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December 9, 2009
STATE BAR ASSOCIATION RENEWS THE CALL FOR SUPPORT OF
CRITICAL CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES FUNDING
Testifying Before Senate Committees,
President-Elect Stephen P. Younger Urges Legislature to Take Needed
Steps to Ensure Access to Justice for Indigent New Yorkers
New York State Bar Association President-Elect Stephen
P. Younger (Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP of New York City)
today reaffirmed the State Bar’s commitment to ensuring access to
justice for indigent New Yorkers and called on the State Legislature to
provide the necessary resources for the state’s civil legal
services programs.
Testifying at a Senate public hearing convened to focus
on the Interest on Lawyers Account (IOLA) and the future of civil legal
services, Younger, who also serves as Co-Chair of the President’s
Committee on Access to Justice of the State Bar, emphasized the critical
need to enhance access to the civil justice system for those unable to
afford legal representation. The hearing was held at New York University
Law School by the Senate’s Standing Committees on Crime Victims,
Crime and Correction, Judiciary, Codes, and Veterans and Military
Affairs.
“For New Yorkers in crisis, the concept of
‘“equal justice for all”’ is nothing but a
hollow phrase, unless the government fulfills its duty to provide access
to lawyers for those individuals—the poor, the victims of abuse
and neglect, children, and the elderly—who are unable to afford
the cost of enforcing their rights in our civil justice system,”
Younger told senators.
“Numerous reports at both the federal level and
the state level have established that the essential legal needs of the
majority -- indeed as many as 85% -- of low-income New Yorkers are not
being met under the current funding levels. This is an alarming
statistic that simply cannot be ignored,” Younger continued.
Younger also noted that the downturn in the economy has
had a devastating impact on IOLA revenues that support civil legal
services programs. IOLA has suffered a dramatic loss of revenue due to
the decline in interest rates and fewer real estate transactions in the
depressed housing market. According to a report issued in 2008, the IOLA
Fund awarded grants totaling $25 million that year. Grants for the
2010-11 fiscal year are expected to fall to just $6.5 million.
Younger called upon the State Legislature to approve the
recently proposed $15-million appropriation to the judiciary budget that
would help address the projected loss of IOLA revenues. Last September,
State Bar President Michael E. Getnick (Getnick Livingston Atkinson
& Priore, LLP of Utica and of counsel to Getnick & Getnick of
New York City) wrote to Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau in support
of this same measure -so that “providers of civil legal services
could continue to provide much needed legal assistance at a critical
time for many needy New Yorkers.”
Additionally, Younger urged the senators to
1. Create a permanent Access to Justice Fund in the
state budget;
2. Identify a state level agency to assume responsibility for
administration and oversight of the Fund; and
3. Work with the legal community to ensure that access to justice
receives support, attention and priority.
The creation of a dedicated fund promoting access to the
civil justice system for the indigent has long been a top priority of
the State Bar.
“As you face the challenges of an extreme budget
crisis, it is important to highlight that fundamental individual rights
are now at stake. We should not lose sight of the fact that access to
justice for all people is a basic obligation of our society. The current
financial condition of providers and the increasing needs of the poor
for legal services require that no further cuts be imposed on legal
services programs. I want to thank Senators Sampson and
Hassell-Thompson, as well as all of the committee members, for
organizing public hearings to focus attention on these very important
issues,” Younger concluded.
To view a full copy of President-Elect Younger’s
testimony, please visit http://www.nysba.org/YoungerIOLATestimony.
Founded in 1876, the 76,000-member New York State Bar
Association is the official statewide organization of lawyers in New
York and the largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. The
State Bar’s programs and activities have continuously served the
public and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.
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