More Greiner et al Offers of Counsel Studies – The Debate Continues – Newsmaker Interview Planned

Posted on October 24, 2011 by richardzorza

In a major development for access to justice, the next round of studies into the impact of offers of counsel, this one conducted by Jim Greiner, Cassandra Wolos Pattanayak, and Jonathan Hennessey, is now available.  They are likely to once again transform the debate on the relationship of offers of counsel to access to justice.  The studies will be the subject of a forthcoming NewsMaker Interview on this blog.

In super short summary, one of the two studies, conducted in a District Court in Massachusetts, (link is to Social Science Research Network) compared the impact of randomized offers of representation in eviction cases on a pool of defendants recruited by the legal aid service provider, to a control group that no such offer.  Members of both groups were offered, and most received, assistance with answer and discovery forms and an instructional lecture.  The study found dramatic impact on eviction outcomes and financial outcomes, without significant burden on the court.

However, the second study (now linked to SSRN post) yielded a superficially surprisingly different result.   In this second study, conducted in a Massachusetts Housing Court, (specializing in housing cases only, in this case covering a different area) no significant such outcome differences were found in comparing similarly randomized offers of representation to a pool of individuals who sought the program’s help.  In this study the control group received a referral for “attorney of the day” assistance in mediation and negotiation, but not in the courtroom or in the filing of motions, and the court had a very engaged program of mediation, in which mediators investigated and made outcome predictions to the parties.  Both treatment and control groups were offered and most received forms and discovery assistance. Continue reading →

Posted in Legal Aid, Research and Evalation | Tagged | Comments Off on More Greiner et al Offers of Counsel Studies – The Debate Continues – Newsmaker Interview Planned

Finally Some Real National Access Data — ABF Releases Mapping Study

Posted on October 24, 2011 by richardzorza

This is a big step in understanding our system.  The American Bar Foundation has released its ACCESS ACROSS AMERICA: FIRST REPORT OF THE CIVIL JUSTICE INFRASTRUCTURE MAPPING PROJECT.  Executive Summary here.  Full text here.

The study maps, for all the 50 states and DC, a number of access to justice measures, including, as described in the study:

  • Who is eligible for free civil legal information, advice or representation (civil legal assistance services);
  • How civil legal assistance services are produced and delivered;
  • How eligible people may connect with services;
  • How civil legal assistance is funded; How civil legal assistance is coordinated;
  • How both no-fee and fee-generating limited-scope civil legal services are regulated.

This may be the most important chart in the whole report.  It shows the incidence of different delivery components (note however that is shows not penetration within states, but only the percentage of states that have at least one instance of each delivery system.) Click on the image to see a more legible version.  Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Legal Aid, Research and Evalation, Self-Help Services, SRL Statistics, Transparency, Unbundling | Tagged , | 4 Comments

National Call on Justice Corps Leads the Way for Possible Multi-State Application

Posted on October 24, 2011 by richardzorza

Last Thursday, the promised national call on Justice Corps took place. Eleven states were there, interested in leveraging California’s brilliant idea and the Corporation for National and Community Service’s vision of students working for service and change into a national access network.  It was a great call, and I am very encouraged, as well as grateful for the help and information provided by the California Courts, the DOJ Access Initiative, and the Corporation.

The core of the call, introduced by Karen Lash of the DOJ’s Access Initiative, was presentations by Martha Wright of the California AOC, about how Justice Corps works in California, by Danielle Hirsch, on the Illinois Initiative, and by Martha Tierney of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which funds AmeriCorps.

Danielle and Martha Wright described the ways that student volunteers actually work in the courts, and the process by which they have put their applications together.  The point was also made that the program is transformative in terms of changing the lives of the students and indeed the courts, by refocusing them on the mission to provide equal access to justice.  Justice Corps projects give the volunteers experience making a huge difference in peoples’ lives, by providing them information and assistance in navigating life crises in the courts. California Justice Corps, an AmeriCorps program, includes both “minimum time” (300 hours of service) undergraduate students as AmeriCorps members who get a $1200 “Education Award” as their incentive, and also full time AmeriCorps members who are post undergrad “fellows.” These post graduate fellow members receive stipends and are eligible for education award following their service.

