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JUSTICE
A Publication of the California Commission on Access to Justice
"The first duty of society is justice."
Alexander Hamilton |
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A Message From the Chair
The California Commission on Access to Justice is committed to ensuring a well functioning and funded judicial system, as that is a fundamental precept for ensuring access to justice for all Californians. This issue of JUSTICE primarily highlights the recent work of the Commission, and provides information regarding important developments and updates on the Commission's work. We are proud of what we have accomplished since our founding in 1997, but recognize that there is much more to be done. As Chair of the Commission, I assure you that the Commission is continuing to work diligently to ensure access to justice for all.
Hon. Ronald R. Robie
Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District |
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Latest Developments on Language Access - Department of Justice Letter
The U.S. Department of Justice recently released a letter responding to a complaint concerning the lack of language access in the LA Superior Courts, but the investigation addressed statewide policies and procedures, as well. The
DOJ letter acknowledges that California's judicial branch has already done a lot to expand access and that failure to do more has largely been the result of lack of funding. The DOJ references our Access Commission's Language Access Report of 2005 as evidence of the significant amount of attention that has been focused on this language access gap.
The letter identifies several ways in which the court system needs to improve to truly offer language access, and concludes with a warning that enforcement actions might ensue if the anticipated voluntary compliance efforts are not successful. To read the letter click here.
Recognizing the ongoing efforts to expand language access and the continuing existence of barriers faced by those seeking access to the courts, the Access Commission re-established its committee focusing exclusively on language access. The committee's top priority is to prepare a status report on language access, and a State Bar Foundation grant was secured to help with costs associated with the planned status report. The report will cover recent developments such as the ABA's adoption of guidelines for language access by state court systems and the U.S. Department of Justice efforts to ensure compliance with federal language access mandates by state court systems around the country. |
A Year in Review: 2012 Accomplishments of the California Commission on Access to Justice The Access to Justice Commission had an extremely productive year in 2012 and continued its ongoing efforts to increase access to the judicial system for low and moderate income Californians. Under the leadership of 2012 Chair Hon. Ronald Robie of the Third Appellate District and Vice-Chair Joanne Caruso of Jacobs Engineering Group in Pasadena, and as a result of the dedicated work of numerous volunteers, the Commission is proud to report the following highlights of the year.
- HEARINGS ON THE CIVIL JUSTICE CRISIS
The Access Commission and its co-sponsors, the California Chamber of Commerce and the State Bar of California, with administrative support from OneJustice, released a report in 2012 on the hearings on California's civil justice crisis. The report summarizes the findings from the 2011 Hearings on California's Civil Justice Crisis and documents the ways in which the civil justice system serves Californians, while also demonstrating the dire need for increased funding for both California's civil courts and non-profit legal organizations. To access the final report or learn more about the hearings go to http://californiahearings.org
The Commission launched a new committee to focus on supporting the judicial branch including support for efforts to obtain adequate funding and for initiatives to expand access to justice. The Commission provided input on legislation, the budget process, and statewide branch issues.
- ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCY BEST PRACTICES
The Commission continued compiling best practices for administrative agencies, developed training for administrative law judges, and improved web resources for self-represented litigants.
Worked on the second year of the multi-faceted Campaign for Justice, along with LAAC and the Trust Fund Commission, with the goal of raising $10 million over three years for legal aid programs throughout the state.
The Access Commission sponsored a series of Access to Justice Planning Forums - one during the State Bar Annual meeting and another at the Pathways to Justice Conference in June in San Francisco. These forums brought together representatives from the many statewide entities working to improve access to justice, including the Commission, the Judicial Council Committee on Access and Fairness, the State Bar Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, the Legal Aid Association of California, and the California Bar Foundation. Participants discussed ways to coordinate their efforts on expanding legal representation, addressing the judicial branch budget crisis, and increasing funding for legal services.
