holder and Congressman John Lewis spoke.  An impressive list and a powerful moment. Innovation advocates will be encouraged to learn that in the course of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Supreme Court | Tagged | Leave a comment