Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, Judge Bertila Soto
Hold Media Availability Friday, Before Access to Civil Justice Commission Meeting
Who: Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and Eleventh Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Bertila Soto
What: Media Availability to discuss the work of the Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice, a workshop with the Commission’s Council of Business Partners, and an overview of a Florida Bar Foundation effort, Everyone Counts Day, to survey on a single day self-represented litigants in Eleventh Circuit civil courts.
When: 10 a.m., Friday, June 2
Where: Pan Am Ballroom, Miami Sheraton Hotel, 3900 NW 21st Street, Miami
Streaming: Media availability at 10 a.m. and Commission meeting at 1 p.m. aired on The Florida Channel on cable systems and streaming at thefloridachannel.org.
Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga will lead a media availability to discuss the continuing work of the standing Commission on Access to Civil Justice ahead of its meeting that day in Miami. He will be joined by Eleventh Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Bertila Soto.
The commission works to address the barriers of access to civil justice faced by hundreds of thousands of Floridians. There is no legal representation guaranteed low- or moderate-income people and many face the prospect of civil cases related to veterans’ benefits, foreclosures, child custody, debt collection, and other vital matters without a lawyer.
While the people of Florida have access to do-it-yourself forms and guides, pro bono representation, and limited formalized legal aid services, the need for innovative approaches to the problem is great. The Access to Civil Justice Commission has initiated pilot programs and undertaken other programs to help determine the best way forward to expand basic access to the civil justice system.
A one-day survey of Eleventh Circuit civil court proceedings conducted by The Florida Bar Foundation showed 63 percent of litigants observed in seven Miami-Dade County courthouses were not represented by an attorney.
