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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 679 Draft 01 2006-2008COUNTY 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; • increasing and stabilizing long-term public and private funding and resources for delivery of civil legal services; • increasing pro bono contributions by attorneys through such things as rule changes, recruitment campaigns, increased judicial involvement and increased recognition for contributors; and • reducing barriers to the civil justice system by developing resources to overcome language, cultural and other barriers and by giving input on existing and proposed laws, court rules, regulations, procedures and policies that may affect meaningful access to justice; and WHEREAS, the establishment of the Access to Justice Commission was the first recommendation of the ten-step action plan included in the report Achieving Access to Justice, for Hawai `i 's People; and WHEREAS, the remaining nine points of the ten-step action plan, as further delineated in the attached "Exhibit A", are as follows: (2) Increase Funding to Support the Delivery of Legal Services to Ensure Access to Justice. (3) Develop a Culture that Values Providing Pro Bono Services. (4) Establish the Recognition of the Right to a Lawyer in Civil Cases Where Basic Human Needs are at Stake. (5) Enable Individuals to Represent Themselves Effectively When Necessary. (6) Maximize the Use of Available Resources. (7) Overcome Barriers to Access to Justice. (8) Expand the Role of the William S. Richardson School of Law in Promoting Access to Justice. (9) Increase Access to Justice in Other Ways. (10) Form a Broad Coalition to Address Ways to Alleviate Poverty in Hawaii. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII that it supports the Hawaii Supreme Court rule to create an Access to Justice Commission, which will facilitate the expansion of civil legal services to low income residents of Hawaii. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hawaii County Council encourages the implementation of the remaining nine points of the ten-step action plan. 2 BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the County Clerk shall forward a copy of this resolution to the Honorable Mayor Harry Kim, Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald T. Moon and Associate Justice Simeon Acoba, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of the Hawaii State Legislature, the Hawaii State Bar Association, the Dean of the William S. Richardson School of Law, the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, the Hawaii Paralegal Association, and the Attorney General of the State of Hawaii. Dated at Hilo , Hawaii, this 2nd day of July , 2008. INTROAUCED BY: COUNCIL MEMBER, C WAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawaii Hilo, Hawaii I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the County ofHawai`i on July 2 ~ 2008 ATTEST: C~OU TY CLERK ROLL CALL VOTE AYES NOES ABS EX FORD }{ HIGA X HOFFMANN X IKEDA }{ JACOBSON X a NAEOLE X PILAGO X YAGONG X YOSHIMOTO X 9 0 0 0 Reference: C-1276/PWIRC- 8 3 RESOLUTION NO. ~' ~ 9 O S • • R.EPO-RT AND A~TIC)N PLAN AT A GLAN+~E The Access to Justice Hui The Access to Justice Hlli is coxnpx~sed of representatives of the Judiciary, the Havvai'i State Bar :association, legal service pxovders, the Havva`i Justice Foundation and the ~FFilliazn 5. Richardson School of Lavv, as sa ell as box- leaders and other interested parties. The Hui's grxal seas to cal~~= out a statewide assessment of the civil legal needs of low and moderate-income resxdexus of Haw-ai'i alld to develop a colnlnunity wide. action plalx to increase equal access to justice in Ha~vai°i. T`lxe Assessrnexit 7"he last legal needs assessment, completed in l~93 the "Spangenberg