May 2008

President's Corner

Access to Justice 101

by WSBA President Stan Bastian

This Bar Association has several core values, but none is more important than advancing and promoting access to justice. Lawyers have a monopoly on the practice of law; only lawyers can represent clients in court and only lawyers have the keys to the judicial system. However, this monopoly comes with a price — the obligation to ensure that everyone has equal access. As officers of the court and as stewards of justice, we have a professional responsibility to guarantee that every member of our community has access to the justice system.

Equal access to justice is a cornerstone of our democracy. It is woven into the fabric of our culture, and it is one of the foundations upon which our government was built. The Declaration of Independence declares as "self-evident" the notion that all men are created equal — free to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The United States Constitution guarantees every citizen the equal protection of the laws. These guarantees are echoed in the Washington State Constitution — and no doubt in the constitutions of all 50 states. The phrase "equal justice under law" is a caption on the front of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. Even our Pledge of Allegiance, the same pledge repeated everyday by school children everywhere, ends with the words: "With liberty and justice for all."

I wish I could tell you there is justice for all, but we know there is not. I wish I could tell you the legal needs of all our state's more than one million poor people are being adequately met, but we know they are not.

I do not exaggerate when I say that the civil justice system in our state faces a grave crisis. Pro bono service plays an important role in meeting the need, but unfortunately the overwhelming number of people in poverty who require legal assistance far outstrips our capacity to provide volunteer services. An astonishing 75 percent of Washington's low-income households experience a civil legal problem each year, and over 80 percent of these households are unable to obtain assistance from a lawyer. The civil legal problems experienced by low-income people in Washington generally affect basic human needs, such as housing, family safety, personal security, and employment matters. The very integrity of our state's justice system is at stake when the vast majority of low-income people who need its protection cannot secure necessary legal assistance. Legal representation from actual lawyers is the key to securing effective outcomes for those whose legal rights are at stake. Legal aid promotes fairness and justice; helps families in crisis return to safe, productive lives; and saves dollars for taxpayers by preempting a spiral of costly social problems and ensuring a well-ordered society.

What can you do? The answer is simple. Your financial contribution can significantly help alleviate the problem. We are all asked to support a number of worthy causes throughout the year, but the justice system is our "home turf," and I suggest that you give serious thought to making a generous contribution to either the Campaign for Equal Justice or the Endowment for Equal Justice. Both are equally deserving of our support, and they complement each other. The Campaign for Equal Justice is the cornerstone of civil legal aid giving. Annual support of the Campaign gives legal aid programs throughout Washington the ability to serve clients each and every day. The Endowment for Equal Justice ensures civil legal aid will be available for low-income and vulnerable families in perpetuity. The Campaign supports legal aid programs today; the Endowment secures those programs for the future.

Contributions to either fund can be made outright by check, credit card, electronic funds transfer, or through a gift of securities. To make a pledge or contribution you can visit www.c4ej.org. Donations and pledges can also be mailed to 1325 Fourth Ave., Ste. 1335, Seattle, WA 98101. 

WSBA President Stan Bastian can be reached at stanb@jdsalaw.com or 509-662-3685.

Our society's justice system serves not only as an important barometer for the layperson's trust in government, but also as a safeguard for the rights of all members of our society, even the poorest and most disenfranchised. In a society that still harbors deep rifts along the lines of race and economic status, the promise of justice must be made accessible to all, not just those with the means to afford it. In this context, we as lawyers face a critical choice. We can structure our justice system in an idealized vacuum, pretending that inequality does not exist. Or we can use the power we wield in our system of government to build a system available to and trusted by all, from the richest to the poorest. For anyone who truly believes in the ideal of equality enshrined in our Constitution, the choice is clear — we can't afford not to act.

— Shankar Narayan, policy director, Hate Free Zone

Access to justice is a critical tool in the fight to eliminate poverty. When we use our skills as lawyers to provide a poor person meaningful, fair, and equal participation in the legal system through pro bono service, we play a significant role in helping that person resolve problems that will perpetuate the condition of poverty. Whether we help someone to attain safety by escaping an abusive relationship, avoid homelessness by preventing eviction, protect vital disability payments from termination, prevent wrongful termination and joblessness, or stand up against institutional oppression, it is through access to our system of justice that a poor person might find empowerment to escape further poverty and realize a sense of equality of opportunity and a chance for economic success.

— Jason Vail, staff attorney/legal editor, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law

Access to justice is of deep historical importance to the Asian community in Washington. In the past, efforts to exclude Asians from equal participation in America's social and legal systems were overt, including the illegal expulsions of Chinese immigrants from a number of Washington communities in the late 1800s, denial of American citizenship to many Asians until the mid-1900s, and the mass internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. An example from within our own profession was the denial of bar admission to Takuji Yamashita in 1902 based on his Japanese ancestry. Today, Asian immigrants still face a myriad of challenges to obtaining access to justice, including limited language proficiency, cultural barriers, and poverty. From traffic violation hearings to family and criminal court procedures, Asian immigrants face an uphill battle in finding justice. Ensuring meaningful and timely access to counsel and the courts remains vitally important to Washington's Asian community.

— Andrew Ko and Jill Otake, Asian Bar Association