CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY relating to the
provision of civil legal services to the poor

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body, by resolution adopted in 2010 (J.6368
and K.1621), recognized that the fair administration of justice requires
that every person who must use the courts have access to adequate legal
representation and, accordingly, invited the chief judge of the state to
annually report to the governor and the legislature concerning the find-
ings of his statewide hearings to assess the extent and nature of unmet
civil legal services needs, and the work of the Task Force to Expand
Access to Civil Legal Services in New York; and
WHEREAS, These annual reports have consistently demonstrated that, for
a significant percentage of those New Yorkers in need, effective legal
assistance can have profound impact upon one's ability to realize or
protect the essentials of life, which may include remaining in one's
home, escaping from domestic violence, stabilizing a family, maintaining
or obtaining subsistence income or other vital government services,
securing adequate health care or pursuing an education; and
WHEREAS, These annual reports also have shown that, when impoverished
New Yorkers must appear in the state's civil courts without legal repre-
sentation, there is a greater public cost because these courts must
divert more of their limited resources to assist them, and because their
cases are much less likely to be settled early or otherwise disposed of
and therefore they add to court calendar congestion; and
WHEREAS, Although, in the wake of this Legislative Body's 2010 resol-
ution, the state has committed greater fiscal resources to the provision
of civil legal services for the poor and the Task Force to Expand Access
to Civil Legal Services in New York has secured greater service contrib-
utions by law schools, bar associations and the private bar, it remains
the case today that a vast number of New Yorkers who live in poverty
actually do not have access to effective legal assistance when necessary
to realize or protect the essentials of life; and
WHEREAS, To change this dynamic, it should be the policy of the state
of New York, that every New Yorker in need have effective legal assist-
ance in matters involving the essentials of life (housing, family
matters, access to healthcare, education and subsistence income); now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED (if the concur), That it is the sense of this Legis-
lative Body that the state must continue its efforts to achieve the
ideal of equal access to civil justice for all.