Page 46 - Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice

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For instance, refugees from corrupted or repressive regimes will not necessarily understand the role of the police in an American context, and therefore may be reluctant to report crimes to the police . This was the case for one refugee student in Buffalo, as recently reported by his teacher, partner of our agency, the Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of Western New York . In this example, the student was the daily victim of bullying, but never reported it to the school or complained to anyone . When finally asked by his teacher the reason why he never called the police, he seemed surprised, and then put it: I don’t have money to pay the police!
Multiple factors can undermine refugees’ access to justice . A range of those issues can be listed: the lack of information about the law and legal services (sometimes including information in languages other than English), the lack of access to suitable interpreters, a lack of cultural competency amongst those administering the legal system, and a perception among refugee communities that there is widespread cultural insensitivity in the operation, administration or enforcement of the law . To complicate the situation further, some refugees have gone years without going to school and are barely literate, even in their home language .
On the other hand, court structures and litigation procedures bear directly upon the individual’s ability to resolve his or her legal problem . The more prominent issues are those of the cost and delay of legal proceedings . Other fundamental and equally critical issues, however, reduce access to legal systems . The multiplicity of courts, and the complexity of the rules of courts and court forms may produce a significant barrier to accessors, especially those who are unfamiliar with the U .S . Court system, such as refugees .
Moreover, “the lack of interpreters’ availability or experience, or the difficulties associated with their use in courts remains a constant challenge .”8 Even the physical environment of courts (with a security checkpoint system), may lead to the feeling of being intimidated that produces disinterest, disempowerment, or confusion for a refugee accessor .
In many respects our list is not exhaustive, but includes language barriers, the use of interpreters, and information and education . Recognizing the need to address the justice gap, the Federal and State governments are taking steps to improve access to justice and to make court proceedings fairer for people from different backgrounds or who do not have legal representation .
2. efforts to ensure access to justice for refugees in erie County, New York
New York is among the top five resettlement states in the United States, after Texas and California .9 Historically, Buffalo, New York is among the former U .S . immigrant gateways, listed as one of the central cities that had the largest numbers of immigrant residents in the early 1900s .10 Recent statistics from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance show that the largest resettlement site in New York State is Erie County, more specifically, Buffalo . “Of the 4733 refugees served in [Federal Fiscal Year] 2014, 4591 (97%) were served Upstate and 142 (3%) were
8 Oral statement by Erie County Supreme Court Justice honorable Jeannette Ogden, at Erie County Supreme Court, Buffalo, July 29, 2015.
9 u.S. Dep’t of health and human Services, Fiscal Year 2014 Refugee Arrivals, office of refugee reseTTlemenT (Feb. 11, 2015), http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resource/fiscal-year-2014-refugee-arrivals.
10 audrey singer, The rise of new immigranT gaTeways 5-6 (2004), available at http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/ research/files/reports/2004/2/demographics%20singer/20040301_gateways.pdf.
Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice