Justice, justice, shall you pursue for rich and poor, high and low alike.

AuthorMoy, Lillian M.
PositionDedication: Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman - Testimonial

One of the most enduring aspects of Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman's legacy will be his vision and leadership with regard to expanding access to civil legal services and equal justice for all. Indeed, Jonathan Lippman has dedicated his tenure as Chief Judge of the State of New York "to making the ideal of equal justice a reality in the Empire State." (1) The Chief Judge has many times reminded us of the admonition of the Old Testament, the theme for his substantial and unequivocal Access to Justice Initiative. Indeed, the Chief Judge recognizes that as lawyers and judges "[w]e pursue justice every day, in our respective roles ... and we cannot do that, unless there is a steady, dependable consistent funding stream for civil legal services...." (2)

The Chief Judge formally launched his plan to gain permanent state funding for civil legal services and justice in New York State with his 2010 Law Day speech, "Law in the 21st Century: Enduring Traditions, Emerging Challenges." In this seminal address, the Chief Judge noted that the Court's docket "reflect[s] the direct legal and human fallout from the recent economic collapse--not just bad debts and bad business deals, but skyrocketing home foreclosures, consumer debt cases, growing family offense and custody petitions, and a rise in matrimonial conflict." (3)

The Chief Judge has built on this theme in many subsequent speeches. At the ABA/NLADA Equal Justice Conference in May 2011, the Chief Judge referred to the Courts as society's "emergency room," with dockets filled with "society's worst ailments." (4) He frames the issue of funding for civil legal services powerfully:

[It is] every bit as important as other fundamental priorities of a civilized society. We don't say that there won't be public schools or hospitals or courts this year to serve our children or treat our sick or deliver justice because the economy is bad, just as we cannot say that we won't fund civil legal services for the indigent because it is too difficult to afford. Access to justice is not a luxury, affordable only in good times. (5) A year earlier, the Chief Judge noted that access to justice is "one of the great challenges facing our justice system today. No issue is more fundamental to our constitutional mandate of providing equal justice under law than ensuring adequate legal representation." (6) That day, the Chief Judge announced his plans to hold public hearings in every department of New York State, together with the Presiding Justice, the Chief Administrative Judge and the President of the New York State Bar Association. He also announced the appointment of the Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services in New York, to be chaired by Helaine M. Barnett, the recently retired President of the Legal Services Corporation. The Chief Judge charged the Task Force with assisting him in assessing the need for legal assistance and recommending steps to make access to justice in civil cases a priority. Members of the Task Force ultimately included lawyers from throughout the state, bar leaders, civil legal services and pro bono providers, law schools, and labor unions. The Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for New York City Courts and Statewide Director of the Court System's Access to Justice Programs, the Honorable Fern Fisher, serves as an ex officio member of the Task Force. (7)

At the time the Task Force was launched, each house of the Legislature passed a resolution supporting its work. Indeed, the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Judiciary Committees are ex officio members of the Task Force. Thus, from its inception, legislative leadership was involved and supportive of the efforts of the Task Force.

The Task Force has worked very hard to fulfill its charge, issuing comprehensive reports in November 2010 and November 2011. In both years, the Task Force organized hearings in every department of the state which provided a record of testimony from business leaders, judges, community partners including hospitals, schools and other nonprofits, law schools, labor unions, experts, and, of course, clients, to illustrate both the deep unmet need for and substantial value of civil legal services.

In 2010, in addition to the substantial hearing testimony which unanimously supported the need for additional resources to support access to justice to free civil legal services, the Task Force also undertook a number of separate initiatives including:

(i) a [s]tatewide civil legal needs study of low income New Yorkers; (ii) a review of court data generated by the Office of Court Administration concerning New Yorkers without civil legal representation; (iii) a survey of front-line Judges across the [s]tate regarding the extent that the lack of legal assistance affects the...

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