Category Archives: Access to Justice Boards

Legislative Funding Best Practices For Legal Aid Endorsed by CCJ and COSCA Apply to Broad Definition of Legal Aid

Posted on August 14, 2015 by richardzorza

As I recently blogged, the Conference of Chiefs and the Conference of State Court Administrators passed three important and inter-related Resolutions recently.  The first was about 100% access to justice, and the second about Best Practices for Supreme Court support … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Funding, Judicial Ethics, Legal Aid | 1 Comment

New CCJ/COSCA Resolution on 100% Access, and How to Get There, Is a Tipping Point

Posted on August 11, 2015 by richardzorza

The week before last, the Conference of (state) Chief Justices, and the Conference of State Court Administrators jointly passed two Resolutions that together predict a tipping pint forward in moving to justice.  One sets an aspirational goal of 100% access … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Bar Associations, Communications Strategy, Court Management, Forms, Legal Aid, Mobile Technology, Outcome Measures, Political Support, Research and Evalation, Rules Reform, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage, Unbundling | 3 Comments

ATJ Commissions Planning Survey Shows Energy, Common Directions and Interest in Multi-State Networking

Posted on July 29, 2015 by richardzorza

After the Access to Justice Commissions meeting this spring in Austin, the Commissions were invited to respond to a brief survey as to their interest in following up on the areas for possible initiatives that had been the focus of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Chasm with Communities, Communications Strategy, Court Fees and Costs, Funding, Legal Aid, Metrics, Planning, Self-Help Services, Simplification, Technology | 1 Comment

Every Community Should Have a Civil Justice Coordinator and Coordinating Council

Posted on June 13, 2015 by richardzorza

The New York City Council recently passed a bill to create an Office of Civil Justice Coordinator. The bill, which was co-sponsored by Councilman Mark Levine, would create an office within the Human Resources Administration and have a budget of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Bar Associations, Budget Issues, Legal Aid, Triage | Comments Off on Every Community Should Have a Civil Justice Coordinator and Coordinating Council

How State-Wide Groups Might Help Deal With The “Ferguson Chasm”

Posted on May 29, 2015 by richardzorza

Here are some suggestions for how ATJ Commissions and other statewide groups (or those just advocating) might move forward on addressing the “Ferguson Chasm” — the gap between communities and the entire legal system, epitomized by Ferguson using the court … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Chasm with Communities, Child Support, Court Fees and Costs, Policing, Self-Help Services, Simplification | Comments Off on How State-Wide Groups Might Help Deal With The “Ferguson Chasm”

The Needed Components for National ATJ Initiative Taking

Posted on May 26, 2015 by richardzorza

A couple of years ago, I blogged about what a state capacity for access to justice might look like.  Folks might find this post useful to start to talk about evaluation of the progress of their state’s ATJ Commission (or … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Bar Associations, Communications Strategy, Dept. of Justice, Funding | Comments Off on The Needed Components for National ATJ Initiative Taking

Ohio Supreme Court Task Force Recommends “Access to Justice Impact Statement” Requirement

Posted on April 30, 2015 by richardzorza

The Ohio Supreme Court Task Force on Access to Justice has included among other great proposals, a new and exciting idea in its Recommendations, which would be to require an “Access to Justice Impact Statement” before any changes in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Court Management, LEP | Comments Off on Ohio Supreme Court Task Force Recommends “Access to Justice Impact Statement” Requirement

The Expanding Role of ATJ Commissions — Florida and California

Posted on January 13, 2015 by richardzorza

As we build out state level access to justice leadership that does beyond information sharing to project leadership and the building of an integrated system, it is great to see two new state level initiatives that are building the needed … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Communications Strategy, Incubators | 1 Comment

Important Step Forward and Model Approach for ATJ Commission with Best Practices In Administrative Area Issued Jointly with the Governor

Posted on December 28, 2014 by richardzorza

The Massachusetts ATJ Commission has scored another important first with the issuance together with the Governor of Best Practices for State Agencies to Enhance State Administrative Justice. The full text is reproduced below: Recognizing that administrative justice is a vital … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Administative Proecdure | Comments Off on Important Step Forward and Model Approach for ATJ Commission with Best Practices In Administrative Area Issued Jointly with the Governor

What Might a National Expungement Strategy Look Like?

Posted on December 4, 2014 by richardzorza

There is now pretty wide bi-partisan and multi-regional agreement that we have to make the re-entry of the convicted into society much easier, and that expunging prior criminal records will be an important part of this initiative. While lots of … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Criminal Law, Defender Programs, Dept. of Justice, expungement, Legal Aid, LEP | Comments Off on What Might a National Expungement Strategy Look Like?

Preparing for DAPA: A New Self-Help Need for Court and Community-Based Legal Aid

Posted on December 4, 2014 by richardzorza

The State Justice Institute has just distributed a memo on likely ways that the President’s Delayed Action for Parental Accountability program will result in requests for help to state courts.  The nub of the memo is here: The requirements for … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Court Management, Immigration, Legal Aid, Self-Help Services | 1 Comment

Governing Magazine Spreads the ATJ Message Beyond Courts With Article on NY CJ Lippman

Posted on September 21, 2014 by richardzorza

It has long been a goal of the more visionary access to justice commissions, now joined by Voices for Civil Justice, to spread the ATJ message beyond courts to other government actors.  So it is particularly good news that there … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally | 1 Comment

American Assoc of Law Libraries Issues Report on Acess to Justice

Posted on September 20, 2014 by richardzorza

An important step from a very significant ally in the access coalition.  The American Association of Law Libraries has issued Law Libraries and Access to Justice, which was drafted by a special committee of the Association. The Report brings together … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Libraries | Comments Off on American Assoc of Law Libraries Issues Report on Acess to Justice

Assessing the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Institutional Structure of Communty Based Legal Aid

Posted on July 21, 2014 by richardzorza

As “access to justice” receives more and more attention, and as we start to put in place new structures such as the “communications hub,” perhaps it is time to step back and think about the strengths and weakness of our … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, LSC, Systematic Change | Comments Off on Assessing the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Institutional Structure of Communty Based Legal Aid

Article on Spread of ATJ Commissions Implicitly Raises the Question Whether There is Any Good Argument Left To Justify A State Not Having an ATJ Commission

Posted on July 4, 2014 by richardzorza

An excellent article in the NCSC Publication Court Trends, written by Chief Justice Nathan Hecht of Texas and Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas Kilbride of Illinois, includes timelines and listings of the spread of the Commissions movement.  It shows the … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Boards | 3 Comments