RES 679 Draft 01 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE O F HAWAI `I RESOLUTION NO. ~~~ ~~ A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE HAWAII SUPREME COURT DECISION TO CREATE THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION TO ASSIST LOW INCOME HAWAII RESIDENTS IN OBTAINING CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES. WHEREAS, on May 1, 2008, the Hawaii State Supreme Court adopted a new rule establishing an Access to Justice Commission for the State of Hawaii; and WHEREAS, the Access to Justice Commission was a recommendation of the Access to Justice Hui; and WHEREAS, the Access to Justice Hui is a nonprofit entity comprised of representatives from the Hawaii Justice Foundation, Hawaii State Bar Association, the Judiciary of the State of Hawaii with the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, Domestic Violence Action Center, Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, Na Loio -Immigrant Rights and Public Policy Center, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, University of Hawaii Elder Law Program, Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii, and William S. Richardson School of Law; and WHEREAS, in November of 2007 the Access to Justice Hui released a report titled Achieving Access to Justice for Hawai `i's People, which outlined the civil legal needs of low and moderate income residents; and WHEREAS, the Access to Justice Hui found that over 290,000 people in Hawaii live with income levels that are below the poverty level as defined by federal guidelines; and WHEREAS, the Achieving Access to Justice for Hawai `i 's People report further stated that existing nonprofit legal services providers are only able to assist 33 percent of the people that contact them for legal services; and WHEREAS, the November 2007 report from the Access to Justice Hui included aten- step action plan for mitigating this lack of critical services, which included the creation of a Access to Justice Commission by the Hawaii Supreme Court; and WHEREAS, the Access to Justice Commission will be, in part, responsible for the following tasks: • developing and publishing a strategic, integrated plan for statewide delivery of civil legal services;