In Support of Efforts to Increase Access to Justice
Resolution 2: In Support of Efforts to Increase Access to Justice
WHEREAS, the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) have long been committed to the fundamental principle of fair access to justice for all in civil matters; and
WHEREAS, ensuring access to justice in adversarial proceedings involving basic human needs — such as shelter, sustenance, safety, health, or child custody — remains one of the Conferences' highest priorities; and
WHEREAS, CCJ and COSCA have previously adopted joint resolutions recognizing that a fundamental requirement of access to justice is access to the courts, and that this access extends to both lawyer-represented and self-represented litigants; and
WHEREAS, such resolutions include:
(1) Joint Resolution 31, adopted on August 1, 2002, supporting the expansion of self-help services to litigants, encouraging discrete task representation by counsel, increasing pro bono assistance, and encouraging the development of other mechanisms that expand the provision of counsel in those cases in which other efforts to assist litigants are inadequate to overcome barriers; and
(2) Joint Resolution 25, adopted on July 29, 2004, accepting the proposal of the ABA's Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants to work jointly with the Conferences to enhance efforts to increase access to justice through education programs and assistance to individual states;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Conferences encourage their members in each state and territory to continue to take steps to ensure that no citizen is denied access to the justice system by reason of lack of resources, or any other such barrier, and that the Conferences urge their members to take a leadership role in their respective jurisdictions to prevent denials of access to justice.
Adopted as proposed by the Access to and Fairness in the Courts Committee on July 30, 2008.