Author Archives: richardzorza

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About richardzorza

I am deeply involved in access to justice and the patient voice movement.

Last Blast on Turner

Posted on June 28, 2011 by richardzorza

I am sorry if I have seemed to be suffering from Turner-obsession this last ten days.  But it really is an important decision, and has taken a lot of my time because I believe it has the potential to transform … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Forms, Judicial Ethics, Legal Aid | 1 Comment

Defender Services for Arrested Defendants — US and UK Comparison

Posted on June 27, 2011 by richardzorza

As part of the UK governing coalition’s attempt to cut the UK legal aid budget by 350 million pounds (about US$500 million), the possibility is being raised of introducing means testing of the provision of the currently universally available solicitors … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Criminal Law, International Models | Comments Off on Defender Services for Arrested Defendants — US and UK Comparison

Turner and the Self-Represented — A Summary of Its Very Broad Implications and The Begining of a New Jurisprudence

Posted on June 25, 2011 by richardzorza

Below find the full text of my post on ConcurringOpinions titlted Turner’s Trombone Blows for Every Self-Represented Litigant.  It is, of course, part of the Synposium on the case that David Udell and I are co-hosting. Turner v. Rogers, 564 … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Document Assembly, Forms, Judicial Ethics, Supreme Court | 23 Comments

The UK Legal Aid Cuts

Posted on June 24, 2011 by richardzorza

Richard Moorhead is a wise and reflective observer of the access to justice world, focusing on the UK. His latest blog post (well worth reading in full) brings both informtion and perspective on the very depressing news out of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, International Models | Tagged | Comments Off on The UK Legal Aid Cuts

Turner Symposium — Link to Review and Refocusing Questions

Posted on June 23, 2011 by richardzorza

Here is the first couple of paras of the review and refocusing post on the Turner Symposium on the ConcurringOpinions blog: As of day three, post Turner, some trends have begun to emerge in the commentary, on this blog at … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Forms, Judicial Ethics, Self-Help Services, Supreme Court | Comments Off on Turner Symposium — Link to Review and Refocusing Questions

Updadates from the Turner Blog

Posted on June 22, 2011 by richardzorza

Some useful ideas from the Turner v. Rogers blog.

Posted in Access to Counsel, Judicial Ethics, Supreme Court | Comments Off on Updadates from the Turner Blog

Turner v. Rogers is Released — Due Process Requires Reversal Despite Lack of Categorical Right to Counsel — Symposium Launched on ComcurringOpinions

Posted on June 20, 2011 by richardzorza

The Supreme Court has decided Turner v. Rogers. Opinion by Justice Breyer (5-4), with Justice Kennedy joining the majority. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-10.pdf. AP Story, via NYT David Udell and I have launched our Symposium on ConcurrngOpinions. The post below is a copy … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Dept. of Justice, Document Assembly, Forms, Judicial Ethics, Legal Aid, Self-Help Services, Supreme Court, Triage | Comments Off on Turner v. Rogers is Released — Due Process Requires Reversal Despite Lack of Categorical Right to Counsel — Symposium Launched on ComcurringOpinions

Foreclosure Slowdown Reported in NYT

Posted on June 19, 2011 by richardzorza

Today’s New York Times has an important article on the slowdown in foreclosures. Some of the main points: At current rates it would take 62 years for complete repossession of homes in serious default/foreclosure in NY state.  Data from LPS … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosure | Tagged | Comments Off on Foreclosure Slowdown Reported in NYT

Get That CLE Before the End of the Month In Something You Care About — Accredited Program Will be Posted Online Mid-July

Posted on June 17, 2011 by richardzorza

I am pleased to spread the word that Monica Fennel, Executive Director of the Indiana Pro Bono Commission, David Udell, Executive Director of the National Center for Access to Justice and Visiting Professor from Practice at Cardozo Law School, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally | Tagged | Comments Off on Get That CLE Before the End of the Month In Something You Care About — Accredited Program Will be Posted Online Mid-July

New Stats on Increasing Federal Non-Prisoner SRL Cases — More Federal Court SRL Program Networking Starting

Posted on June 16, 2011 by richardzorza

The US Courts News Blog has undated statistics on prisoner and non-prisoner self-represented cases. Key text: But the number of non-prisoner pro se cases has been climbing as well. In FY 2010, that total was 24,319. It was 22,821 in … Continue reading →

Posted in Federal Courts, Self-Help Services, SRL Statistics, Unbundling | Comments Off on New Stats on Increasing Federal Non-Prisoner SRL Cases — More Federal Court SRL Program Networking Starting

Is Reason a Tool for Winning, Rather than for Truth?

Posted on June 14, 2011 by richardzorza

This NYT article should give us all some pause.  The core idea is that reasoning developed as a tool to win arguments, rather than to get at truth.  According to this theory, you can not cure people of bias, because … Continue reading →

Posted in Research and Evalation, Science | Tagged | 1 Comment

Thoughts on Health Centers as Legal Information Access Points — A Very Fundable and Partnerable Access-Increasing Concept

Posted on June 13, 2011 by richardzorza

We have made lots of progress in the last couple of years on bringing in public libraries as partners and access points for legal information. Its time to think about other such partners.  Given that money is going to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Dept. of Justice, Libraries, Self-Help Services, Technology | Tagged | 2 Comments

DOJ Targets Immigration Assistance Scams — A Step Needed to Access Innovation

Posted on June 11, 2011 by richardzorza

Its good to hear that DOJ is going after immigration assistance scams. This is important not only because of the all too many people who are badly hurt — both financially and in terms of their legal situations — by … Continue reading →

Posted in Dept. of Justice, Self-Help Services | Tagged , | Comments Off on DOJ Targets Immigration Assistance Scams — A Step Needed to Access Innovation

Law Library Budget Crises: The Moral Is Clear — Serve the General Public

Posted on June 9, 2011 by richardzorza

We are hearing more and more about budget crises impacting court-related law libraries. For example, West Virginia is closing its regional law libraries. Similarly, law libraries in Texas, Washington State, and Connecticut are facing urgent funding problems.

Posted in Funding, Libraries | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

A Way to Move Forward on Language Access — Create a Laboratory Language Access Court

Posted on June 8, 2011 by richardzorza

For many, the language access/participation issue (see here for recent blog on terminology) seems overwhelming.  While agreeing strongly with the goals, folks are anxious over the required levels of expenditures, and nervous of possible diversion of money urgently needed for … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, LEP, Research and Evalation, Systematic Change | Tagged | 2 Comments