The California JusticeCorps model has students serving in court based self help centers providing only information, not advice, as supported by court staff attorneys and in some cases court-contracted legal aid attorneys. In Illinois, student volunteers do not yet receive any compensation and are supervised by legal aid partners, who maintain court-based advice desks, because a robust JusticeCorps program has not yet launched. The kind of work that student volunteers provide is probably even more important for courts now that Turner v. Rogers has highlighted the due process rights of the self-represented.

Martha Tierney described the various funding options, including applying through the state commissions, or putting together a national multi-state application.  She also summarized the priorities in grant-making, and the match requirements (see page 8 of the Notice).

While organization can apply through their state commission as one pathway to AmeriCorps funding, state pools (most states have a National Service Commission that oversees their AmeriCorps grants), my own hope would be the possibility of a multi-state application. Continue reading →

Posted in Court Management, Funding, Pro Bono, Self-Help Services | Tagged | 2 Comments

New Meaning for Judicial Engagement

Posted on October 21, 2011 by richardzorza

Linda Greenhouse on the NYT Opinionator blog catches a new use of the phrase “judicial engagement.”  While some of us involved with access to justice have used it, or rather something like it, to describe the process by which a judge asks questions to ensure that facts are properly before the court (e.g” engaged neutrality“), now it is being used by advocates of heightened scrutiny by the Supreme Court of Congressional enactments.  Ms Greenhouse writes:

In this new topsy-turvy world, judicial restraint, which used to be a good thing, is now bad. There is a “false dichotomy,” the center[for Judicial Engagement’s] declaration informs us, “between improper judicial activism and supposedly laudable judicial restraint.” Restraint means abdication by judges who fail to do their duty. “Striking down unconstitutional laws and blocking illegitimate government actions is not activism; rather it is judicial engagement – enforcing limits on government power consistent with the text and purpose of the Constitution.”

If you have not yet seen the phrase judicial engagement used in a sentence – as I had not, until I came across it the other day in a series of posts on the Volokh Conspiracy legal blog – it’s likely that you soon will. The Institute for Justice was ecstatic back in August when the judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in declaring unconstitutional the individual insurance mandate of the Affordable Care Act, used the phrase on page 104 of the majority opinion, evidently for the first time in any judicial opinion. When Congress oversteps its limits, the appeals court said, “the Constitution requires judicial engagement, not judicial abdication.”

I very much hope that the word “engagement” will not be politicized and that it can continue to be coupled with the word neutrality (“engaged neutrality”) to stand for a process in which getting involved is fully consistent with an appropriate judicial role.

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Judicial Ethics, Supreme Court | Comments Off on New Meaning for Judicial Engagement

Maryland Joins States with Statewide Self-Help Services by Technology

Posted on October 19, 2011 by richardzorza

Congratulations Maryland.  District Court users statewide can now get statewide self-help services by internet chat or phone, as reported by the Baltimore Sun.

In its first month of hosting live chats, 850 people have used the service. In comparison, the self-help center assisted a record 626 people in August. Officials said chats have been initiated by people in every county except Kent and Somerset.

Most users contact the center with issues that are routine for District Court — landlord-tenant and debt collection disputes, and small claims, said Pamela Ortiz, executive director of the Maryland Access to Justice Commission. About 68 percent of chats take 15 minutes or less, and another 25 percent last up to a half-hour, she said.

One advantage is that the attorneys can provide web links to helpful information during the chat. Those who participate can also request that a transcript of the chat be emailed to them. Some, typically those with complex legal issues, will bring in their paperwork after a chat, said Sarah Frush, who supervises the center.

Phone services have just gone live, with over one hundred served in the first week.

As in Minnesota, the cost effective technique is for an existing brick and mortar center in a court to take on the responsibility for providing statewide  help (in Minnesota’s case that is by phone and co-browsing).  The pioneer for the statewide concept was Alaska.

