National Courts Monitor

‘Civil Gideon’ Suggested For Pennsylvania

Posted: May 14, 2014

Most of us know that we have a right to an attorney if we’re arrested, but a movement is afoot to provide a similar provision for those facing civil lawsuits. In particular, cases involving “human need” like child custody and shelter would qualify for the “civil Gideon” program. “Gideon” is the name of the court cases that created the “right to a lawyer” in criminal court.

In Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “… a statewide coalition of leaders from the Allegheny County, Dauphin County, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania bar associations, as well as other related groups, held public hearings on the idea of expanding the Gideon ruling to civil cases. It is recommending the Pennsylvania Supreme Court establish an Access to Justice Commission, similar to those in 32 other states, which would further explore how to implement such a measure”

In addition to establishing a commission, the newspaper noted, a recent report recommends the Pennsylvania Legislature appropriate $50 million for civil legal services and work toward establishing a right to counsel in civil legal matters where “fundamental human needs are at stake.”

You can read the report here.

ABA Notes California Courts Crisis

by NCM Staff

Posted: May 13, 2014

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The American Bar Association is taking note of the civil (and non-civil, for that matter) courts funding crisis in California. The nation’s premier legal professional organization led an online report with “… California has cut so much money from the courts budget that some people may be discouraged from using the system, according to the state’s chief justice.” The ABA report, based on an interview with the Los Angeles Times, notes that 50 courthouses have been closed and 3,900 full-time positions eliminated in recent years – the interview was timed for release just before California Governor Jerry Brown released his latest budget draft today (Tuesday, May 13.)

The LA Times reports “Budget cuts have forced citizens in California’s largest county to drive farther and to spend more hours at the courthouse, while overworked staff try to keep up.” Source: Don Bartletti, Los Angeles Times

Our sister website, the California Courts Monitor, reports that early media reports do not even mention courts funding and that courthouse works and others are huddling to determine “next steps.” While the new budget does increase state courts funding, it remains hundreds of millions of dollars short of what court leaders say is necessary to overcome years of cutbacks.

Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye. in an interview with the Cutbacks in California court system produce long lines, short tempers that was cited by the ABA, says fights are breaking out in court lines and people can’t re-marry because divorce is taking so long.

Computer Glitch Stalls Civil Immigration Cases

by NCM Staff

Updated: October 23, 2014

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A nationwide computer glitch has stalled thousands of civil lawsuits over immigration, according to a Dallas Morning News report that says a “… a month-long computer malfunction continues in the Dallas immigration courts and those around the nation. Even before the techno-problems, there was a significant back log of about 5,600 cases for the five judges of Dallas.”

The delays will no doubt draw attention to the differences between civil and criminal immigration systems, especially the fact that the criminal dockets and outcomes are much more transparent than civil actions taken by, or against, the government.

For example, the Morning News report includes information from a Syracuse University-based research group that “… already, a backlog of nearly 367,000 pending cases weights the immigration courts through March 2014…” The group says it hopes to bring transparency to the nation’s federal agencies, including the immigration courts where court filings aren’t public as they are in the federal criminal, civil and bankruptcy courts. The non-profit runs a massive fact-gathering system using the Freedom of Information Act, according to the Morning News.

Check it out on the Scoop Blog here: Computer hardware failure in immigration courts snarling some cases

California Ruling May Launch Many Eviction Lawsuits

by NCM Staff

Updated: May 27, 2014

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Thousands of civil lawsuits can be expected in U.S. courts after a California ruling that banks foreclosing on homes that are being rented become, in effect, the new landlord – and thus subject to the same eviction rules as any other landlord. This is important in hundreds of thousands of cases where the banks simply evicted renters when they took over homes, sometimes on short notice and sometimes destroying property.

Businessweek has a report: “The ruling ‘says essentially that banks and other players in the mortgage industry have to play by the same rules as other property owners,’ said Richard Rothschild, an attorney for renter Rosario Nativi, who lost her possessions and Sunnyvale, California, home in 2009 after the homeowner defaulted on the mortgage, unbeknown to Nativi, and the bank acquired the property. Nativi’s lawsuit, which seeks damages for the loss of home and property, will proceed in state court in San Jose, California, he said.

During the housing bust, more than 200,000 tenants lost their homes in California alone. While this was a state court ruling, the California Supreme Court has let it stand and experts think it will trigger the issue in other states.

Read the story here.

Fla. Funding People, Building – Not Tech So Much

by NCM Staff

Updated: May 27, 2014

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As states wrestle with making people, facilities or technology a budget priority, Florida has come down on the side of placing tech on the back burner, according to analysis of the recently passed budget. The Law360 website reports that “.. Lisa Goodner, the administrator for the Florida state court system, said the legislators, who closed out the session on Friday, handed her ‘a very good budget,’ citing in particular the $8.1 million for employee retention and the $10 million for beginning construction of a new courthouse for the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

But the report continues to say that technology was a back-burner issue for this budget season and will likely become a higher priority next year. In particular, court officials say, the state’s high turnover in positions like court clerks helped fuel the budget talks.

Read the report here.