January 16, 2004

Minutes of the Meeting of the Access to Justice Commission

January 16, 2004

An Access to Justice Commission meeting was held at the Colorado Bar Association (CBA) meeting room on January 16, 2004.  Chair David Butler called the meeting to order at 12:15.

Members present in person were Jon Asher, Darla Benford, David Butler, Pam Gagel, Rick Mishkin, Sue Parenteau, JoAnn Vogt and John Zakhem.  Present by phone were Bill Alexander and Barney Iuppa.  Also present were Greg Martin, Jo Ann Salazar & Chuck Turner from the CBA, and Jim Rooney from Legal Aid Foundation (LAF).

1.       The minutes of the November 22nd, meeting were approved.

2.       Chair’s report

The Chair reported that all Commission reappointments have been approved. Asher, Iuppa, Clay, Gagel & Talmage were all reappointed for three year terms.

            The Chair asked members for approval of appointments of Commission members to committees.  He suggested and the members agreed that appointments of committee members not on the Commission be made within each committee.  The Commissioner appointments were approved and Committee chairs were asked to send a list of all committee members to Salazar.

          A brief discussion was held regarding the dates selected for future meetings.  The Commission opted to leave the 2004 meeting dates as selected on November 22^nd.

          The Commission heard a report from Butler, Gagel and Asher on the Pro Se Summit, a meeting of service providers located on the front range, to discuss pro se resources for litigants.  The Commission reviewed a draft of the summary and recommendations from that meeting. Salazar indicated that changes are being made but a final version will be available soon.  Several ideas are being considered as a result of the meeting, including better links to the Colorado Legal Services (CLS) website from the courts, a training for Family Court Facilitators on CLS financial eligibility guidelines and a pro bono service website as a resource.  A follow up meeting is planned.

          The Chair reported he is working on text and a logo for the ATJ Commission website.  The Texas ATJ Commission has a marketing plan located on their website.  This is part of their strategy to build support in the legislature and promote legal aid to the public. 

          The Chair reported on the status of the Commission’s work with the Chief Judge to seek support for State funding for CLS to serve victims of domestic violence.  The emphasis is on reaching an understanding that the persons seeking funding for this purpose and the Court in its effort to obtain judicial department funding are not in competition and will work cooperatively.  Turner and Asher termed the meeting with the Chief Justice productive and indicated further work is ongoing.

3.       Committees

A.       Education Committee

This committee has not met since the last Commission meeting, but remains active.  They are preparing for a 1/20/04 meeting hosting DU students to discuss the intern project.  Currently, the DBA has a list of well-defined projects.  The 50-hour intern requirement will begin with DU’s next in-coming class.

The committee is discussing ways to use CLE to facilitate pro bono work by the legal community.  They’ve met with Joe Dischinger and Steve Choquette and found both to be enthusiastic.  A proposal may be made for consideration at a future Commission meeting.

B.       Courthouse Committee

Gagel discussed Rule 16.1 providing for simplified procedures, indicating the Rule will go into effect 7/1/04. A variety of examples and experiences were discussed.

The people working on a “Justice for All Commission” proposed by Chief Justice Mullarkey met on 1/9/04 and recommended they move forward.  A name was not determined at that meeting.  The organizers of that proposed Commission further agreed with ATJ that there should be a liaison member with the Access to Justice Commission.

C.           Resources Committee

                     No report

D.           Pro Bono Committee

Clay was unable to attend the meeting. Therefore, JoAnn Salazar reported on behalf of the committee, which met by phone on 1/14/04. Several local ATJ committees reported activity.  The Colorado Springs program will be hiring a pro bono coordinator through the Bar Association.  Adams & Broomfield Counties met jointly to address the need in that area.    A one-hour CLE is being planned to encourage greater participation