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Significant Victories in State Budget to Benefit Struggling New Yorkers
After an initial review of the budget agreement struck by the Governor and Legislative leaders this week, the Empire Justice Center declared victory on several important initiatives that will have a positive impact on New Yorkers who are struggling financially.
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For More and More Low-Income New Yorkers, Civil Legal Services Are Just Out of Reach (WNYC News)
With the impact of the economic crisis and one in five New Yorkers now living in poverty, the need for civil legal services will increase.
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Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman: Fix 'fundamental failure' in NY court rooms (Legislative Gazette)
New York is not living up to its U.S. Supreme Court-mandated responsibility to provide legal defense services for all, according to the state's top judge.
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New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State speech impresses listeners (The Oneida Daily Dispatch)
Though the annual speech is normally given at the Capitol, Gov. Andrew Cuomo moved it to the Empire State Convention Center venue as a metaphor to get more non-elected officials involved.
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JUSTICE: More Legal Help for Low-Income New Yorkers? (City Newspaper)
In Rochester, the Empire Justice Center and the Legal Aid Society are turning away more than half of the people seeking services, simply because they don't have the necessary staff, says Bryan Hetherington, chief counsel for Empire Justice Center.
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IOLA Fund Hits New Low (The Daily Record)
Legal providers say Campaign for Justice takes on new meaning.
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Need a Lawyer? Good Luck (New York Times)
New York’s Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s call for adequate stable funding for civil legal services gets support from the New York Times.
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Officials: Help poor in civil cases (Times Union)
Top officials from the Capital Region's legal and political worlds told the state's most powerful judge Tuesday more money is needed to fund legal representation of the poor in civil cases, calling it a cost-saving measure.
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Tell it to the Judge – NY's Top Jurist on a Mission (Public News Service)
Giving new meaning to the term "judicial activism," the chief judge of New York state is heading an unprecedented effort to help those who can't afford to hire a lawyer in civil cases.
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Local Residents Explain Need for Legal Services (WXXI )
New York's Chief Judge is traveling the state, trying to find out what people do when they need a lawyer -- but can't afford one.
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Legal Aid for the Poor in Dire Shape (City Newspaper)
New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman hasn't been shy about his desire to increase the availability of civil legal services to the poor. He's formed a task force and is holding public hearings to gather testimony to bolster his plans.
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The Case of the Disappearing NY Legal Services? (Public News Service)
The providers of civil legal services for those who can't afford a lawyer to fight such things as foreclosure, eviction, and denial of benefits say they are in trouble. They say the public protection budget bills passed by the New York Legislature this spring include a devastating 70 percent cut in funding.
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Chief Judge Lippman calls for change in legal aid (The Daily Record)
New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, in Rochester on June 10, called for systemic change in the delivery of civil legal representation for the state’s poor.
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Chief Judge Lippman Names 28 to Task Force to Expand Access to Legal Services (New York Law Journal)
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman has named 28 people to a task force charged with spearheading a court-led effort to secure adequate state funding for the representation of low-income New Yorkers in civil cases.
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State Bar Urges Vital Funding for Civil Legal Services to be Included in Emergency Budget Appropriations (New York State Bar Association)
President Getnick Renews the Call to Ensure Access to Justice for all New Yorkers.
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The Right to, and Need for, Counsel (New York Times)
New York Times editorial on the state's constitutional duty to provide counsel as affirmed by the State Court of Appeals and Chief Judge Lippman.
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Legal Aid Pinched: Civil Law Advocates are Vulnerable to Boom and Bust Cycles (Syracuse Post Standard)
For too long, civil legal services in New York state have been vulnerable to boom and bust cycles.
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The Price of Justice for All (Times Union)
Captial District attorney Paul Harding pens Op Ed in support of civil legal services and the critical need for funding in the state budget.
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Top New York Judge Urges Greater Legal Rights for the Poor (New York Times)
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman calls for greater access to justice for New York's poor.
