Author Archives: richardzorza

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About richardzorza

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

A Perspective on Interpreting for Monolingual Anglo-Phones

Posted on March 17, 2011 by richardzorza

An somwhat unusual byproduct of the Japan nuke disaster is the opportunity to watch the Japanese public TV station English Language service over the Internet (for all I know it may always be available if you know where to look, … Continue reading →

Posted in LEP | 1 Comment

Missouri Supreme Court Judge’s Tool Kit on Pro Bono — Perspectives on Court Use of Pro Bono

Posted on March 16, 2011 by richardzorza

A useful tool and model on pro bono for judges from the Missouri Supreme Court. Here is an introductory letter from a Judge on the Court, Mary R. Russell, together with the Toolkit Topics include: A summary of the research … Continue reading →

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California Judicial Developments

Posted on March 15, 2011 by richardzorza

It’s hard for me to estimate the likely long term impact of the unhappiness among some California judges, as reported here in the LA Times. At issue is whether the court system should continue to be run centrally by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Counsel, Self-Help Services, Systematic Change, Technology | Comments Off on California Judicial Developments

Risks and Consequences — Implications for Access Advocacy

Posted on March 14, 2011 by richardzorza

With all eyes fixed on Japan, it seems like a good time to reflect on risks and consequences.  (Actually, its hard for me to think about anything else, and it is fascinating how much traffic to this blog has dropped … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Domestic Violence, Foreclosure, Research and Evalation, This Blog | Tagged | 1 Comment

“The Happynomics of Life” — Measuring Broadest Impact of Access to Justice

Posted on March 13, 2011 by richardzorza

Read Roger Cohen in Sunday’s NY Times on the The Happynomics of Life. He looks at the recent initiative in the UK to develop a measure of happiness of the public.   The  idea has been much derided as at attempt … Continue reading →

Posted in Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services | Comments Off on “The Happynomics of Life” — Measuring Broadest Impact of Access to Justice

Self-Represented Litigation Network Pre-Conference May 18, 2011

Posted on March 11, 2011 by richardzorza

The Self-Represented Litigation Network Pre-Conference  will be May 18, 2011, before the Equal Justice Conference in Las Vegas. The draft Agenda is here. (selfhelpsupport.org membership required.) Registration link here.  Early registration deadline is March 28, 2011. Among the topics planned … Continue reading →

Posted in Meetings | 1 Comment

Foreclosure Counselling — Financial Value — Model for Statistical Analysis

Posted on March 9, 2011 by richardzorza

The Urban Institute has completed a study of the financial value of foreclosure counselling, in this case provided by NeighborWorks America The NFMC [National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling] program recognizes three distinct levels of counseling services. In Level 1 counseling, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosure, Research and Evalation | 1 Comment

Lawyers Replaced by Computers — NYT Article — Lets Focus on New Capacities

Posted on March 8, 2011 by richardzorza

The NY Times article, Armies of Expensive Lawyers, Replaced by Cheaper Software, has aroused a lot of comment, e.g. here (Strategic Legal Technology). Of course, much of the comment is about the “replacement” angle (although not the Strategic Legal Technology … Continue reading →

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Mass Charges Fee to Challenge Moving Violation — State Supreme Ct Challenge — Indigent Court Costs Statute

Posted on March 7, 2011 by richardzorza

That’s right.  In venerable Massachusetts, you have to pay a fee to challenge a traffic ticket (Boston Globe story). A challenge is now pending in the SJC (Supreme Judicial Court — Docket entries and briefs here).  The statistics appear to … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Court Fees and Costs, Legal Aid, Middle Income | Tagged | Comments Off on Mass Charges Fee to Challenge Moving Violation — State Supreme Ct Challenge — Indigent Court Costs Statute

Quantitiative Boot Camp on Access to Justice?

Posted on March 6, 2011 by richardzorza

The recent post on the law professor’s quantitative boot camp got me thinking about the need for something similar for access to justice professionals. (see the mention in my post introducing the Empirical Legal Studies Blog. We need to find … Continue reading →

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UK Considers Possible Negative Impact on Court Operations of Legal Aid Cuts. Discussion of “Polluter Pays”

Posted on March 5, 2011 by richardzorza

As you may know, UK legal aid is facing massive budget cuts.  Since even the civil system is an entitlement one (in dramatic contrast to the US), the means the new government (Conservative and Liberal Democratic, both took more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget Issues, Funding, Research and Evalation | Tagged | Comments Off on UK Considers Possible Negative Impact on Court Operations of Legal Aid Cuts. Discussion of “Polluter Pays”

Intellectual Property Case About Forms: Montana Supreme Court Commission on Self-Represented Litigants v. Legal Aid Administration, LLC et al

Posted on March 4, 2011 by richardzorza

The Montana Supreme Court Commission on Self-Represented Litigants has sued an organization called “Legal Aid Administration, LLC” (referred to in the extract of the Complaint below as “LAA”.  According to the Complaint, LAA is a limited liability company.)  The case … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally | 3 Comments

Pew Study on Relationship of Perception of Community Openness to Civic Satisfaction

Posted on March 3, 2011 by richardzorza

Pew has released a nice study on the relationship of perception of community openness to civic satisfaction.  Press release here.  Study here. Gov20,govfresh blog here. From the Introduction: Those who think local government does well in sharing information are also … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court Decision on Failure to Meet Administrative Agency Time Limits (VA)

Posted on March 2, 2011 by richardzorza

As many will recall, in 2007, in an opinion that may felt was harsh and unrealistic, the Supreme Court ruled that when a habeas petitioner failed to file within a statutorily required period, even though the court had granted a … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Administative Proecdure, Supreme Court | Comments Off on Supreme Court Decision on Failure to Meet Administrative Agency Time Limits (VA)

My Aunt’s Holocaust Survival and Reunion Memoir now available in English on Amazon

Posted on February 26, 2011 by richardzorza

Some of you may have heard me talk publicly or privately about my amazing Polish aunt, Rut Wermuth Burak (Wikipedia link), who survived the Holocaust, spent 18 years looking for my father, and finally found us in 1994, 53 years … Continue reading →

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