Access to Justice Commission: 2004 Report

• Jurisdiction: Colorado,United States
• Citation: Vol. 34 No. 1 Pg. 42
• Pages: 42
• Publication year: 2005

34 Colo.Law. 42 Colorado Bar Journal 2005.

2005, January, Pg. 42. Access to Justice Commission: 2004 Report

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42

Vol. 34, No. 1, Pg. 42

The Colorado Lawyer
January 2005
Vol. 34, No. 1 [Page 42]

Departments
Access to Justice
Access to Justice Commission: 2004 Report
by Aaron Clay, Daniel M. Taubman, JoAnn Vogt

Aaron Clay, Delta, is with the firm of Clay & Dodson P.C.; Judges Daniel M. Taubman and JoAnn Vogt serve on the Colorado Court of Appeals

Colorado is one of sixteen states with an active Access to Justice Commission.1 The Colorado Access to Justice Commission's ("Commission") mission is to develop, coordinate, and implement policy initiatives to expand access to and enhance the quality of justice in civil legal matters for persons who encounter barriers in gaining access to Colorado's civil justice system.2 It is an independent entity, formed in 2003, with the support of the Colorado Supreme Court, Colorado Bar Association, and Statewide Legal Services Group.3 The Commission is currently comprised of eighteen members.4

The need for the Commission's work has increased over recent years. According to an article in Bar Leader, several states have recently conducted surveys to determine if legal needs are being met. Many states found that the situation of legal services is similar to or worse than it was a decade ago, when the American Bar Association ("ABA") estimated that only 20 percent of the legal needs of the poor were being met nationwide.5 "Every legal aid program is forced to turn away many of the people who seek its assistance," said Bob Echols, director of the Access to Justice Support Project.6 "Many of the clients who do receive assistance," he continues, "actually need a higher level of service than the program can provide due to its limited resources."7

The experience in Colorado is no different. Colorado Legal Services does its best to serve Colorado's poor persons (388,952 according to the 2000 Census).8 In 2002, Colorado Legal Services suffered approximately a 17 percent loss of funding.9 The primary sources of the decrease were the loss of $450,000 in state funding and $400,000 from Colorado Lawyers Trust Account Foundation ("COLTAF"). As a result, Colorado Legal Services closed its Fort Morgan office and reduced the size of its Pueblo office. There are fourteen Colorado Legal Services staff members currently working less than full time or donating part of their salary in an effort to save money for that program.10

With such decreases in Colorado Legal Services funding, the Commission is exploring creative ways to increase access to the courts. This includes empowering local communities to examine the legal needs of those in their community and develop initiatives to meet those needs. The Commission's work is divided into four subcommittees: Courthouse Education, Pro Bono, and Resource. In the last year, the Commission and its...