The Challenges of Serving Rural Colorado, 0717 COBJ, Vol. 46 No. 7 Pg. 16
| Author | JONATH A N D. A SHER, JENN IFER CUESTA, AND PATRICIA CR AIG, J. |
ACCESS TO JUSTICE
JONATH A N D. A SHER, JENN IFER CUESTA, AND PATRICIA CR AIG, J.
The Access to Justice Series explores the access to justice gap in Colorado, discusses strides that have been made in closing this gap, and encourages further innovation in this arena.
Serious access to justice challenges confront legal service providers across rural Colorado who work creatively to meet the legal needs of the indigent in their communities. The primary challenges to rural delivery include: the vast geography, the small number of available private attorneys, the technology gap, and a lack of overall resources necessary to support low-income communities in rural areas. Despite the efforts of bar associations, pro bono providers, and other groups, gaps in service still remain for Colorado’s rural communities.
The Challenges
Colorado is the both the eighth largest and eighth fastest growing state in the United States.1 With approximately 87% of Coloradans living in urban areas, 13% of Coloradans are spread across vast rural areas that are continually characterized by lower household incomes and high levels of poverty.2 This disparity leaves the much smaller but more dispersed rural populations with fewer resources, including legal services, and is the fundamental cause of the challenges of serving rural communities addressed in this article.
Vast Geography
The unavoidable challenge that every rural legal service provider must face is the expansive geography that frequently separates the lawyers and programs from their clients. For example, the CLS office in La Junta, which currently has only one attorney, serves individuals and families in the 3rd, 15th, and 16th judicial districts. These judicial districts include nine counties spread out over 17,740 square miles. In comparison, Denver County encompasses roughly 155 square miles.3
Geographical challenges affect both those trying to secure and those trying to provide legal services in rural areas. For example, Judge Martin Gonzales of the 12th JD commutes among six courthouses, and says that “the closest traveling distance between any two courthouses is 30 minutes one way. The furthest distance is more than 2 hours one way.”4 He explains that the issue of distance is often exacerbated by a lack of public transportation that, when combined with the time and cost of travel, can “often present a client the choice of not appearing for court or losing their job.”5
Lack of Attorneys
The second challenge faced by legal service providers in rural Colorado is the small number of private attorneys available to provide legal services and pro bono assistance. For example, in the 3rd, 15th, and 16th JDs, there is a range from 150 to 305 indigent community members per one registered attorney. Comparably, in Denver County there is one registered attorney for every 17 indigent community members. In the six counties of the San Luis Valley, there are only 50 licensed and registered attorneys (this number includes judges and government attorneys). This means there are 213 indigent community members for every one registered attorney.6
Trisha Kelly, pro bono coordinator of the San Luis Valley Pro Bono Project, says that this leaves her with only “a handful of attorneys who are able to volunteer.”[7] Private attorneys are also called on to respond to court appointments in criminal, juvenile, and other cases. These factors, together with frequent conflicts of...
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