The Justice for All (JFA) Task Force is holding two town hall meetings this month to get input from the public to develop a comprehensive plan to fill gaps in access to our civil justice system.

As CMF reported last summer, the Michigan Supreme Court created the task force to work toward achieving 100 percent access to our civil justice system.

JFA shares the importance of this work on its website:

• The right to a lawyer applies only in criminal cases, not civil cases.

• In the last year, seven out of 10 low-income households had at least one civil legal problem.

• Due to funding limitations, legal aid agencies must turn away over half of those who seek their help. ​

• In three of four civil cases, at least one side represents themselves in court because they can’t afford to pay an attorney. ​

• Only 10% of people with civil legal problems recognize their issue has a legal component that may be solved by the civil justice system. 

JFA shares that of more than 30,000 eviction cases in Detroit annually, only about 4% of those tenants had legal representation.

The task force is working on assessing resources in the state and identifying gaps that may be barriers for residents, particularly low-income residents, when it comes to dealing with civil legal concerns such as health insurance, veterans’ benefits, child custody and landlord issues.

JFA is hosting its first town hall in Grand Rapids on February 14 and then heading to Detroit on February 24.

The 16-member task force is comprised of stakeholders within the community, court and legal system. The task force includes Martha Gonzalez-Cortez of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation and Sonja Bonnett, a community legal worker with the Detroit Justice Center, which is supported by a few CMF members.

Jennifer Bentley of the Michigan State Bar Foundation (MSBF), a CMF member, is serving on the task force and participating on the planning team. She shared the importance of philanthropy being involved in these conversations.

“The philanthropic community understands and invests in programs that address challenges related to housing, health, safety, education and work force development. Although not always apparent, these issues often involve a legal component that may be solved by the civil justice system,” Bentley told CMF. “Every year, numerous families in Michigan encounter life-altering problems they are unable to resolve because of the complexity of the civil court system. Through partnership and innovation, we can create a civil justice system in Michigan that allows everyone to access meaningful and effective help navigating the court system and resolving their civil legal problems.”

Bentley said that the upcoming town halls will provide a forum for the task force to gather input and highlight the scope of the issue.

Beyond the town halls, the task force is also gathering feedback through focus groups and surveys. Once that work is complete the task force plans to develop and implement a comprehensive approach to address the gaps and eliminate the barriers facing Michigan residents in the civil system.

Want more?

Learn more about the Justice for All Task Force.

Attend one of the JFA town halls.