Access to Justice

We work to improve access to justice, with a particular focus on ensuring that low-income individuals have the tools they need to solve problems.

Poverty Justice Solutions helps provide lawyers for low-income New Yorkers in Housing Court. Legal Hand trains community volunteers to offer their neighbors free access to legal information. Our community justice centers work to render the justice system more transparent and responsive, actively engaging residents, merchants, and others in the process of doing justice.We work to improve the cultural responsiveness of courts in domestic violence cases and assist parents in child support cases. And our research department documents the legal needs of specific neighborhoods and produces recommendations for streamlining cumbersome legal processes, such as the payment of bail.

Initiatives

Legal Hand

Legal Hand empowers community residents to support their neighbors with the legal information they need.
Poverty Justice Solutions

Poverty Justice Solutions seeks to improve Housing Court in New York City by training new lawyers to represent tenants.
Price of Justice Initiative

The Price of Justice Initiative helps jurisdictions address the disparate impact of fines and fees on defendants who cannot afford them.
Housing Resource Centers

We help tenants navigate housing court by providing housing, financial, and legal assistance, with a focus on helping to resolve critical repairs and prevent evictions.

Publications & Digital Media

Publication
Neighbors in Action: Creating Safer and Healthier Communities

by Amy Ellenbogen

On the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, an introduction to the origins, programming, and community impact of Neighbors in Action, formerly known as the Crown Heights Community Mediation Center. Neighbors in Action works to make the central Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant safer and healthier for all.

Access to Justice, Addressing Racial Disparities, Reducing Trauma, Reducing Violence
Audio
In Practice | Virtual Court: Barriers to Access and Fairness at Initial Appearances

by Robert V. Wolf

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, courthouses across the country have adjusted to doing at least some of their business remotely—with litigants in one place, judges and lawyers in another. This episode of In Practice explores the pros and cons of video conferencing at initial appearances in adult criminal court from the perspective of defense practitioners.

Access to Justice, Technology
Audio
The Cost of Being Poor? The Fight Against Fines and Fees

by Matt Watkins

Fines and fees are capturing millions of Americans in a cycle of poverty and justice-involvement. Various states across the country charge you for use of a public defender, your monthly parole meetings, even a jury trial. And that’s in addition to the fines attached to a conviction. Fall behind on your payments and you could end up in jail. New Thinking talks to a judge who’s come up with a new approach, and to Alexes Harris, a leading researcher on how fines and fees are used across the country.

Access to Justice

See All Publications and Digital Media →

News

What is the Price of Justice Initiative? A Q&A

This Q&A with Yolaine Menyard and Chidinma Ume provides an overview of the Price of Justice Initiative, which the Center for Court Innovation has been helping to implement with the support of the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance.
California’s ‘Ability-to-Pay’ Calculator Reduces Burden of High Fines and Fees on Drivers

Drivers with fines and fees for traffic violations in California have a right to ask for relief, but the process can be time-consuming, requiring them to submit proof of economic hardship in court.

View Archive →

We work with reformers around the world.

Do you need help solving a problem, launching a new initiative or improving an old one?

Contact Our Experts →