Access to Justice Partnerships State by State (April 2004) is a newly completed study from SPAN: Access to Justice Project that gives information on programs in existence in each state that are working to improve access to justice by all citizens. The report says there is an accelerating trend toward creation of state Access to Justice Commissions or the equivalent—formal state-level bodies dedicated to expanding and improving civil legal assistance in the state, often created by state Supreme Court rule, composed of appointed representatives of the bar, the judiciary, providers and other key constituencies.
“In 1999, only five states had active entities of this type. Today, the nationwide total has risen to 16, including new bodies created in 2003 in Alabama, Arkansas and Vermont. And, that number is likely to grow by at least half a dozen by the end of 2004.”
States where a proposal to create a commission or similar body is pending or under consideration include Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.
The SPAN website has lots of information, papers, and links to governmental and private entities interested in access to justice. Also available is the SPAN Access to Justice Update can is a newsletter that “reports on the latest information about the efforts of Access to Justice partnerships around the country, as well as upcoming events, descriptions of new documents in the SPAN Access to Justice Document Library, and other useful information.”