While it would be a mistake to imagine that providing such services is cost free, it is nonetheless true that providing services statewide is politically much more appealing that trying to raise money for a single location pilot, or a slow county by county expansion.  In Maryland this service is provided by Legal Aid under contract to the Courts.  The hope is that pro bono attorneys will be able to provide chat assistance remotely, which would be very cost effective, and a particularly easy way for lawyers to contribute.  It is interesting from a triage point of view that about 22% of users are being referred to legal representation.

Posted in Self-Help Services, Technology | Tagged | Comments Off on Maryland Joins States with Statewide Self-Help Services by Technology

Important Law School Symposium in Denver Nov 4-5 on Right of Access to Justice

Posted on October 18, 2011 by richardzorza

This could be an important intellectual moment.  On Friday Nov 4 and Saturday Nov 5, the University of Colorado Law School is hosting a Symposium on TOWARD THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE: IMPLICATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION.  Remember this is the first such get together since Turner, and thus very important in setting the overall direction in the light of that crucial decision.

Among the panels will be:

  • Doctrinal Impediments to Access
  • The Right of Access, the Right to Counsel
  • What is Happening to Pro Bono?
  • Law School Clinics: Education and Access
  • Cause Lawyering as a Tool to Increase Access
  • Empirical Research on Legal Services
  • Funding Access
  • Operationalizing Access

Karen Lash, of the Access Initiative at DOJ will be keynoting with the title “Doing Justice to Law.”  Among the other speakers will be: Laura Abel, Suja Thomas, Mike Millemann, Luz Hererra, Steve Scudder, Jeff Selbin, Jim Greiner, Rebecca Sandefur, David Udell, Alan Houseman, Bonnie Hough and Jon Asher.  There will also be a number of academics and Colorado judicial and access leaders.  Quite a few more Champions of Change on that list!  And quite an opportunity for breakthrough ideas to develop.  The full speaker and panel list is on the announcement.

Laura Able, Mike Millemann and I will be doing the panel on the “The Right of Access, the Right to Counsel.”  The topics will include the emerging principle of a right to access justice in the Supreme Court’s cases, the inability of the Supreme Court to apply facts to law in its analysis of what is needed to actually provide access, and how to think about how a rational access-oriented triage and service assignment system might look.

The Conference costs $75, including meals.  Registration is here.  Hope to see you there.

 

Posted in Access to Justice Generally, Meetings, Supreme Court | 3 Comments

Enhancing Legal Aid Board Capacity

Posted on October 14, 2011 by richardzorza

My personal view is that one of the very highest priorities in re-invigorating the legal aid movement is a major strategy to strengthen boards and dramatically increase the leadership role that they play.  To be direct, it is my feeling that too many boards delegate too much leadership responsibility to staff.

So I am pleased to see that the Shriver Center (taking on the task and resources of the former Center for Legal Aid Education) will be providing a training program on Board Development on December 7 in Washington DC, before the NLADA Conference.  As the training is described:

CLAE’s new Board Development curriculum and associated materials reflect the specific context of civil legal aid practice – its unique mission and values, services provided, clients and communities served, and challenges faced – as well as the core principles underlying the ABA governance-related Standards of Practice. The curriculum also addresses the leadership dimension of legal aid governance and supports the notion that a strong board/staff leadership partnership is essential to ensuring legal aid programs’ effectiveness in achieving their important mission.

Cost and registration information is here.  More information on the topics is here.

I hope that the community dramatically increases its focus on these issues.  In the struggle for resources in tough times we risk being marginalized unless we do so.

 

Posted in Legal Aid | Tagged | 1 Comment

Conference Call on Spreading the Justice Corps Model Concept

Posted on October 13, 2011 by richardzorza

As you know, I am a huge advocate of the Justice Corps model.  The core idea is to bring college students into the access to justice movement through the AmeriCorps model. I think it can be really transformative.

On October 20, there will be an informational call for those interested in applying the concept in their states. There will be people from a number of agencies such as the California AOC,  the Chicago Bar Foundation, the DOJ and AmeriCorps, to discuss the various routes in the funding process, as well as the Justice Corps concept, its benefits, and how to develop it.

If you are in a staff or leadership position and in a position to start to move this idea forward in your court, organization, or state, contact Martha Wright in the California AOC for more information on how to participate in the call.  Her e-mail is Martha.Wright @ jud.ca.gov.

