The tenth Symposium Issue of the Drake Law Review, co-sponsored with the American Judicature Society, will be on “Access To Justice: Where Is The Boundary For Due Process?”

This is a great opportunity for the access to justice community to engage with academics and others on what is, after all, the key topic.  It is particularly timely after Turner, with its practical focus on accuracy and fairness, and its potential to impact other areas of access.

The Call for Papers specifies the following as possible questions, but any approaches to the general topic are encouraged:

 • How can judges determine the appropriate level of process in varying cases and circumstances?
• How is due process affected when the judicial process is not properly explained to pro se litigants?
• How is due process affected when criminal defendants plead guilty to felony-level offenses on paper only, without appearing before a judge?
• How is due process affected when litigants, unable to communicate effectively in English, elect to forego aid of interpreters due to expense or over-confidence in self-representation, with little or no explanation by a court officer?
• How is due process affected when judicial branch layoffs and budget cuts delay cases for months or even years?
• How is due process affected by the rise of alternative dispute resolution systems, which force consumers and borrowers into mandatory mediation or arbitration?
• How is due process affected by executive branch actions that take the lives of American citizens in the absence of judicial review?

I will probably be submitting a proposal, and would be happy to talk with folks about any ideas they may have.

All general topic proposals must be submitted by November 1, 2012 to the Editor in Chief of the Law Review. The Editor also welcomes queries about possible topics, etc.  The deadline for completed articles is February 1, 2013. Contact information is below:

Drake Law Review
2507 University Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa 50311
Phone: (515) 271-2930, Fax: (515) 271-4926
email: law.review(at)drake.edu, http://www.drakelawreview.org
Rachel Parker, Editor in Chief
rachel.parker(at)drake.edu

Note: an earlier version of the post incorrectly referenced a different law school.  My apologies to all.