By Grace Stewart
On July 9, 2024, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee hosted a full committee hearing titled “Closing the Justice Gap: How to Make the Civil Justice System Accessible to All Americans.” The Committee heard testimony about the importance of access to civil legal aid in America.
In 2022, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) released The Justice Gap Report, detailing the gap between the civil needs of low-income Americans and the resources available to meet those needs.[1] The report detailed a sobering statistic: low-income Americans do not get any or enough legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems.[2]
Four stakeholders testified at the hearing about the impact of the justice gap, as well as LSC’s efforts to address and reduce the justice gap.
The Committee first heard from LSC President Ronald Flagg.[3] Mr. Flagg highlighted that, while the Constitution guarantees the right to a lawyer when someone is accused of a crime, there is no constitutional right to an attorney when faced with a civil action, even when that action could result in life-altering problems, like the loss of a home or abuse from a domestic partner. He discussed LSC’s efforts, as well as LSC grantee organization’s efforts to provide free or low-cost legal services, but noted that in 75% of U.S. civil cases, at least one party is unrepresented, which creates an imbalance and disadvantage for low-income Americans.
In his remarks, Mr. Flagg emphasized potential changes to close justice gap, including strategic employment of data to allow targeted use of finite legal aid resources, expanding legal service delivery models — such as allowing non-lawyers such as paralegals to provide legal services — and changing the mechanisms for resolving civil disputes and the distribution of public services and benefits.
The Committee then heard from Veronica Gonzalez, a board member and former client of Legal Aid Chicago.[4] Ms. Gonzalez detailed her abusive relationship in Washington State and her daring escape through the back door of a medical clinic with her three-year-old son. She and her son fled to Chicago, where she grew up, and obtained representation from Legal Aid Chicago. Ms. Gonzalez’s team at Legal Aid Chicago coordinated with attorneys at the Northwest Justice Project, the LSC-funded organization in Washington State, to obtain an Order for Protection and sole custody of her son. Ms. Gonzalez’s testimony focused on the needs of women in Chicago and across the country who need legal help in the face of domestic violence, highlighting the crucial role that legal aid organizations play in helping keep people safe.
The third speaker before the Committee was the Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht.[5] Justice Hecht provided information about civil cases in Texas, noting that state judges report that at least one party is pro se in over half of domestic relations cases and that tenants in eviction cases and debtors in collection lawsuits rarely have lawyers. He further illustrated the ripple effects created by the lack of access to legal assistance and the ways they impact lives beyond the courtroom. Justice Hecht closed his remarks by discussing strategic changes to the legal systems, many of which echoed Mr. Flagg’s earlier remarks. Justice Hecht further encouraged lawyers to evangelize about the realities of the justice gap and the potential solutions to address it.
The final speaker was Nikole Nelson, the CEO of Frontline Justice, a nonprofit organization that is working to empower community justice workers, a new category of legal helpers.[6] Ms. Nelson highlighted that while the number of lawyers in the U.S. has quadrupled since 1970, the access to justice crisis has only gotten worse. She argues that the justice gap crisis can be better addressed by empowering the new category of community justice workers in a similar manner to how community health workers, paramedics and nurse practitioners have helped increase access to basic health needs throughout the country.
Ms. Nelson described the innovative Community Justice Worker program recently enacted in her home state of Alaska. This program, which was developed in partnership and with inspiration from Alaska’s tribally operated healthcare system, trains local community members to provide legal assistance within their communities. Workers are recruited from across the state and then trained using on-demand virtual programs, which are targeted to address specific legal problems in a narrow, clearly defined scope of practice. Trained workers are then supervised by a legal aid organization and work in a team with attorneys and other legal aid staff. Crucially, Community Justice Workers are not siloed in courts or legal aid offices; rather, they are active and highly trusted members and leaders of the communities that they represent.
Together, the four speakers painted a compelling picture, illustrating the real-life impacts of the justice gap in the lives of everyday Americans. The speakers used the opportunity to educate Judiciary Committee members about the justice gap and specific solutions to address it, like increased funding for LSC and the creation of programs and positions for non-lawyer providers of legal services.
[1] https://lsc-live.app.box.com/s/xl2v2uraiotbbzrhuwtjlgi0emp3myz1
[2] Id. at p.2
[3] https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2024-07-09_-_testimony_-_flagg.pdf
[4] https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2024-07-09_-_testimony_-_gonzalez.pdf
[5] https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2024-07-09_-_testimony_-_hecht.pdf
[6] https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2024-07-09_-_testimony_-_nelson.pdf
Grace Stewart is a Quarles & Brady Intellectual Property attorney based in the firm’s Madison, Wis., office. In addition to her work advising clients on trademark and copyright prosecution, clearance and portfolio maintenance, she also does extensive pro bono work on a variety of issues.
Addressing the Civil Justice Gap: A Deep Dive into the Recent Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing was originally published in Justice Rising on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.