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Empire Justice Joins with Better Choice Budget Campain in Calling for State to Balance Budget by Raising Revenues, Not Cutting by Critical Services (A Better Choice for New York)
Campaign launches TV ads focused on closing corporate tax loopholes and asking wall street to help bail out Main Street.
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Bar Association wants justice for all in 2010 (Legislative Gazette)
On the top of the Bar Association's list of state legislative priorities is a call for the governor and state lawmakers to ensure adequate resources are provided for the justice system so that the courts will be able to adequately serve New Yorkers, especially those living on low incomes.
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Fate of $15 mil. for Civil Legal Services in Lawmakers' hands (Legislative Gazette)
It is now up to the Legislature to decide whether the state will provide a fiscal crutch for a diminishing fund that helps New Yorkers pay for civil legal services they might otherwise be unable to afford.
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Fund that Pays for Low-Income Legal Services Spirals Downward (Legislative Gazette)
This year's economic crisis and historically low interest rates have reduced by 75 percent a fund that assists organizations that help New York's less affluent residents pay for legal services in civil proceedings.
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One in Every Seven (Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson)
Senator calls for New Yorkers to pay attention to IOLA crisis and the need to invest in civil legal services.
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Empire Justice Joins Advocates to Decry Mid-Year Cuts
Press release announcing the press conference organized by New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness, the Fiscal Policy Institute, Empire Justice Center and others to talk about alternatives to Governor Paterson's proposed DRP.
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The Good We Do: Access to Justice (The New York Law Journal)
This is no exaggeration: legal aid for the poor is in a state of crisis. According to the federal Legal Services Corporation (LSC), it is estimated that one in two low-income Americans seeking legal help will be turned away this year.
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Demand for Legal Services Outpacing Available Service (The Record)
With unemployment and poverty on the rise amid an economic downturn, a growing number of poor New Yorkers will find that funding for legal services they may need is not increasing to compensate for demand.
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Cutbacks Could Leave Thousands of New Yorkers Alone in Court (Public News Service)
The courtroom soon could become a more lonely place for many New Yorkers, if budget cutbacks leave hundreds of thousands of people without the lawyers once provided by the state for civil cases.
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Statement on Governor Paterson’s Investment in Civil Legal Services
The legal services community applauds Gov. Paterson for acting so quickly to address the growing need for access to justice. The Governor's action today through his 30 day amendment to restore a basic level of funding for civil legal services indicates a strong level of support from the Governor and demonstrates a working partnership with the Legislature to restore funding for these critical services.
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Civil Legal Services Advocates Respond to Gov. Paterson’s State of the State Address
Complete Elimination of Civil Legal Services Hurts Low-Income New Yorkers and New York’s Economy
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Legal Aid Cuts: State funds don't go far enough, and may shrink further (Syrcause.com)
According to some estimates, no more than one out of five eligible people in Central New York receives legal aid services that can mean the difference between self-reliance and indigence. The others are left on their own to deal with evictions, wills, child custody and support, domestic violence, immigration issues and navigating the parole system and appeals process.
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We Need to do More to Help Less Fortunate (The Record)
There have been many examples over the past few decades of New York falling behind other states in various areas. One more is the lack of proper funding for civil legal services for the indigent.
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Legal Aid Optimistic that Spitzer will Fatten Coffers (The Record)
Public funding of legal representation for the indigent in Civil Court cases was largely pioneered in New York state, supporters say, but the concept has largely stalled out in recent years, leaving the state far behind many others that help the poor pay to have their cases heard.
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An Investment In Legal Services (New York Times)
Legal Services of the Hudson Valley is grateful for your strong editorial supporting inclusion of adequate funding for statewide civil legal services in Gov. Eliot Spitzer's budget (''Justice for the Poor,'' Jan. 7).
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Justice for the Poor (New York Times)
Government has a critical obligation to provide adequate civil legal services for the poor, who would otherwise lack access to lawyers to resolve problems that could easily upend already tenuous lives, in areas like spousal and elderly abuse, child support, housing and disability issues.
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