| ALBANY - At a judicial summit on increasing access to the
legal system held in Albany today, Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye will announce
the creation of the New York State Access to Justice Center, designed to
address the shortfall of civil legal services available to low-income New
Yorkers. The Access to Justice Center will be charged with removing barriers
to legal representation for the poor and generating new ideas for civil
legal services, including developing permanent funding sources, increasing
services for self-represented litigants and promoting the use of alternative
dispute resolution. It will be the first court-sponsored entity of its
kind in the nation to fostering civil legal services for low-income litigants
and to developing public-private partnerships that support the delivery
of such services.
Chief Judge Kaye said, "For a family seeking protection from eviction,
for an elderly person confused by the social services bureaucracy or for
a battered woman fleeing domestic violence, having access to adequate legal
services can be critical to their safety and well-being. Yet only a small
percentage of impoverished New Yorkers - perhaps 15% - stand a reasonable chance
of getting a lawyer when they desperately need one. The Access to Justice
Center will serve as the central vehicle for securing long-term funding
sources for civil legal services for New Yorkers who need but cannot afford
such services. I am grateful to our partners in government for their cooperation
in establishing this unique center, which will help ensure equal access
to justice for all New Yorkers."
Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman noted, "The state of civil
legal services has reached a turning point in New York. Ninety percent
of all tenants appearing in Housing Court - many facing eviction from their
homes - do not have an attorney. And while the demand for services is great,
the supply is shrinking. To address this current predicament, we have created
the New York State Access to Justice Center, using seed money allocated
for this purpose. The center will galvanize our efforts to find permanent
civil legal service funding streams, and I am confident that it will make
significant headway in this important area of public interest."
Studies have demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of investing in legal
services, with, for example, every dollar spent in eviction prevention
programs in New York City yielding four dollars in government savings.
Chief Judge Kaye will announce the establishment of the center at the
Access to Justice Conference, a court-sponsored forum of judges, court
administrators and legal community leaders that convenes in Albany on September
11 and 12. It will be headed by Hon. Juanita Bing Newton, the Deputy Chief
Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives, who spearheaded the ground-breaking
two-day conference. Judge Newton's unique statewide position and office
were specially created in 1999 by Chief Judge Kaye and Chief Administrative
Judge Lippman as part of an initiative to promote broader access to the
New York justice system.
In addition to discussions on the delivery of civil legal services to
poor and moderate income New Yorkers, the Access to Justice Conference
will also address the challenge of self-represented litigants, increasing
pro bono activity within the legal community and expanding community outreach
and education. Following the conference - the first held specifically to
address issues of access to justice in New York - administrative judges throughout
the state will draft action plans proposing ways to improve access to justice
for citizens in their respective localities. |
