Bridging the Justice Gap with a (Purposeful) Restructuring of Small Claims Courts
Bridging the Justice Gap with a (Purposeful) Restructuring of Small Claims Courts

Author: Victoria J. Haneman

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 18

ISBN-13:

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Legal services are so expensive that low- and middle-income individuals with access to technology and some education will frequently try to navigate the court system on their own. Accepting (as some of us have) that neither technology nor business models will close the justice gap in the United States, the most efficient way in which to offer access to justice may be to empower the individual to self-represent in the forum most amenable to self-representation -- the small claims court system. To that end, this Essay presents a roadmap to both access and justice by reimagining the workings of small claims courts nationwide: framing a proposal that admittedly lacks the empirical evidence to support it because data regarding small claims court claimants and the cases they file is often not tracked or compiled. In an effort to broaden jurisdiction while also carving restrictions to curb abuse, small claims courts may assist with bridging the justice gap by implementing the following changes: (1) simultaneously raising court limits for claims filed by natural persons and lowering (or keeping static) limits for filings by non-natural persons; (2) limiting the number of claims that may be filed by a plaintiff within a twelve-month period of time; (3) providing a small claims advisory service to assist the self-represented; and (4) establishing a framework to assist the self-represented with collection of judgments. Given that small claims cases constitute a significant number of all civil cases filed in state court, expanding the jurisdiction of these courts in a way that speaks to individual access is a workable and pragmatic approach.

Psychology and Law
Psychology and Law

Author: David Canter

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-03-02

Total Pages: 486

ISBN-13: 1351907875

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This important book captures contemporary attempts to build bridges between the two very different disciplines of law and psychology and to establish the true nature of the interaction between the two. Including international contributions from lawyers, psychologists, sociologists and criminologists, the book bridges the inherent gap between the practice of law and the profession of psychology at an international level. It throws light on how psychology connects with, inter alia, the courts, prisons, community care, clinics, long-stay hospitals, police investigations and legislative bodies. More recent contributions of social science to legal proceedings are also covered, such as the liability that arises from lack of crime prevention, or the systematic prediction of likely violence by an offender. The book will be essential reading not only for academics and professionals in psychology, the law and related disciplines wishing to understand the broadening base of psychology within the legal process, but also for students trying to form an understanding of the emerging science and the associated career opportunities for this exciting field.

Business and Human Rights
Business and Human Rights

Author: Nadia Bernaz

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2016-10-04

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 1317233859

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Business corporations can and do violate human rights all over the world, and they are often not held to account. Emblematic cases and situations such as the state of the Niger Delta and the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory are examples of corporate human rights abuses which are not adequately prevented and remedied. Business and human rights as a field seeks to enhance the accountability of business – companies and businesspeople – in the human rights area, or, to phrase it differently, to bridge the accountability gap. Bridging the accountability gap is to be understood as both setting standards and holding corporations and businesspeople to account if violations occur. Adopting a legal perspective, this book presents the ways in which this dual undertaking has been and could be further carried out in the future, and evaluates the extent to which the various initiatives in the field bridge the corporate accountability gap. It looks at the historical background of the field of business and human rights, and examines salient periods, events and cases. The book then goes on to explore the relevance of international human rights law and international criminal law for global business. International soft law and policy initiatives which have blossomed in recent years are evaluated along with private modes of regulation. The book also examines how domestic law, especially the domestic law of multinational companies’ home countries, can be used to prevent and redress corporate related human rights violations.

Bridging the Justice Gap in Family Law
Bridging the Justice Gap in Family Law

Author: Stacy L. Brustin

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13:

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Parents in family court overwhelmingly proceed pro se; however, in child support courtrooms, government attorneys representing the state child support agency frequently play a pivotal role. These attorneys represent the state's ostensible interests in ensuring that children are financially supported and in preventing welfare dependence; they do not represent individual parents. The outcomes of child support proceedings have profound, long-term constitutional and financial implications for parents, yet litigants rarely understand their rights or the role of the government.Originally, the goal of state child support enforcement efforts was to recapture the costs of welfare expenditures. In 1990, two-thirds of cases involved families receiving public assistance. However, this number has declined dramatically and public assistance cases constitute only fourteen percent of the states' caseloads. Recognizing that cost recapture is no longer a sustainable mission, the federal program administering the funding of state support agencies has attempted to rebrand the mission to one promoting shared parenting. Although well-intentioned, this shift in mission has led to proposals that would further increase government involvement in private family law matters and threaten due process for parents determining whether and how to share parenting responsibilities.Rather than enlarging the government child support apparatus, it is time to reevaluate the role of the state and devise new mechanisms for ensuring effective family dispute resolution. This Article proposes that state child support agencies focus on areas in which the government has a clear state interest and specialized capability, for example, identification of income and assets; collection and distribution of child support payments; and administrative enforcement. Rather than continuing to fund state cadres of child support enforcement attorneys and expand their involvement in private family law disputes, the Article suggests that Congress and state legislatures redirect funding to community-based legal and social services organizations that can provide expertise, neutrality, and a range of assistance in custody, parental access, and child support matters involving low-income families.

The Justice Gap
The Justice Gap

Author: Steve Hynes

Publisher: Legal Action Comics

Published: 2009-01-01

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 9781903307632

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The authors describe the origins and history of legal aid as well as New Labour's attempts to reform the system years on. They argue that on its 60th anniversary legal aid has fallen short of its original aims.