Access to Justice

The Access to Justice Commission is a statewide commission formed by members appointed by a coalition of the Colorado Bar Association, the Colorado Supreme Court, Colorado Legal Services, Inc., Colorado Lawyer Trust Account Foundation, Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado, the Governor of Colorado, and the President of the Colorado Senate and the Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. The mission of the Commission is to make equal justice under law a reality in Colorado by improving access to justice for low-income persons and for other persons whose ability to gain access to justice is impaired by reason of lack of language skills, education, location, nationality, legal status, physical or mental impairments or other factors. "Access to Justice" has been defined as insuring that an opportunity exists for everyone in our society to bring a legal problem to a person who can decide the issues and, if necessary, provide an appropriate remedy or resolution to the issues. The Commission has determined that an effective policy can only be attained through the involvement of local committees. The hope is to develop local committees to be available in each of the twenty-two judicial districts to give guidance for the formation of policies and to assist in the implementation of those policies at the local level. The Adams/Broomfield Bar Association has agreed to take the lead in the development of a local access to justice committee. Jennifer Leslie, Heather Turner, District Court Judge Scott Crabtree, and District Court Judge Kathy Delgado have agreed to develop the local committee. David Juarez is a member of the Access to Justice Commission and will work closely with the local committee to develop proposals and policies that will help the statewide commission meet its goals thereby providing better service and access to justice for the citizens of Adams and Broomfield counties as well as to all of the citizens of Colorado. For additional information please feel free to contact David Juarez at 303-450-1665 or JoAnn Viola Salazar at the offices of the Colorado Bar Association at 303-860-1115.