Page 27 - Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice

9:00 a .m .: After going through the long security line, both tenants finally get into the Housing Court building . Tenant #1, who has been to Housing Court before, goes directly to the courtroom to wait for it to open at 9:30 a .m . Tenant #2 doesn’t know where to go specifically so she wanders around and then stands in the wrong line before learning of the correct courtroom .
n 22% of tenants don’t know where in the court building they need to go . n 54% of tenants were NOT helped by court personnel to find the correct
room .
9:30 a .m .: The courtroom opens but the Judge doesn’t immediately take the bench . Tenant #1 has checked in with the court clerk using the calendar number and is waiting for the landlord’s attorney to arrive . Tenant #2 hasn’t checked in with the court clerk because she did not know she needed to .
n 32% didn’t know they needed their calendar number before going into the courtroom .
n 24% didn’t know they needed to check in with the court clerk .
10:00a .m .: Tenant #2 isn’t sure what is going on, and so talks to the court clerk to find out what she should be doing . The court clerk tells her to get her calendar number so the court clerk can mark that the tenant is in court . Both tenants sit and wait in the courtroom .
11:30a .m .: Tenant #1 finally hears the landlord’s lawyer call out her name . They step out into the noisy hallway . Tenant #1 knows her rights, so after some conversation, she tells the landlord’s attorney that she wants to speak to the court attorney or judge about her case . The landlord’s attorney agrees, but tells Tenant #1 that he is going to “take care” of all his other cases first, and then leaves . Tenant #1 goes back into the courtroom to sit down and wait .
12:00 p .m .: Tenant #2 finally hears someone calling her name . This person asks Tenant #2 to step into the hallway, and then begins to talk to Tenant #2 about her case . After several minutes of conversation, Tenant #2 realizes that she is talking to the landlord’s attorney . Tenant #2 is scared, so she agrees to sign the agreement suggested by the landlord’s lawyer, even though she doesn’t understand it .
12:30 p .m .:Tenant #2 waits until the court attorney calls her case . The court attorney reviews and approves the case in a quick, perfunctory manner, so Tenant #2 leaves court without fully understanding the stipulation that she signed .
n 27% of tenants reported that no one explained the stipulation to them .
1:00 p .m .: Court adjourns for lunch, but Tenant #1 is still waiting for her landlord’s attorney to return . There isn’t any food available in court, so Tenant #1 just waits in the hallway .
2:15 p .m .: The courtroom reopens, so Tenant #1 goes back to the courtroom to sit and wait .
Specific Areas for Reform: Housing
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