View the 2007 Arkansas Access to Justice Commission Annual Report
Equal justice hinges on all Arkansans having access to make their
case in a court of law in all civil matters.
The people of Arkansas expect the justice system of our state to function as an unbiased mechanism for upholding rights and
resolving disputes in an environment characterized by respect,
trust, impartiality, efficiency and fairness. The justice system
of our state must be available to and responsive to the needs
of all people regardless of income, race, age, gender or other
status.
Low-income individuals and communities as well as the organizations and institutions which serve them face unprecedented challenges including negative public perceptions of poor people; continued
funding cuts to vital resources such as housing, job training,
health care; and under-resourced and over-burdened institutions
and agencies called upon to do more with less.
With these realities in mind the Arkansas Supreme Court joined
with the Arkansas Bar Association to study access to justice
in our state and what could be done about it improving
it. Acting upon this joint study the Arkansas Supreme Court established
an Access to Justice Commission to examine further and propose
methods of addressing the civil legal needs of low income
Arkansans.
The Mission of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission is to provide
equal access to justice in civil cases to all Arkansans.
