Page 82 - Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice

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“works within the Department of Justice, across federal agencies, and with state, local, and tribal justice system stakeholders to increase access to counsel and legal assistance and to improve the justice delivery systems that serve people who are unable to afford lawyers .” http://www .justice . gov/atj . In December 2015, Congressman Joe Kennedy III (D-MA4) and Congresswoman Susan Brooks (R-IN5) launched the Access to Civil Legal Services Caucus “which will focus on expanding access to legal representation for low-income families .” https://kennedy .house .gov/ media/press-releases/kennedy-brooks-launch-congressional-access-to-civil-legal-services-caucus .
13. Philanthropy & Civil Legal Aid – Charitable foundations recognize that they can be effective in accomplishing anti-poverty goals when civil legal aid is made available to the people they are trying to help . Civil legal aid helps keep families together, prevent domestic violence, reduce substance abuse problems, preserve housing, resolve problems of hunger, secure inheritance rights, promote health care, and reduce contacts with the criminal justice system . In Natural Allies: Philanthropy and Civil Legal Aid, the Public Welfare Foundation and The Kresge Foundation have explained that “[i]nvesting to help low-income people solve their legal problems is smart, results-oriented philanthropy .” http://www .publicwelfare .org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ NaturalAllies .pdf . The Council on Foundations is educating the field on how the Sustainable Development Goals offer a framework that can guide grantmaking to reduce poverty . http:// www .cof .org/content/sustainable-development-goals-what-funders-need-know .
Iv. Neutral and Nondiscriminatory Decision-making
14. Fair Courts Movement – In Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U .S . 254 (1970), the Supreme Court observed that a neutral decisionmaker is an element of due process and of access to justice . The “fair courts movement” promotes the integrity of judicial selection processes, generally favoring appointment over election, but working in all selection settings to preserve judicial neutrality and to reduce the influence of money on judges . The fair courts movement supports improved recusal mechanisms, greater diversity on the bench, and ideological independence . See, for example, Justice at Stake, www .justiceatstake . org; Brennan Center for Justice, https://www .brennancenter .org/issues/fair-courts; Lambda Legal, http://www .lambdalegal .org/issues/fair-courts-project . Some advocates have questioned models that reduce fairness and/or the perception of fairness of judges, such as judicial imposition and collection of excessive court fees . http://www .brennancenter .org/criminal-justice-debt .
v. Communications
15. Communications – Voices for Civil Justice, a national communications hub for civil legal aid, pursues the mission of raising visibility in the media of the vital role of civil legal aid in ensuring fairness for all in the justice system . With an extensive, nationwide network of spokespeople and experts, it brings to media outlets the fresh, untold stories that convey what civil legal aid is and why it matters . Its searchable database of news stories, broadcast clips, op-eds, and letters to the editor is a rich resource for advocates seeking to make the case – on social media platforms as well as in the traditional media – that fulfilling America’s promise of justice for all requires increased funding for this under-resourced sector . http://voicesforciviljustice .org/ . Richard Zorza’s Access to Justice Blog, www .accesstojustice .net, is a source of information for stakeholders, as is NCAJ’s blog, www .ncforaj .org, and the ABA’s access to justice newsletter, http://www .americanbar . org/groups/legal_aid_indigent_defendants/initiatives/resource_center_for_access_to_justice/ news .html . At regional and local levels, court systems, civil legal aid programs, access to justice commissions, state bar organizations, and other stakeholder institutions are increasing their respective communications capacities . •
Impact: Collected Essays on Expanding Access to Justice