October/November 2011  
In This Issue
Campaign for Justice
Pro Bono Week
Statewide Hearings
ABA Report: Crisis in the Courts
Honorable Maria P. Rivera Receives Benjamin Aranda III Access to Justice Award
Improving Civil Justice in Rural California
     
 


 

 

"Justice, justice shalt thou pursue."  

-- Deuteronomy 16:20

 

 

A Message From the Chair  

 

 "U.S. Poverty Totals Hit A 50-year High." "New Foreclosures Surge." "America's Judiciary: Courting Disaster." These are just a few of the recent headlines here in California. As we know, there are great numbers of Californians in need. Access to lawyers and the justice system for those in need can make the difference between obtaining earned benefits or not, of having a place to live or not, of having access to health care or not. During these tough economic times our commitment to providing access to justice and to the maintenance of programs and services designed to ensure such access must continue to be strong.

   

In California, there are scores of organizations and individuals committed to maintaining and increasing access to justice for all Californians, including the Access to Justice Commission. This issue of Justice highlights some of the ongoing efforts and work of some of those groups and individuals. Indeed, as reflected by the events described in this issue, the next few months are filled with activities focused on this critical issue. We all can make a difference and help to increase access to justice. We must not lose our direction and focus at this critical time. Finally, I would like to thank Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye for appointing Justice Goodwin Liu as the Supreme Court liaison to our Access to Justice Commission. We look forward to working with Justice Liu on these important issues.

 

Hon. Ronald B. Robie

Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District

Sacramento

October is "Campaign for Justice" Month

 

With the economic recession and the current low federal fund rates, IOLTA funds in California have decreased significantly over the last three years, resulting in unavoidable cuts in legal aid funding for Californians in need. At the end of 2010, California legal services programs decided to undertake a "Campaign for Justice". The Campaign for Justice is a network of attorneys and other leaders who seek to ensure that all Californians have access to justice under the law. Through the Campaign for Justice, legal aid and pro bono lawyers will keep families in their homes, enable children to access health care, secure wrongfully denied unemployment benefits, and help persons with disabilities get Social Security. The Campaign has designated October as Campaign for Justice Month, supported by the Judicial Council, the State Bar and many local bar associations. Throughout the month they will be reaching out to lawyers across the state to encourage them to do what they can to increase justice for those without, including doing pro bono work or contributing to programs that support legal aid programs. You too can participate in the Campaign for Justice by donating to the Justice Gap Fund, joining the campaign through the website, or directly supporting any of the 95 nonprofit legal aid organizations. For more information, please go to http://www.CAforJustice.org/.


Join us to help people like Mrs. Jackson obtain critical legal aid.

 

mrs. jacksonVirgie Bernice Jackson, a longtime resident of South Los Angeles, had been a nurse at John Wesley County Hospital in the late 1940s. In 1998, at the age of 77, she came to Legal Aid because she was facing foreclosure on her home of 37 years. Like many senior homeowners, Mrs. Jackson had relied on her husband to handle the family finances before his death:  she was an easy target for the mortgage broker who had solicited and "qualified" her for a loan of $70,000 by falsifying her loan application. Find out how legal aid helped Mrs. Jackson at
www.CAforJustice.org/stories/jackson.

Pro Bono Week: October 23 - 29, 2011

 

Please read State Bar President Jon Streeter's message on Pro Bono Week to learn about activities and opportunities for service by clicking here. Beginning in 2009, the ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service has sponsored a week of Celebration of Pro Bono. As described on the ABA website: "The Celebration is a coordinated national effort to meet the ever-growing needs of this country's most vulnerable citizens by encouraging and supporting local efforts to expand the delivery of pro bono legal services, and by showcasing the great differences that pro bono lawyers make to the nation, its system of justice, its communities and, most of all, to the clients, they serve." California has proudly participated in pro bono week and continues its participation this year. You can read more about National Pro bono week at www.probono.net/celebrateprobono.

 

Statewide Hearings on Access to the Courts and Legal Services for Californians in Need

 

"What is required to provide equal access to justice in California?" This question will be the focus of four hearings held across California this fall aimed at demonstrating the fundamental role of the courts and legal assistance in society and exposing the devastating effects, especially for low-income Californians, of chronic underfunding and recent budget cuts. The national recession and the California budget crisis have taken a tremendous toll on the civil justice system in California, with substantial cuts in funding to the courts and to the network of nonprofits that provide free legal assistance to low-income and other underserved Californians. Additional cuts this current fiscal year to both the courts' budget and to funding sources for legal services will further tax the system and result in additional barriers to access to justice for all Californians.

