RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges establishment of and ...
develop viable and effective plans to establish or increase public funding and.
10D
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
CHICAGO BAR ASSOCIATION ILLINOIS STATE BAR ASSOCIATION REPORT TO THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES RESOLUTION 1 2 3 4 5 6
RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges establishment of and support of access to justice commissions or comparable bodies in all states and territories. FURTHER RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges its members to support state or territorial supreme court initiatives to create and promote access to justice commissions or comparable bodies.
10D REPORT Equal justice is fundamental to the American system of government under law. The Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) have long been committed to the fundamental principle of fair access to justice for all in civil matters. Ensuring access to justice in adversarial proceedings involving basic human needs, such as shelter, sustenance, safety, health or child custody, remains one of the Conferences’ highest priorities. At their joint meeting on July 31, 2013 CCJ and COSCA adopted a joint resolution that is substantially similar to the resolution now proffered to the ABA for adoption by its House of Delegates. The new CCJ/COSCA resolution follows upon a number of previous CCJ/COSCA joint resolutions recognizing that a fundamental requirement of access to justice is access to the courts, including: 1. Resolution 23, Leadership to Promote Equal Justice, adopted in 2001, acknowledging that judicial leadership and commitment are essential to ensuring equal access to the justice system and to the achievement through nationwide effort of equal justice for all, and encouraging individual members in their respective states to establish partnerships with state and local bar organizations, legal service providers, and others to: remove impediments to access to the justice system, including physical, economic, psychological and language barriers; develop viable and effective plans to establish or increase public funding and support for civil legal services for individuals and families who have no meaningful access to the justice system; and expand the types of assistance available to self- represented litigants, including exploring the role of nonattorneys; and 2. Resolution 2, In Support of Efforts to Increase Access to Justice, adopted in 2008, encouraging the members of the conferences in each state and territory to continue to take steps to ensure that no citizen is denied access to the justice system by reason of lack of resources, or any other such barrier, and urging their members to take a leadership role in their respective jurisdictions to prevent denials of access to justice; and 3. Resolution 8, In Support of Access to Justice Commissions, adopted in 2010, noting that state access to justice commissions have achieved remarkable results and have been recognized as one of the most important justice-related developments in the past decade, and supporting the aspirational goal that every state and United States territory have an active access to justice commission or comparable body. As of 2013, the number of states and territories with access to justice commissions has increased to 28, and numerous additional states and territories are planning or considering the creation of new access to justice commissions. These and other efforts involving leadership on the part of the courts, in partnership with the bar, legal aid providers, and
10D other stakeholders, are helping to secure access to justice for civil litigants. The ABA has played a leading role in developing, promulgating and supporting the state access to justice commission model, most recently through the ABA Resource Center for Access to Justice Initiatives, a project of the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (SCLAID). The Resource Center was created by the ABA Board of Governors in 2006, upon the recommendation of the ABA Presidential Task Force on Access to Civil Justice, to provide support to state bar, judicial and legal aid leaders and others engaged in efforts to expand access to civil justice in their states. Recognizing the effectiveness of these efforts, the Public Welfare Foundation has provided major grants to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the American Bar Association (ABA) to promote court leadership on access to justice and to support and expand the access to justice commission movement, along with other grants to support civil legal aid. The Kresge Foundation has also made a major grant to the ABA to expand its support for access to justice commissions, along with other grants to support civil legal aid. With the encouragement of these philanthropic foundations, the NCSC and the ABA are collaborating productively in their efforts to expand access to civil justice and successfully coordinating resources and technical assistance. The present resolution seeks to express ABA support for these important efforts. As an example of the access to justice improvements that can be fostered and facilitated by a state commission, the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice, established in June of 2012 with the leadership of Chief Justice Thomas L. Kilbride and his colleagues on the Supreme Court, has already compiled an impressive record of achievements, highlighted by: • Groundbreaking new legislation proposed by the Commission and the Court and passed by the Illinois General Assembly to fund and create five “civil Gideon” pilot programs in different parts of the state for eviction cases, as well as a statewide network of legal help for veterans and military families. • Amendments to the Illinois Supreme Court Rules to allow lawyers licensed in other states to provide pro bono services in Illinois and make it easier for corporate lawyers and retired and inactive lawyers to provide pro bono services. • A comprehensive language access plan for the Illinois courts that includes templates that enable circuit courts around the state to adopt their own plans based on local needs. Respectfully submitted, Tim Eaton, President Chicago Bar Association August 2013
Paula Holderman, President Illinois State Bar Association
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