Access to Justice Study Ranks USA Dead Last

May 2011

In this issue...

Greetings!

There is a new study from the World Justice Project called the Rule of Law Index. It is a complex and detailed study that analyzes legal access and practices in 35 countries around the world and ranks them based on a multitude of factors.

While there are many interesting and surprising facets to the study, there is one that you might find shocking:

The United States was rated WORST for providing access to civil justice.

It is an unsettling statistic, but for those of us on the front line of low-income legal aid, there is sadly no surprise here.

Why? Because "You have a right to an attorney" doesn't apply to those who are looking to resolve non-criminal matters. "If you can't afford an attorney, one will be provided for you" is only true if you have been charged with a crime.

So where do people go if they cannot afford an attorney but have to fight an injustice such as abuse, identity theft, fraud against the elderly, abandonment, landlord misconduct, unfair labor practices, and more?

The fact of the matter is that 75% of the people in such circumstances do nothing. They don't know that they qualify for help, and they don't even know to look for it. So they remain victims, and predators continue to target them for abuse and personal gain.

Our Fun Fair is July 16. Can you sponsor or volunteer

at this great outreach event?

Once a year, we provide a very affordable day out for families in our area by hosting a Family Fun Fair at a local park.

Games are played.

Houses are bouncied.

BINGO! is shouted.

Faces are painted.

Burgers and hot dogs are freshly grilled.

We even have The Yo-Yo Man coming this year to wow us as he Walks the Dog.

This has been a very effective way for us to reach some of the 75% of low-income residents who don't know that legal and financial advocacy is available to them.

It takes many volunteers and sponsors to make this work, so we're hoping you might put that Saturday on your calendar and join us in making a difference for families who can't always afford to take the kids out for a fun day.

Click here to let us know if you would like to volunteer for a few hours.

Click here if your business, church, (or just you) would like to sponsor the event with a monetary gift or by providing prizes or other give-aways.

funfair

A lack of money must not result

in a lack of justice!

6 days a week, staff and volunteer attorneys meet with people who are helpless and hopeless. We are also at community outreach events nearly every week letting people know about Administer Justice and the types of help we can provide even if they don't have the means to pay.

As a result, we were able to impact more than 4000 of our low-income suburban neighbors, and tell another 10,000 that help is available.

The pie below is a snapshot of the results of our efforts and your support in 2010. 2011 is currently on track to exceed these numbers.

pie chart 2010

The people we helped were virtually invisible because they didn't have the means to stand up for themselves. These are people who must have equal rights under the law. These are people for whom we have been called to show mercy and compassion.

Less than 15% of our financial support comes from the government. The rest comes through the generosity of people, corporations, and churches who want to balance the scales of justice.

If you can help us with this mission, your one-time gift or ongoing support will be life-changing. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation on-line.

Cutting through red tape,

our attorneys erase a $53,000 debt

When Bart* came to us, he was overwhelmed with a tax burden he could not resolve. It was an issue that spanned over two decades, and although the actual tax debt had been whittled down to less than $900, the interest and penalties had accumulated to over $53,000! Now retired and on a fixed income, even his Social Security checks were being garnished.

As with many things involving the IRS, there were complicated layers to Bart's situation, including aspects of the case for which there was no existing legal precedent.

Taking on the seemingly endless miles of red tape, volunteer attorney Karla Hunter put in days of research and logged many hours on the phone working with the Taxpayer Advocate Service in Springfield on Bart's behalf.

The result of Karla's efforts led to the IRS agreeing that the interest and penalties should not have continued to accrue over the years, and the debt was cancelled. This on-going financial burden has been lifted off of Bart's shoulders permanently.

Several Administer Justice

volunteers graduate as paralegals

paralegal cartoon

Our volunteers come from all walks of life. Some of our volunteers are actually developing their walk of life while serving with us! We would like to acknowledge the hard work and effort of our 4 volunteers who have just completed their paralegal studies and graduated from area colleges.

From our Elgin office, congratulations to:

Janet James

Ashley Eggert

Wendy Lake

And from our DuPage branch office,

a tip of the mortarboard to:

Judy Barth