Please feel free to share with people who you think would be appropriately interested.

Posted in Court Management, Pro Bono, Self-Help Services | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Out of the Ballpark Again — Illinois Pro Bono Mobile App

Posted on October 12, 2011 by richardzorza

Illinois LegalAid Online does it again.

This time it is their Pro Bono Mobile App, now available for the iPhone, and soon for other platforms.  (See also prior post on their Self-Help App)

This new app offers primers on Illinois law, volunteer opportunity search, and calendar of upcoming legal events.

Lets hope that platforms and states start to offer the same.

More suggestions for tools:  info on courthouses (often pro bono attorneys are less knowledgeable about the layout of courts, quick access to chat help with more experienced attorneys (great to be able to do this on a mobile device from the courtroom), latest legal developments (good to read while waiting with only your smartphone on you.)

More ideas folks?

Posted in Access to Justice Generally | 3 Comments

Good Idea for Using Best Practices Materials

Posted on October 11, 2011 by richardzorza

I have recently heard of a fine use of the Self-Represented Litigation Network’s Best Practices Document.

The Texas Access to Justice Commission is using the document as the basis of an access innovation kit for Texas.

They are going through the Best Practices document and identifying all the practices that are already in place in Texas.  Then, for each of these, they are gathering resources and materials for a component of an overall kit.

I like the idea of using the document as the basis of an inventory, and then pushing those ideas for which there is already an in-state example.

For further information, contact: Trish McAllister, Executive Director, Texas Access to Justice Commission.

Does anyone else have innovative ways of using the Best Practices?  Please share in the comments.

Posted in Access to Justice Boards | Tagged | Comments Off on Good Idea for Using Best Practices Materials

White House Champions of Change Event October 13 — Video Now Available

Posted on October 7, 2011 by richardzorza

Update: the video of the event is now on the White House site.  Expect blog entries there on law school follow up.

_____________________________________________________________

I understand that the White House is planning a “Champions of Change” event, celebrating leaders in the legal profession working to close the justice gap.

The champions will be:

Laura Abel, Martha Bergmark, Todd Belcore, Deborah Ellis, Paula Sela Gomez, David Gray Hall, Nan Heald ,Lillian Johnson, Addison Parker, Michael Pinard, Deborah Rhode, Tom Saenz, Brad Smith, David Stern, Jo-Ann Wallace, Ron Whitener.

The event will be on October 13, from 2 PM to 3:30 PM, Eastern, and will be streamed from http://www.whitehouse.gov/live.    The White House blog plans follow up entries on law school public service activities.

Posted in Access to Counsel, Access to Justice Generally, Dept. of Justice, Law Schools, Pro Bono | Tagged | Comments Off on White House Champions of Change Event October 13 — Video Now Available

Derrick Bell Has Died

Posted on October 6, 2011 by richardzorza

Derrick Bell has died.  As the NYT obit puts it:

Derrick Bell, a legal scholar who worked to expose the persistence of racism in America through his books and articles and his provocative career moves — he gave up a Harvard Law School professorship to protest the school’s hiring practices — died on Wednesday in New York. He was 80.

Professor Bell’s death brought tears to my eyes.  Like Gary Bellow, Prof. Bell was one of those very few Harvard faculty who made you feel better about yourself, stronger, and more convinced that ideas made a difference.  I think the only law school casebook that I used and still have is Bell’s Race, Racism, and American Law.  It opens with a photo of the Black Power Salute at the 1968 Olympic Games, a dedication to the “all those who throughout America’s history have risked its wrath to protest it faults.”  The dedication includes a poem about the Salute, which includes the following lines:

The dramatic finale of an / Extraordinary achievement / Performed for a Nation which / Had there been a choice/ Would have chosen another, and / If given a chance / Will accept the achievement / And neglect the achievers. . . .

In term’s of yesterday’s deaths, it is Steve Jobs’ that will get the attention.  It is not to lessen Job’s importance to the world to note that while Jobs changed the tools we use, Derrick Bell changed the way we think about freedom, equality, fairness , and individual responsibility — surely more important in the end.  I tried pasting the first few lines of the above poem into Google — it generated no direct reference, but the words generated as the top referral the Wikipedia entry on Leadership.  That tells you something.

