Arkansas Access to Justice Commission
Equal justice under law is not just a caption
on the façade of
the Supreme Court building. It is perhaps the most inspiring ideal of our
society….
It is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability,
without regard to economic status.
- Justice Lewis
Powell, Jr., Former
Associate Justice,United States Supreme Court
The people of Arkansas expect the justice system of our state to
function as an unbiased mechanism for upholding rights and resolving disputes in an
environment characterized by respect, trust, impartiality, efficiency and fairness. The
justice system of our State must be available to and responsive to the needs of all
people regardless of income, race, age, gender or other status.
Why Build a Justice Community?
Low-income individuals and communities as well as the organizations and institutions
which serve them face unprecedented challenges including negative public perceptions of
people who are poor; continued funding cuts to vital resources such as housing, job training,
health care; and under-resourced and over-burdened institutions and agencies called upon to
do more with less. None of these challenges lend themselves to short-term or simple solutions;
rather, they call upon us to develop new ways of harnessing our collective resources so that
we can achieve together what none of us can accomplish alone. The future vitality of our
democratic republic requires nothing less.
With these realities in mind the Arkansas Supreme Court joined with the Arkansas Bar
Association to determine the status of equal justice in our state and what could be done
about it improving it. Acting upon this joint study the Arkansas Supreme Court established
an Access to Justice Commission to examine further and propose methods of addressing the civil
legal needs of low income Arkansans.
Visit the Arkansas Access to Justice
Commission website
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