Resolution: In Support of Remote and Virtual Hearings (CCJ/COSCA 2021)
In July 2021, the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators approved Resolution 2 In Support of Remote and Virtual Hearings. They recognized that remote technology was a vital tool for courts during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep courts operational while keeping the public and court employees safe. They also recognized that the ability to participate in virtual hearings could bring benefits to attorneys, parties, and self-represented litigants even in a post-pandemic world. The recommendations of Resolution 2 are as follows:
Year published:
2021
Document Author:
CCJ/COSCA
Report: Eighteen Ways Courts Should Use Technology to Better Serve Their Customers (Greacen; IAALS 2018)
Published in 2018, this report provides a path forward to help courts use existing technologies to improve the user experience, particularly for those people who choose to represent themselves.
Among the report’s detailed recommendations are:
Year published:
2018
Document Author:
John Greacen, IAALS
Report: Mismatched and Mistaken: How the Use of an Inaccurate Private Database Results in SSI Recipients Unjustly Losing Benefits (Mancini, Lang, and Wu 2021)
In the fiscal year 2018, the Social Security Administration (SSA) began using a data set from LexisNexis (Lexis) called Accurint for Government on a widespread basis to determine whether recipients of needs-based government assistance had unreported real property that could disqualify them from the receipt of such benefits. Since the advent of SSA’s use of the Accurint for Government (Accurint) product, advocates representing individuals receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits reported significant problems with clients being falsely accused of owning real property.
Year published:
2021
Document Author:
Sarah Mancini, Kate Lang, Chi Chi Wu
Report: Better _______: Strategies for User-Informed Legal Design (Michigan Advocacy Program and Graphic Advocacy Project 2021)
In 2019, the Michigan Advocacy Program (MAP) received a Technology Initiative Grant (TIG) from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to bring UX design and usability testing training to the justice community. After having struggled with these topics in the early days of Michigan Legal Help, and then learning how important they are, MAP wanted to help others in the community understand the basics of UX design and learn how easy usability testing can be.
Year published:
2021
Document Author:
Michigan Advocacy Program, Graphic Advocacy Project
Paper: The Impact of Video Proceedings on Fairness and Access to Justice in Court (Bannon and Adelstein 2020)
The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted court operations across the country, prompting judges to postpone nonessential proceedings and conduct others through video or phone.
Year published:
2020
Document Author:
Alicia Bannon, Janna Adelstein, Brennan Center for Justice
Article: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Especially When You Don’t Have a Lawyer (Reed 2021)
A study led by Havard Law School Professor Jim Greiner showed that low-income Philadelphians have a hard time accessing a divorce without an attorney — a problem that is likely widespread
Year published:
2021
Document Author:
Rachel Reed, Harvard Law Today, James Greiner
Resolution: The American Bar Association Remote Resolution 2020 (ABA 2020)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, courts endeavored to find ways to operate safely and ensure that essential proceedings continued. In many jurisdictions, this involved quickly setting up remote or virtual courts, using meeting technologies such as Zoom or Go to Meeting. Because these procedures were established in response to a crisis, time could not initially be taken to form a committee to review the proposed procedures, solicit input from key constituencies or fully consider the impact of these procedures on issues of access, privacy and attorney-client relationships.
Year published:
2020
Document Author:
American Bar Association
Online Course: Creating Pathways to Civil Legal Justice (WebJunction 2021)
Barriers to civil legal justice disproportionately affect low-income people in the US, creating the justice gap—the divide between the civil legal needs of low-income people and access to the resources to meet those needs. Public libraries are well-positioned to help reduce this gap.
Year published:
2021
Document Author:
WebJunction, Legal Services Coporation
Resource: SRLN Navigator Working Group Webinar (July 2021)
In our July 2021 webinar, Danielle Hirsch spoke about a new funding source and Mary McClymont gave an update on AmeriCorps funding .
Lisa Colpoys and Jill Roberts discussed a new information service called Illinois Court Help, recently launched to connect people to the resources and information they need to go to court. Watch the recording of the SRLN Navigator July 2021 webinar via this link!
Year published:
2021
Document Author:
SRLN
Report: Alternative Legal Service Providers: Understanding the Growth and Benefits of These New Legal Providers (Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, Georgetown University Law Center, and the University of Oxford Saïd Business School 2017)
In the 2010's, the legal marketplace saw an influx of new start-ups and new entrants looking to challenge the long-standing service model offered by law firms to their clients. Traditionally, clients looked to their law firms to provide a full range of legal and legal-related services. In 2017, by contrast, consumers of legal services found themselves the beneficiaries of a new and growing number of nontraditional service providers that are changing the way legal work is getting done.
Year published:
2017
Document Author:
Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, Georgetown University Law Center for the Study of the Legal Profession and the University of Oxford Saïd Business School