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ABA Journal Discusses Electronic Service/Notice and the Self-Represented

Posted on October 5, 2011 by richardzorza

An important article in the ABA Journal discusses the potential for electronic service and notice.  Read the whole thing.

In the article, Glenn Rawdon of LSC is quoted laying down the issues for the poor and self-represented very clearly.

If state or federal legislation to adopt electronic service of process were introduced, say many lawyers, consumer advocacy groups would likely object. However, according to Glenn Rawdon, program counsel for technology with the Legal Services Corp., most legal aid groups see electronic notice in the future. He mentions a 2010 study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project that found 46 percent of Americans earning less than $30,000 per year have some kind of wireless Internet access.

Rawdon says e-filing “was designed to bring in big law firms with big lawsuits. But if you make electronic service available, it has to be available for everyone.”

The biggest concern Rawdon has about electronic service is how it would work for pro se litigants. The courts would need to build a secure e-filing system, he says, where someone could check on case information, docketing and whether their pleadings were served. He would also like to see courthouse hardware for public use. If individuals don’t have Internet access, Rawdon says, public computer banks at libraries may not be all that helpful because usage is often limited to 20 minutes.

“Many of our low-income clients do not have email addresses or home computers,” Rawdon says. “Will we allow e-service via text messaging since most low-income adults have cellphones?”

Also, the system could not require a credit card to verify identification, Rawdon says, because many low-income litigants do not have credit cards.

“And not everyone is proficient enough to navigate the system,” adds Rawdon, who previously served as the managing attorney for Legal Services of Eastern Oklahoma. “And what about someone who is limited in English proficiency? Or waivers for filing fees?”

Well put, Glenn.  This article will help make sure that these systems are not put in without careful attention to the low and middle income and self-represented people.  We all need to work on strategies to make sure that such attention is paid.  This is particularly the responsibility of access commissions, with their ability to appeal to a broad range of stakeholders.

Posted in Mobile Technology, Self-Help Services, Technology | Tagged | 2 Comments

Philippine Small Claims Video and Thoughts on Languages

Posted on October 4, 2011 by richardzorza

Here is a small claims video for the Philippines, pointed out by Martin Gramatikov’s Access to Justice Blog.

One of the interesting things is that you get to see a call center operator being polite to English speaking folks.  Another is the apparent use of English language words by the judge and the use of English language forms.  Here is a 2008 Philippines Supreme Court Order, putting the Rules for Small Claims Courts in place — in English.  Here is what Wikipedia says on the subject of English in the legal and other systems.

Today, English is the dominant language in business, government, the legal system, medicine, the sciences and education. Filipinos tend to want their textbooks for subjects like calculus, physics, chemistry, biology, etc., written in English rather than Filipino. By way of contrast, the native languages are often heard in colloquial settings, and in the home, with family and friends, most people use their vernaculars. The use of English may be thought to carry an air of formality, given its use in school, government and various ceremonies. A percentage of the media such as cable television and newspapers are also in English; major television networks (i.e. ABS-CBN and GMA) and all AM radio stations are in Filipino. English proficiency sustains a significant call center industry for American companies.

 

Posted in Access to Justice Generally | Comments Off on Philippine Small Claims Video and Thoughts on Languages

Courtwatching for Access to Justice

Posted on October 3, 2011 by richardzorza

Court watching, in which volunteers watch and report on public court proceedings, has a long history (e.g., NY since 1975).  Most recently, Monday’s Washington Post had an article on Court Watch, a domestic violence protective order process court watching project in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Eugene Wolfe, the administrative judge for the county’s District Court judges, was positive and gracious

He said that he couldn’t comment on Court Watch’s findings until he read the report but that feedback could be helpful for judges. “I think you can learn things from that.”

So maybe courts should be recruiting volunteers to court watch accessibility for the self-represented generally.  It is hard to think of anything that would be more useful or more helpful in improving the image of the courts, and since the watchers are volunteers, it has been a free way for courts to get feedback on how they can be more responsive.

Posted in Court Management | Tagged | 1 Comment