2017 NYS Legislative Agenda: Support the Judiciary’s 2017-18 Budget Request, including adequate funding for civil legal services
Support the Judiciary’s 2017-18 Budget Request, including adequate funding for civil legal services
The City Bar continues to advocate for an adequate funding of the civil legal services and supports the Judiciary Budget Request for funding to help ensure equal access to justice for low income New Yorkers facing housing, consumer debt and other legal problems pertaining to the essentials of life. Adequately funded legal services help domestic violence victims, senior citizens, and the formerly incarcerated seeking reentry into society, as well as other vulnerable individuals and families. The fact that nearly two million people continue to enter New York courthouses every year to fend for themselves without counsel is testimony to how much more we need to do. The combination of increased caseloads with more pro se litigants not only adds to the burden on judges and staff, but also represents a fundamental imbalance in the justice system. Civil legal services provide an essential safety net to those New Yorkers most at risk and limits hardships that are often more burdensome on government in the long run.
