Access to Justice: On Dialogues with the Judiciary

18 Pages Posted: 22 May 2015

Date Written: 2002

Abstract

Central to our democracy is a belief that our legal system is just. This faith has been sorely tested by the experiences of many who seek judicial relief. People enter a system dependent on lawyers whom they often do not trust and more often cannot afford. The legal system has not been structured to accommodate those without professional help. What can law schools do to improve this state of affairs? Law schools are, for the most part, removed from litigation. Clinical faculty are the exception, and they have produced most of the scholarship on the state of "poor people's courts" and issues of access to justice. Their scholarship has focused on lawyer-client relationships, ethical issues relevant to court access projects, and the personal experiences of pro se litigants.' Clinical faculty have also worked with courts by contributing to judicial training, developing forms, and providing instruction to litigants on relevant legal requirements and remedies. This Article will consider how nurturing student interest in public service intersects with the goals of developing lawyering expertise. The Article will then examine what insight clinical programs can offer to the judiciary on making the courts more accessible.

Keywords: Access to justice, pro se litigants, clinical education, public service, public access to courts

Suggested Citation

Barry, Margaret Martin, Access to Justice: On Dialogues with the Judiciary (2002). Fordham Urban Law Journal, Vol. 29, 2002, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2607325

Margaret Martin Barry (Contact Author)

Vermont Law School ( email )

68 North Windsor Street
P.O. Box 60
South Royalton, VT 05068
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.vermontlaw.edu/Our_Faculty/Faculty_Directory/Margaret_Martin_Barry.htm

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