State and Local Justice Initiatives
SUMMARY OF CATEGORIES OF ACTIVITIES
Access Issues: Legal
services, pro bono, indigent defense, etc.
"Because a justice system that is unavailable to substantial
portions of the population is not ‘just,’ the ABA supports efforts
to ensure the provision of basic legal services," notes the 1996
Agenda for Justice report on ABA policies. Most bar
associations and many court organizations strive to improve the
delivery of legal services to lower income individuals. These local,
state and national bar efforts include, in criminal matters,
adequate indigent defense services and, on the civil side, support
for the existence of and adequate Congressional funding for the
federal Legal Services Corporation, state funding for state efforts,
increased pro bono efforts by individual lawyers and law firms, and
the development of creative ways to deliver legal services to
moderate income individuals.
At the request of the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and
Indigent Defendants, the Coalition for Justice, and the Committee on
State Justice Initiatives, the ABA Board of Governors further
responded to the national legal services crisis in l996 by beginning
a joint project with the National Legal Aid and Defender
Association. The State Planning Assistance Network (SPAN) helps
states forge new legal services systems in light of reduced federal
resources and increased restrictions on their use.
There were a total of 79 bar or court activities noted, as listed
below. Programs range from Alabama’s use of volunteers in the courts
for cases affecting children to Wyoming’s Pro Bono Referral project.
Many of these reflect a traditional willingness of the bench and bar
to improve the delivery of legal services.
Increasingly, lawyers and judges are also reaching out to involve
non-lawyer community members. The Alaska Bar Association and the
Alaska Supreme Court, for example, formed a statewide Task Force on
Access to Civil Justice. The Illinois State and Chicago Bar
Associations released the report of their Equal Justice Project. The
State Bar of Michigan has a well-staffed Access to Justice Task
Force. Washington State’s Access to Justice Board created the Equal
Justice Coalition, a broad-based, bipartisan coalition of nearly 100
community leaders and 50 organizations to educate federal and state
legislators and the public about the importance of legal
services.
For additional information contact the staff of the ABA Legal
Services Division, 312/988-5749, fax 312/988-5348, mailto:tbrooks@staff.abanet.org.
Alabama
Alabama State
Bar
Supreme Court of Alabama
Alaska
Alaska Bar Association
Alaska Supreme
Court
Arizona
Arizona Supreme Court
Arkansas
Arkansas Bar Association
California
California Supreme Court
Santa
Monica Bar Association
Colorado
Colorado Bar Association
Supreme
Court of Colorado
Connecticut
Connecticut Bar
Association
Connecticut Supreme Court
Delaware
Justice of the Peace Court
Delaware
Supreme Court
Florida
The Florida Bar
Georgia
State Bar of Georgia
Hawaii
Hawaii State Bar Association
Supreme
Court of Hawaii
Idaho
Idaho State Bar
Idaho Supreme Court
Illinois
Chicago Bar Association
Illinois
State Bar Association
Indiana
Supreme Court of Indiana
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Kansas
Kansas City Metropolitan
Bar Association
Kansas State Bar
Kansas Supreme
Court
Kentucky
Kentucky Bar Association
Louisiana
Louisiana State Bar
Association
Louisiana Supreme Court
Maine
Maine State Bar Association
Maryland
Maryland State Bar
Association
Maryland Supreme Court
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Bar
Association
Massachusetts Supreme Court
Michigan
Michigan Supreme Court
State Bar of
Michigan
Minnesota
Minnesota State Bar Association
Mississippi
Mississippi Supreme Court
Missouri
Missouri Supreme Court
The Missouri
Bar
Nebraska
Nebraska Bar Association
Nevada
State Bar of Nevada
New Jersey
Essex County Bar Association
New
Jersey State Bar Association
New Jersey Supreme Court
New Mexico
State Bar of New Mexico
New York
New York County Lawyers’
Association
New York State Bar Association
New York
Supreme Court
The Association of the Bar of the City of New
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North Carolina
North Carolina Bar
Association
North Carolina Supreme Court
North Dakota
State Bar Association of North
Dakota
Ohio
Columbus Bar Association
Ohio State Bar
Association
Oregon
Multnomah Bar Association
Oregon State
Bar
Oregon Supreme Court
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Bar
Association
Philadelphia Bar Association
Supreme Court
of Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Supreme Court
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Bar
Association
Supreme Court of Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Carolina Bar
South
Carolina Supreme Court
South Dakota
Supreme Court of South Dakota
Tennessee
Supreme Court of Tennessee Tennessee
Bar Association
Texas
State Bar of Texas
Utah
Utah Bar Association
Utah Supreme Court
Vermont
Vermont Supreme Court
Virginia
Virginia State Bar Association
Washington
Washington Supreme Court
West Virginia
The West Virginia State Bar
Wisconsin
State Bar of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Supreme Court
Wyoming
Wyoming State Bar
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Office of Justice Initiatives
750 N. Lake
Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60611-4497
Phone:
312/988-6138
FAX: 312/988-6100
http://www.abanet.org/justice/home.html
E-mail:
sweeneyj@staff.abanet.org
Editor: Mary Ann Peter, ABA Office of Justice
Initiatives
American Bar Association, May, 1999
The
opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of
the ABA.
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