Funding | wisatj.org

The return on investing in access to justice

This story in the National Law Journal is just the latest example of how legal services programs and even legal services funding organizations are emphasizing the social “return on investment” that is generated by the work that they do. From the article: Page 14 of Legal Services Corp.’s proposed 2014 budget request to Congress bears the face of a 7-month-old infant wearing a baby helmet to form his skull. He

Jeff Brown July 16, 2013

Making access to justice a nonpartisan issue

When the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission meets on Friday it will be bittersweet due to the refusal by state legislators to take action that would remove Wisconsin from the list of only four states that provide no state funding to support civil legal services to the indigent. Volunteers from the Commission worked with staff from the State Bar of Wisconsin and representatives from numerous other organizations to develop a

Jeff Brown June 6, 2013

Time to Make Legal Assistance for Abuse Victims a Priority

The Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission has released its Legal Services for Abuse Victims Proposal urging the Wisconsin Legislature to ensure that abuse victims in Wisconsin have access to the basic legal services they need to protect themselves and to begin rebuilding their lives. Working with the State Bar of Wisconsin and other stakeholders, the Commission is calling on the Legislature to appropriate $3 million in GPR funding over the 2013-2015 biennium

Jeff Brown April 18, 2013

Access to Justice Commission releases its first video

Equal justice for all is something that we treasure and that every Wisconsin resident deserves. We hope that you find this short video helpful and inspiring. There is a role for everyone in the effort to make access to justice a higher priority at the local, state and national levels. Contact us to find out how you can help right here in Wisconsin. Update 5/21/12: We were pleased to be

Jeff Brown May 14, 2012

Congress votes to widen the justice gap: 2012 LSC funding cut

According to the National Legal Aid & Defender Association, last night House and Senate conferees agreed to a spending package that would fund the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) at $348,000,000 for FY 2012. This figure represents a reduction in overall funding for LSC of $56,190,000, or 13.9 percent. The entire cut comes from funding for basic field programs, amounting to 14.8 percent of the critical funding used by LSC grantees to provide access to justice in the United States. What does this mean for Wisconsin? The short answer is that Wisconsin will lose over $700,000 in federal funding that would have helped thousands of vulnerable Wisconsin residents to resolve their legal issues affecting basic human needs for shelter, safety, food and employment. Life is is about to become a little bit tougher for the poor, the elderly, the disabled and others facing unlawful evictions, lending abuses, domestic violence or barriers to employment.

Jeff Brown November 15, 2011

Wisconsin Supreme Court takes no action on civil right to counsel petition

The Wisconsin Supreme Court held an open administrative conference on Monday, October 17, to discuss how it should respond to Petition 10-08 following the all-day hearing on the petition was held on October 4. The petition seeks creation of a new court rule that would lead to the appointment of counsel in many more civil cases in Wisconsin. At the administrative conference there was not a majority of justices who supported moving

Jeff Brown October 17, 2011

Commission testifies in support of a civil right to counsel

At Tuesday’s hearing in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Access to Justice Commission reiterated its support for a new rule that would lead more Circuit Court judges to appoint attorneys for indigent Wisconsin residents in certain civil court cases. As Professor Marsha Mansfield noted on behalf of the Commission, this is an issue of fundamental fairness, because there are “people who really do need the help of a lawyer in order to successfully present their case: not win or lose but just to be a able to fully develop the facts or law necessary to have a full decision rendered.”

Jeff Brown October 6, 2011

Congress prepares to cut LSC funding (again)

In the midst of the greatest economic meltdown in a generation, Congress is poised to cut 2012 funding for the federal Legal Services Corporation (LSC), the largest single funding source for civil legal services to the poor. LSC funds a national network of nonprofit law offices who leverage their staff and volunteers along with other funds to provide free civil legal services to low income individuals. The Senate recommendation of a

Jeff Brown September 19, 2011

Wisconsin state budget defunds legal aid for the poor

Just one day after the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission voted to support a civil right to counsel, the state of Wisconsin took a major step back from its support for equal justice under law. Both the Assembly and the Senate voted along party lines to approve the budget, including a provision proposed by the Governor that ends all funding for indigent civil legal services in Wisconsin. The bill now goes to Governor Walker for

Jeff Brown June 20, 2011

Wisconsin risks widening the justice gap

The Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee moved one step closer to eliminating state funding for civil legal services to the indigent in Wisconsin, voting 13-3 on Thursday to remove the funding from the 2011-2013 budget. The majority’s proposal (pdf) adopts Gov. Walker’s budget proposal to delete both the funding for civil legal services to the indigent and the statutory language that currently governs the administration of the grants. A motion to

Jeff Brown May 13, 2011

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