These are just a small sample of the Commission's work in 2012. For a more detailed and comprehensive look at the Commission accomplishments, please click here. |
Access Commission Urges Support and Adequate Funding for the Judicial Branch
The Access Commission submitted a letter to the Governor and legislative leaders urging them to provide adequate funding for the judicial branch, and expressing its support for a strong, coordinated, statewide judicial system. The Commission emphasized that some short-term reductions caused by inadequate funding, such as cutbacks to self-help centers, would be counter-productive, since these cost-effective services help millions of unrepresented litigants and benefit the courts as well. Deep budget cuts to the judicial system endanger access to the third branch of government and make access to justice an unachievable dream.
The Commission also raised strong concerns about legislation which would have resulted in decentralization of many branch-wide functions, thus potentially undermining the progress that had been made on statewide efforts to expand access to justice.
The Access Commission also submitted comments to the Judicial Council on the Report of the Strategic Evaluation Committee. The extensive report made numerous recommendations for improving the functioning of the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Commission believed that some information about the value of the work of the AOC needed to be included, and the Commission provided specific comments on many of the recommendations to ensure that the AOC would be able to continue to support statewide access initiatives. Click here to read the letters and comments on the report. |
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REPORT ISSUED ON IMPORTANCE OF LAW LIBRARY SUPPORT TO ACCESS TO JUSTICE
The Access Commission co-sponsored the report, The Sustainable 21st Century Law Library: Vision, Deployment and Assessment for Access to Justice (see http://www.zorza.net/LawLibrary.pdf ) The Report makes recommendations on the "potential for law libraries to make the judicial system more user-friendly and accessible for people without lawyers," because of the changing demographics of law library users. The Report was commissioned by bar and legal groups from around the country, with the assistance of the American Bar Association Resource Center on Access to Justice and input from staff at the U.S. Department of Justice Access to Justice Initiative. |
San Francisco's Model Ordinance for Right to Civil Counsel
In 2012, San Francisco passed a model ordinance for a one year pilot program to implement a right to civil counsel in certain types of cases. The focus of the program is eviction defense, but representation in family law, consumer law, and SSI cases will also be part of the program. The pilot provides $100,000 for staffing a pro bono program, and the ordinance says that the program will be made permanent if it is successful. It was launched in late fall, and is supported by the Volunteer Legal Services Program of the Bar Association of San Francisco. BASF will receive the city funding for staffing to support the program. Further details are available at this webpage Bar Association of San Francisco Justice and Diversity Center |
Justice Goodwin Liu is California Supreme Court Appointee to Access Commission In 2012, the State Bar's Board of Trustees approved the expansion of membership for the Access Commission to include one appointment by the California Supreme Court. Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye then appointed Associate Justice Goodwin Liu to serve as the Supreme Court appointee. Justice Liu had been acting as liaison between the Supreme Court and the Commission for the year prior to his appointment. |
2012 Bernard E. Witkin Amicus Curiae Award
Mary Lavery Flynn was chosen as the recipient of the 2012 Bernard E. Witkin Amicus Curiae Award, one of the Distinguished Service Awards awarded by The Judicial Council of California. The award honors individuals other than members of the judiciary for their outstanding contributions to the courts of California.
Mary is the Interim Senior Director for Administration of Justice for the State Bar and also has been the staff director of the Access to Justice Commission since it was launched in 1997. She has worked on access to justice issues for over 32 years, focusing on legal services funding, funding for the judiciary, and coordinating efforts between the Judicial Council, the courts, the State Bar, and legal services programs. |
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Justice Gap Fund Update
The Justice Gap Fund supports and sustains critical legal assistance for the most vulnerable Californians. As of May 31, donations to the Justice Gap Fund totaled $918,943, reflecting contributions from 11,703 attorneys (about 4.6% of the Bar's membership). Donations have increased from this time last year, and we are very close to breaking the previous campaign year donation record. To make a tax deductible contribution online now visit the Campaign for Justice webpage http://www.caforjustice.org/donate
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