Top court hears testimony in support of legal service funding
/
New Yorkers testified to the benefits of civil legal service providers during a public hearing Monday in front of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore. Screenshot via NYCOURTS
By Rachel Vick
Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, judicial leaders and experts on civil legal service from across the state gathered Monday for the annual hearing at the Court of Appeals to detail the importance of continued funding.
Speakers at the hearing underscored the challenges to access to justice, including the digital divide, pandemic hardships and racial inequities.
“These rippling disparities impact the experiences of the New Yorkers who engage our civil justice systems in countless often invisible ways,” said Darrren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation. “True justice for all New Yorkers is what brings us here today.”
Walker said the digital divide “is not just about access, it's about racial equity,” and that low income Black and Brown New Yorkers are more susceptible to the factors that spark cyclical involvement in the system.
Foundations, he said, cannot take the place of government, but the opportunities partnerships present are boundless. Walker also suggested maximizing the court’s efficiency in philanthropy and taking advantage of younger philanthropists who are more inclined to engage on racial justice-oriented causes than older counterparts.
Doug Lankler, general counsel for Pfizer and member of the Business Council for Access to Justice, said that businesses can and should leverage their resources to promote equity.
He suggested that in addition taking action by supporting equitable advancement like organizing fellowships geared towards racial justice — like an upcoming Pfizer fellowship to address racial disparities in healthcare — pro-bono work and continued donations can make a difference.
The company’s in-house legal departments will be partnering with outside organizations to represent clients facing evictions as one way to put their money where the issues are and encourage other companies to do the same, he announced.
“We know that corporations do not exist in a vacuum,” Lankler said. “We have an obligation, I would genuinely call it a moral obligation to give back and to improve the quality of life of the people in small and big ways.”
“With privilege comes responsibility; we have the privilege to cooperate in a society and in turn we have a responsibility to those in need,” he added. “We should all be doing more.”
The court also heard from people who rely on the civil legal services, who shared stories of the much-needed legal help civil legal service organizations provided.
Aaron Morris, a Brooklyn high school student represented by the Legal Aid Society, said that accessing his virtual classes while living in a shelter presented unforeseen challenges. He tried using a school-issued laptop, routing it through his phone’s hotspot and using an internet enabled iPad that started crashing.
“Eventually I missed most of my classes; I felt angry and ashamed of the city’s Department of Education [was] not doing their job to provide every kid with a working iPad,” Morris said, detailing the isolation he felt without being able to connect with classmates.
Legal Aid was able to get him an iPad and phone with better connectivity, but Morris and his father joined a lawsuit to try and ensure connectivity for the other kids in his shelter struggling to get online.
“They helped thousands of other students get an education during this pandemic,” Morris said. “In December of 2020, my shelter was finally wired for my internet access… my grades skyrocketed from a C average to an A average.”
Providers, some of which received funding from the courts last week to continue working with clients, also testified, sharing stories of client triumphs and their professional perspectives.
A representative from Legal Services NYC said tenants throughout New York state “remain desperate for help.”
“Unless tenants get representation so that they can get access to emergency rental assistance program funds and properly document COVID related hardship and have someone to fight on their behalf.. That tsunami [of evictions] will occur,” the representative said. “Access to justice is far from secure for so many in the state.”
Findings from the hearing will be included in an official report that will be shared with the governor’s office to be used in funding discussions.
