WHY IT MATTERS THROUGHOUT THE NATION
Documenting the Justice Gap
The primary source of support [70%] for free civil legal aid in Arkansas comes from the Legal Services Corporation [LSC], a non- profit organization created by the U.S. Congress in 1974. Following extensive study, the LSC released in September 2005 a report entitled, "Documenting the Justice Gap." This research demonstrated an 80% gap between the civil legal needs of low-income Americans and the ability of current legal services to meet those needs. This report not only detailed the depth and breadth of the gap but proposed solutions to eliminate the gap as well. (Read full Report)
Access to Justice Commissions in the United States
A decade ago, with support from the American Bar Association, Access to Justice Commissions became a new model in the historic development of civil legal aid in the nation. The states of California, Maine and Washington established the first commissions in the late 1990s. These were soon followed by states as diverse as Montana and Texas. The Arkansas Supreme Court at the request of the Arkansas Bar Association established the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission which met for the first time in October 2004. Currently 25 states and the District of Columbia have access to justice commissions. They all follow the same basic model: they are created by a state supreme court rule in response to a request by the state bar; their members represent the courts, organized bar, civil legal aid, law schools and other stakeholders; members are appointed directly by participating agencies or through the supreme court based on nominations; they are conceived as having a continuing existence; and they have a broad portfolio in assessing, coordinating and recommending initiative to advance the civil legal needs of low-income people in their state.
The following website, a collaboration of the American Bar Association and its Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Defendants, provides detailed information regarding the issues and actions undertaken by commissions throughout the country. It also provides basic data about the conditions of civil legal justice by state. ABA Access to Justice Resource Center
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