- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Good morning! Thank you so much to all of you who are joining us today for this year's Talk to the Hill, and to everyone who helped prepare for this event.
It is always inspiring to see so many leaders from across the legal community coming together to advocate for people who cannot afford counsel for their essential civil legal needs.
Our legal system is dedicated to the principle of providing equal justice for all. But too often we fall short of that ideal because many people still lack the resources they need to present their cases in the courts. And our legal aid organizations, who work tirelessly, simply do not have enough funding to provide counsel for everyone who comes to them seeking help.
In recent years we have made significant progress in closing this "justice gap." Thanks to the leadership of the Legislature, appropriations for civil legal aid have grown substantially. And as a result, the percentage of eligible persons who must be turned away by legal aid organizations has dropped considerably -- from 57% to 47%.[1] But still, that means that nearly half of the people who seek assistance do not get it.
Meanwhile, the need for legal aid has continued to grow. For example, over the last three fiscal years, civil legal aid cases involving unemployment insurance have quadrupled, as compared with pre-pandemic figures. And cases involving domestic violence, housing, and immigration have all grown by 20% or more.[2] The need is clear.
Support for legal aid is also important because it helps to maintain confidence in the fairness of our legal system.
Unfortunately that confidence has been ebbing. A recent nationwide poll by the National Center for State Courts found that nearly half of all respondents questioned whether state courts deliver equal justice for all.[3]
The responses from people of color were particularly concerning. Approximately 60% of Black and Hispanic respondents said that the phrase "provide[s] equal justice to all" does not describe state courts.[4]
There are undoubtedly many complex factors that contribute to this perception of unfairness. But one concrete step that we can take to reassure litigants that they have access to equal justice is to increase the availability of counsel for people who cannot afford a lawyer.
Less than two weeks ago, Massachusetts leaders gathered on Boston Common to dedicate "The Embrace"-- a sculpture commemorating the lives and works of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. This memorial celebrates what Coretta Scott King called the "unconditional love for all of humankind . . . that impels people to go into the community and try to change conditions for others." It reminds us of the Kings' fundamental message that we are all interconnected by our common humanity.
As Dr. King wrote in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
So in that spirit, when you speak to your legislators today, remind them that funding for civil legal aid isn't just another appropriation. It is a fundamental step toward realizing the foundational promise of our legal system for everyone – that we will provide equal justice to all.
Thank you!
[1] Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation FY24 Fact Sheet (December 2022).
[2] Id.
[3] National Center for State Courts, State of the State Courts 2022 Poll, 4, 8.
[4] Id. at 9.