 

These hearings will serve as a timely examination of the ongoing impact of funding cuts to both the courts and to legal services, cuts that have put Californians - particularly those with basic human needs at risk - in dire circumstances. Among other things, the hearings will solicit the views of interested individuals, organizations and entities about the vital role of courts in society and the importance of free legal help for those in need, and will actively propose solutions and ideas to address these critical issues.

 

The first hearing will be held in Sacramento on November 15, followed by hearings on November 30 in San Francisco, December 2 in Los Angeles, and December 7 in Irvine. For further information, please visit  http://californiahearings.org/ or contact Michael Winn at [email protected].

 

ABA Report Issued: "Crisis In The Courts: Defining the Problem"

 

An ABA Task Force on Preservation of the Justice System, led by David Boise and former Solicitor General Theodore Olsen, recently issued a report entitled "Crisis In The Courts: Defining The Problem." As the introduction of the report makes clear: "The courts of our country are in crisis. The failure of state and local legislatures to provide adequate funding is effectively - at times quite literally - closing the doors of our justice system."

 

The report discusses the significant costs to society as a result of this failure, including "harm to those who need prompt and fair resolution of their disputes . . . overcrowded prisons, threats to public safety, and harm to those, such as broken families, in the greatest need of legal support."

 

As a result of its research and study, the Task Force then set forth suggested responses and solutions to the crisis, which fall into three categories:

  • establishing a predictable and adequate funding system
  • the creation of a more efficient and effective system of delivering justice; and
  • establishing a means of effectively communicating the importance of the justice system to the public and political decision makers.

To read a full copy of the report, please go to  http://www.americanbar.org/groups/leadership/2011_annual_house_mtg_docs.html then click on Additional Bar and Local Resolutions, then #302.

The Honorable Maria P. Rivera Receives  

2011 Benjamin Aranda III Access to Justice Award

 

We are pleased to announce that the honorable Maria P. Rivera of the First Appellate District will be the 2011 recipient of the Benjamin Aranda III Access to Justice Award. Throughout her career as a lawyer, Superior Court Judge, and member of the First District Court of Appeal, Justice Rivera has worked unceasingly to increase access to justice and to increasing the commitment of lawyers to pro bono representation of those who would otherwise go without counsel.

 

The Benjamin Aranda III Access to Justice Award was established by the California Commission on Access to Justice and is named for the founding chair of the Judicial Council's Access and Fairness Advisory Committee. The award honors a trial judge or an appellate justice whose activities demonstrate a long-term commitment to improving access to justice and is co-sponsored by the Judicial Council, the State Bar, and the California Judges Association, in collaboration with the Access to Justice Commission.

 

Justice Rivera has served on the advisory boards of several community organizations, and she has also been a valued advisory member of several Judicial Council, State Bar and ABA committees. She made significant contributions while serving on the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission, the Legal Services Coordinating Committee, and the Judicial Council's Committee on Access and Fairness.

 

Justice Maria Rivera exemplifies the work of Benjamin Aranda III, and the principles this award is intended to honor. Her commitment to improving access to the courts, her efforts in enhancing and increasing pro bono, and her dedication to ensuring that legal services be available to those most in need make her a worthy recipient of the Benjamin Aranda III Access to Justice Award.

Improving Civil Justice in Rural California: One Year Later

 

"Improving Civil Justice in Rural California" (http://www.calbar.ca.gov/rural) was released one year ago. The report was and is intended to focus on the challenges facing low-income residents of rural California who need legal help to address critical issues.  As the report discusses, rural California is so large that it, alone, would be the 4th largest state. 

 

Legal services are extremely limited and sparse in rural areas and rural California has more inadequate housing, higher unemployment, lower pay, lower average educational levels and less access to health care and transportation than urban California.  This is consistent with national trends which show that matters are getting worse for rural residents.  For example, 2010 census data shows that rural residents, as compared to urban, are more likely to live in poverty (16.5% compared to 14.9%), more likely to be uninsured (24% compared to 18%), and more likely to rely on Medicaid for health coverage (16% compared to 11%). 

 

Since the release of the California report, the Rural Advisory Committeehas been hard at work to disseminate the report information and has made great progress including distribution of over one thousand printed copies and a significant number of e-copies to California State Bar members and judges, and presentations of the report to the California Annual Legal Services Stakeholders Meeting, the California Conference on Self-Represented Litigants, Fresno County Community Collaborative, the Legal Services of Northern California All Staff Retreat, and others.