Repax~t"), fQUnd than low and moderate-income residents had a high level of uxxmet legal needs. The Hui collected ialforllxatian fi'oln a -al7ety of sourcesB to determine the clln•ent extent of tuxnxet legal needs, identify bal°riers to getting legal help, and receiue community recolaxlnendatians to improve access to justice. Tlxe resultui~ report, Aclxiev-ilxi Access to Justice for Haw°ai'i's People: The ?OO i Assessmexit of Civil. Legal Feeds and $an-ers of Low and il•loderate-Income People. in. Have=ai'i, indicates that Havv=;u`i's Iat~=-incanle population continued to increase rrlstive to the populations and that a disturbing level of zuxrnet civil legal needs persists. Ixic:reased Potiert~* and. High Cost of Lip-i:i~ Qne quarter of Havvai`i's residents liv°e belaev Zfl(}° o of tlxe federal pov-erh gtlidelixie. Since 1989, the number of people living below !?5°ra of the federal poyert~ galidelille ui Havv-ai`i has gravv~Fi ?8°`o to l56,3?1. Qux-ing the same pexiad, the population living between !25°~~ and Z+(7Q°b of tlxe federal povert~;• g>.lideline has grow-ll ! 9° n to l43,Si7. . Ill ?flfl5, a fanxlly- of Eons` hvxng at. l2.~°~4 of the federal pavex•ty ~llideline earned S? 3!9 3.5(B,~`"bt.3 I3a. vvai' Pi~vcrt~ Etc LcYVU~Ixxccixxxc~ Pcx~ulaticxn Sf)tP,{~; ~ , ~5~,'~ ~~ i A~x~ , ~; 1.i(~,4_i7;a~+ 1tx ~}bi? t2i l~b,S21 SiB, ~ . i -,a.~ ~i.~.~, pex° month, vv-line such a famil~r living at ~00'°`u of poverty- earned S 3, f ! €3 per xxlonth. A studs- b1~ the Center an the Family at the Llxliversity of Havvai`i fouxid that ux ~Ot}5 it foal: 5,824 per month to cover the basic living expenses for a family of f~+ur liti°ixlg in Honohxlu.' Fanxilies rnx3ble to aB`oa-d even basic expenses certainly are ill no positiaxx to pay far legal assistance vyhen it is needed. ` Data u-as aatlxered fi-rnxa otkxer sturlFas and dernograpl~ic uxfrnnxacion; cx~ritten surc-eFs of potential clieirts, social sea~:~ice providers, legal :service ps-oziclrrs, and adjudicative bodies, mter~-iecrs v~•ith :social service pro~ideas and xnelnbers of tlxe judiriar~=; and coruxnunih' focus groups held throu~lxout the State- Exhibit "A" • • IieF Findings of the Deeds Assessment • C~xil~~ ] ux 5 loFC• and moderate-income Haxvai`i residents have their legal needs. met. • Legal seniee pra~=iders are able to help anlg ] in 3 of those xaho contact. diem for assistance. • The ax•eas xvith the greatest unmet civil legal needs are housing (~4°a}, faniilvv ('_3°'c}, domestic violence i$°'o1= and coxxsumer {',°®j. • Significant bai3iers to obtaixutig legal assistance ui addition to ixiabflit• to afford an attanxev include laxi~u3ge and cultural barriers, lack of kxio~vledge of one's legal rights, lack of 1:iaolvledae of available Legal services, and difficulty in accessing legal services programs.. • Tliere is one legal service attoxne~= fox• ex=exy 3,?9] persons liv~xig bela~r 1?3°'e of the federal pat•ex°t}= ~xideline. + There is one legal sex~-ice attorney for every 4,~)? persons li.~ng below- ?tlt7°-o of the federal poverh= ~iidehne. • There is one private attonre3• for et=ei~- 36 ] persons in dze general paptxlatiaxa. Cammutiiti ~#ide Action Plan: Ten Steps in Increase Access to Justice in Ha~vai`i b~- 2~I0 { 1 ~ Create an Access to Justice Commission. The Hawaii aupreme Court slaauld ct•eate an Access to Justice Connnission ~s-ith members from the jaidiciarv, organized bar, legal service providers, and others. The Coxnnrission svauld oversee and coordinate state~,~~de efforts to expand access to jusuce far la~v-income people, increase fundin,~ far legal sera-ice providers and pro Bono canu•ibutiaxxs b~ atto•na~-s, and uici•ease public awareness. (~} Inc:rease Funding to Support the Deli~•er?