Conference Panel Reiterates Need to Prioritize Access to Justice
May 02, 2023
D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby (far left) opened the access to justice panel at the Judicial & 4月28日举行的澳门赌场官网大会.
At a crucial moment when the need for affordable legal services continues to rise, a panel of the District of Columbia’s top advocates of legal services met to discuss the importance, the challenges, 以及在华盛顿获得司法救助的未来, D.C.
缺乏获得法律服务的机会影响到每个人, but those on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum often struggle to find the resources they need at the most critical moments of their lives, said D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby as she introduced the panel at the Judicial & 4月28日举行的澳门赌场官网大会.
甚至在华盛顿特区也存在严重的分歧.C., where the local legal community highly values and emphasizes the importance of pro bono work, the chief judge said. “我们在上诉法院看到了这一点. Far too often, people are trying to navigate their civil cases that are life-changing matters to them — custody of their children, 拥有他们的房屋, debt collection, you name it,” she added.
And it’s not a system designed to be accessible to the uninitiated. James Sandman, 法律服务公司的名誉主席, said those who represent themselves in the labyrinthine civil courts system without legal training face insurmountable challenges.
“这是一个由澳门赌场官网创建的系统, for lawyers, 假设每个人都有澳门赌场官网,” said Sandman, 谁担任民主党副主席.C. 司法公正委员会. “If you don’t have a lawyer, it’s opaque, confusing, hostile — anything but user-friendly.”
Often the cases involved are important matters with high stakes, he continued. “我说的不是交通罚单案件. I’m talking about cases that involve the most basic of human needs,” Sandman said. “A roof over your head. 防止非法驱逐和丧失抵押品赎回权. 家庭的稳定——孩子的监护权, child support, guardianships, adoptions, personal safety, 针对施虐者的保护令, economic subsistence. 在这种情况下，很多人都没有澳门赌场官网.”
联邦扶贫指导方针使这个问题复杂化. Programs providing free legal services often cap at 125 percent to 200 percent of the poverty line, leaving a large gap of people living on low to moderate incomes who don’t qualify for aid, 但还是负担不起一般的澳门赌场官网费.
华盛顿特区的政策进一步加剧了这种情况.C.’s high cost of living, 那些活到200岁的人呢, 300, or even 400 percent of the poverty line still struggle to meet their family’s needs. 有一个孩子的单亲父母挣39美元,000 per year may be at 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for a household of two, said DC Affordable Law Firm Executive Director Gabby Mulnick Majewski. “But that’s insufficient to meet even their most basic needs, let alone access legal resources.”
引用MIT的生活工资计算器, Mulnick Majewski said a single parent of one child in the District must earn $42.每小时61美元(或每年88,629美元)的生活工资. 这个数字远远高于39美元,为联邦贫困水平的200%提供了1万美元的基准, 这被认为是中等收入. And these are the clients who are seeking representation through the DC Affordable Law Firm,” she added.
睡魔认为这是一个可以解决的问题. The long-term solution, Sandman said, 应重点关注四点:监管改革, which could potentially allow well-trained nonlawyer legal professionals to assist those in need; a simplified court system that addresses how the landscape has changed since the current system was created; democratization of legal processes through technological tools such as ChatGPT; and bringing new people with different perspectives to the table.
但与此同时，更紧迫的挑战隐现. 市长穆丽尔·鲍泽提议2024年D.C. budget puts the future of free and affordable legal aid in further jeopardy. 她的提议包括削减近60%，从31美元.从700万美元到1300万美元.C. 诉诸司法倡议, which funds multiple legal services providers and pro bono programs across the District.
With the D.C. 司法公正委员会 leading the charge, legal services groups are urging the D.C. Council to restore funding to the 诉诸司法倡议 to its 2023 level. 尽管形势岌岌可危, 该委员会的执行主任, Nancy Drane, 对未来保持乐观.
“We have an incredibly robust network of legal services providers,” she said. “They are skilled, they are motivated, and we are lucky to have such a vast network here in the District.”
Darryl Maxwell of the D.C. Bar公益中心对此表示赞同. “The District has [more than] 700,000 residents,” Maxwell said. “在这个地区，有8万多名澳门赌场官网. So, when you think about it, our goal should be to activate all of them.”
