Monthly Archives: July 2016

Anne Holton, VP Nominee Tim Kaine’s Wife, was a Legal Aid Lawyer for Thirteen years, and a Judge for Seven

According to Wikipedia: Following graduation from law school, Holton served as a law clerk for Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr. of the Richmond-based United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. From 1985 to 1998, she worked as … Continue reading

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Legal Aid, Vocation, White House | Comments Off on Anne Holton, VP Nominee Tim Kaine’s Wife, was a Legal Aid Lawyer for Thirteen years, and a Judge for Seven

Claudia Johnson Guest Post: Appellate Courts show willingness to reverse decisions where due process and decisions are not explained in SRL cases—Are DV cases the canary and a natural for innovation?

Multiple decisions have come to my attention where appellate courts are reversing trial courts on cases where one of the parties did not have a lawyer. All cases come from Domestic  Violence dockets. Is this a new trend for DV … Continue reading

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Appellate Practice, Document Assembly, Domestic Violence, Family Law, Guest Bloggers, Judicial Ethics, Self-Help Services | 1 Comment

Would Having Famous White Actors Re-Enact Being the Shooting Victims Help Change White Attitudes?

It is great that celebrities are being used to draw attention to the wide variety of situations in which Black people can be shot by cops in the US. But surely it would be more of an opinion changer if … Continue reading

Posted in Chasm with Communities, Constitution, Criminal Law, Policing | 2 Comments

The Legal System Continues, per Ginsburg, J., To Protect the Constitutional System Against Trump

Yesterday morning the New York Times published a precedent-shattering interview with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Unless they have a book to sell, Supreme Court justices rarely give interviews. Even then, they diligently avoid political topics. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg takes … Continue reading

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Constitution, Judicial Ethics, Supreme Court, White House | 1 Comment

Advocate System Versus System That Does Not Need Advocates

A recent conversation with my friend Peter Fielding, a doctor who lives at our retirement community about patient/client advocates led to some interesting conclusions for both the medical and legal worlds. When Peter and I discussed the fact that some … Continue reading

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Attorney-Client, Medical System Comparision, Systematic Change | 6 Comments

With Nate Silver’s Election Prediction Launch a Couple of Days Ago, Its a Good Time to Think About Statistics, Predictions, Triage, and Education for Public Policy

Nate’s 2016 polls-only prediction is that Clinton has an 77.6% chance of winning. For those of us who talk about how triage is critical, his methodology page is well worth some attention. It is highly sophisticated, and reminds us just … Continue reading

Posted in Budget Issues, Funding, Medical System Comparision, Metrics, Outcome Measures, Public Education, Research and Evalation, Series: Outcome Measures, Systematic Change, Technology, Transparency, Triage | 1 Comment