* of Legal. Services to Ensure Access to Justice. Legal service prop=ides arguizatians ai•e tlxe cornerstone of access to justice. Tle current: level of funding from all sources allaxs-s these providers to serve less than .3°~a of law-income residents tvitli critical le~*al prablexns. Additional fiuidiiig should be sought frain the Ham=ai`i Lee~,'slattu•e, the fedex°al goz=ex~ment acrd through. atliea- nieans, including adoption of a "conxpai•abiliri" recluix•enaentfar interest paid axe latc-±=ex•s' client ti-iist accauiits axid iiici•easisig flee court filing fee sux•charge for ilie Indinent Legal Assistance Futxd. f31 Develop a Ctxlttire that tialues Providing Pro Bann Services. Attoriaevs who valtantarily provide free legal assistance to low and moderate-income residents play a ke1-role in helping to address the txiunet need for legal sei-xices. ?Measures should be taken that elegy=at3e pro Bono to a value revered throniJliaut f-Ialt•ai`i's legal coxmuxuutt~. For the msd~-, a family of foLU- was deemed to consist o£ tsvo adults„ vne school aae c':ild, and one pre-school child. Canxparable ixxonthly basic li•.-inks expenses an the neighbor islands mere found io be S+,S 56 can ~.auai, 5 ,29~ iu taiu Cauazh=, and ~54,~9? or_ Haxvai'i Lslaxsd. Exhibit "A" • • 4~^) Establish the Re+co~nition of the Right to a Lax^~=er in Civil Cases. Sl"here Basic Human Needs are at Stake. It is time to recogziize that society should proc-ide an attanieti for those n=ho cannot afford an attorney= but are facing, the. depri, atiotx ofbasic human needs., such. as those involvixtg shelter,. sustenance, safety=, health or child custadt. (~~ Enable Individuals to Represent Themselves Effectivelk= ~'4hen 1\ecessar~. Que. to the lack of an attorne~_ •, tnant- indis-iduals are forced to represent themselties in count. Self-help centers shattld be established in all. coatrtlrouses and programs should be developed to make courts mare user fitiendly. ~6y .'Maximize the use of Available Resources. Legal services programs should tc=arl together to make the most efficient use of their collective resources. Paralegals should be used ~~-here appropriate to help meet unnxet legal needs. t7> Qvercome Barriers to Access to justice. Language, cultural and other barriers faced hy' residents need to addressed bg the courts, legal service prov=iders and administratiF'e agencies. Legal sea-~•ces ptograms should etpand the ttipes of cases they- handle, the location of their offices or clinics, their haui-s of operation, azid thew Dori°each effai-is. (S) E_Ypaud the Role of the WiIliam S. Richardson School of Lax= in Promoting Access to Justice. The La~v School needs to esps and it efforts to introdcice its students to the practice of poverrv la~v by increasing clinical programs, emphasizing the professional responsibilities of attorneys to engxe in pro bano acti~~itl=, and engaguig in otlicr efforts to encaura¢e la~~- students to esrter public interest la~v. t9) Increase Access to ,Justice in Other ~~'a~; s. T1re Ha~t=ai`i Le¢islaturc should support the creation of a student loan foil veness program for attornees ~vho work. far a legal sen-ice organization providing assistance to the pacer. The Hatix=ai`i Supreme Court should consider adapting roles alla~ving for limited representation of clients by attorneys and also allo4~-uzg attonieys licensed iu other sites to tenxporaril~ practice in Haz~•ai`i if they i~•ark ar volunteer pro bano far a legal service organization pro~-iding assistance to tl~e poor. (l 0 Form. a. Broad Coalition to Address ~Ya~-s tas A11e1~iate Poverty in Hasvai`i. Legal probleans ofloot=-income Hau•ai`i aesidents do not occur in a vacuum. They are often intea•related «~ith poverty., and if left um•esolved, c an plunge: faniilies fux•thex• into po~~erty. Tlie legal commiuuty should jour ch=itli others ur a concerted effort to eliminate the root cacises of poverty in Ha~~c•ai`i. Exhibit "A"