Access to Justice

The American civil justice system sits at a crossroads. In three-quarters of the 20 million civil cases filed in state courts each year, at least one side lacks a lawyer. Beneath those cases sit tens of millions more legal problems that never make it to court. Many are significant, even life-altering moments: debt disputes, evictions, domestic violence, a former partner behind on child support, an employer refusing to pay overtime, or an insurer who denies a legitimate claim. Yet most people face these problems without legal assistance, or they "lump it" rather than navigate a complex system alone. Such large, systemic gaps in access to legal services limit who can vindicate their rights, magnifying disparities based on income, education, race, gender, and ethnicity. They are unfair and undemocratic. The future of the civil justice system, and the legitimacy of the courts at its center, will turn on how --- and how well --- judges, court administrators, the legal profession, and an array of policymakers respond to these realities. This course offers a wide survey of the current state of access to justice in the United States. Students will consider the long-run causes and consequences of the justice gap and the major features, constituencies, and stakeholders of the state court systems that are struggling to close that gap. Students will also tour and assess potential solutions --- from procedural simplification, to revived Due Process, to new technologies (e.g., online dispute resolution), to efforts to prime the supply of legal help by expanding non-lawyer practice of both the human and software sort. Students will emerge with a synoptic understanding of one of the most pressing challenges to the legitimacy of the American legal system, along with new ideas about how to chart a career devoted to access to justice. Student assessment is based on class participation, response papers, and a final project or paper. Students writing a final paper may receive 2 or 3 credits depending on paper length. After the term begins, students enrolled in the course can transfer from section (01) into section (02), which meets the R requirement, with consent of the instructors.