Category Archives: Access to Justice Generally

Washington Post Explains Why Last Minute Regs Are Worth It

Posted on December 1, 2016 by richardzorza

The Washington Post explains here why even last minute regs are worth the effort. While Republicans are already warning that they will reverse some of the rules Obama will issue during the last months of his presidency, White House officials … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Dept. of Justice, Federal Agencies, Planning, White House | Comments Off on Washington Post Explains Why Last Minute Regs Are Worth It

Important — Now Out, The WH-LAIR Report Is Actually Not Bittersweet Reading — It Is Hopeful For The Future But You Have to Read It Carefully

Posted on November 30, 2016 by richardzorza

To be honest and direct, even though the first White HHouse-LAIR Annual Report (Legal Aid InterAgency Rountable) is “must reading,” it might feel at first like it might be hard to read, because it’s difficult not to think in terms … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Court Management, Law Schools, Legal Aid, LSC, White House | 1 Comment

LSC TIG Conference, the Website Assessment and Portals

Posted on November 26, 2016 by richardzorza

LSC has announced its January 2017 TIG Conference. The draft agenda is here. While there is much of great interest, I would just like to point out that one very good reason for many, including particularly those involved in websites … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, LSC, Self-Help Services, Technology | Comments Off on LSC TIG Conference, the Website Assessment and Portals

LSC Releases RFP for Portal Project

Posted on November 23, 2016 by richardzorza

This may be a historic month for 100% access to justice. LSC has now released the RFP, with proposals due Jan 19, for the portal project.  After some extracts, I offer below some thoughts that may be helpful. I think … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Bar Associations, Funding, Litigant Voice, Medical System Comparision, Metrics, Planning, Remote Services, Research and Evalation, Technology, Triage | 3 Comments

Fact Checking Software and The Justice System

Posted on November 18, 2016 by richardzorza

This story about Google investing in online fact checking software did not get much attention in the US.  But, as reported in the Independent, it could be a big deal: UK fact checking organisation, FullFact, has announced it has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Evidence | Comments Off on Fact Checking Software and The Justice System

Justice for All Grants Show Bipartisan Momentum on Access to Justice and Listening to the Voice of the People

Posted on November 10, 2016 by richardzorza

Today sees the announcement of the awards in the Justice for All project. As the announcement issued by NCSC and the Public Welfare Foundation put it: “Given the large number of people who are struggling economically, the increase of self-represented … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Boards, Access to Justice Generally, Funding | 2 Comments

Thoughts For Those At Personal and Family Risk

Posted on November 8, 2016 by richardzorza

There will be time and time enough to understand how this has happened. But first, let us find the ways to be supportive at the personal and group level of people who are now to be put at risk through … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Discrimination, Immigration, White House | 1 Comment

NYT Article on “Why Isn’t There a Landlord Blacklist?” Raises a More General Question

Posted on November 5, 2016 by richardzorza

That question is asked in a September piece by Ronda Kaysen in the Times Real Estate Section. The author points out the data about tenant available to landlords, including from databases of eviction cases culled from court records. Renting an … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Consumer Rights, Evictions, Federal Agencies, Federal Courts, Housing, Media | 1 Comment

Important Research on Benefits of Plain Language Court Orders And Translation

Posted on November 4, 2016 by richardzorza

This research, funded under the LSC TIG program through a grant to TRLA, conducted in Austin, Texas, by NPC Research on the impact of plain language and translated court documents could be very helpful indeed. (Disclosure: I have been involved … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Forms, LEP, LSC, Outcome Measures, Plain Language, Self-Help Services, Technology | 2 Comments

True Neutrality in a Time of Existential Crisis

Posted on October 30, 2016 by richardzorza

What is rapidly becoming not a national existential crisis, but a world existential crisis forces us to examine not the limits of neutrality, but the obligations of neutrality. The United States is enriched by enormous numbers of organizations that are … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Constitution, Federal Courts, Judicial Ethics | 2 Comments

Thinking About Access to Justice and The Coming Transition

Posted on October 23, 2016 by richardzorza

Given that Karl Rove has effectively conceded the election, its surely time to start thinking about opportunities for access to justice in the transition. Obviously, this is going to be very different from the last transition eight years ago.  It … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Administative Proecdure, Defender Programs, Dept. of Justice, Federal Agencies, Funding, LAIR, Legal Aid, LSC, Mixed Model, Non-Lawyer Practice | Comments Off on Thinking About Access to Justice and The Coming Transition

Immigration Judges Learn to Recognze and Protect Against Implicit Bias

Posted on October 4, 2016 by richardzorza

The NYT has an important piece today on judges and implicit bias. Now, as the country struggles with how these instinctive judgments shape our lives, the Justice Department is trying to minimize the role of bias in law enforcement and … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Communications Strategy, Immigration, Judicial Ethics, SRLN | Comments Off on Immigration Judges Learn to Recognze and Protect Against Implicit Bias

Serving Self-Represented Litigants Remotely A Resource Guide Is a Must Read

Posted on September 23, 2016 by richardzorza

Serving Self-Represented Litigants Remotely A Resource Guide, prepared by a team led by John Greacen and including SRLN members from across the country, has just been published by SRLN.  It is a “Must Read,” to use a much over-used word.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Budget Issues, Court Management, Forms, Metrics, Remote Services, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services, SRLN, Systematic Change, Technology, Triage | Comments Off on Serving Self-Represented Litigants Remotely A Resource Guide Is a Must Read

Harder and Harder to Separate Access to Justice and Election Politics

Posted on September 22, 2016 by richardzorza

It is getting harder and harder to separate access to justice and politics.  So I feel that it is not inappropriate to share a link to my politics and humor blog, in which I ask those Republics who might, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Judicial Ethics, White House | Comments Off on Harder and Harder to Separate Access to Justice and Election Politics

Data Maps Come to Access to Justice Planning

Posted on September 15, 2016 by richardzorza

This is an important step in ensuring that strategic planning is informed by underlying indicia of need. The Self-Represented Litigation Network has just launched a national, but highly granulated online tool for looking at national county by county level statistics … Continue reading →

Posted in 100% Access Strategy and Campaign, Access to Justice Generally, Evictions, Housing, Metrics, Poverty, SRL Statistics, SRLN | Comments Off on Data Maps Come to Access to Justice Planning