LSC's Access to Justice Briefing
On Monday, LSC held a briefing on the state of the courts and access to justice from coast to coast. Overall, the picture was pretty bleak. The courts have shut down jury trials and, in many cases, are closed to regular business in terms of normal day-to-day volume of work. That means that cases are piling up. On top of that, courts are bracing for a massive influx of new cases once social distancing restrictions begin to lift.
Areas of significant concern are housing (especially when moratoria on evictions lift throughout the country); employment, domestic violence; and medical debt collection. The legal services providers and judges didn鈥檛 mention that last one. U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-MA, was on the call and highlighted that area as an area he鈥檚 flagged to watch.