Lawyers e-Journal
Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011
Images from the 2011 Walk to the Hill on Feb. 22.
Photos by Christine Peterson.
SJC Justice Gants asks for "Justice for All" at Walk to the Hill
Supreme Judicial Court Justice Ralph Gants joined more than 500
people in calling for adequate legal aid funding at the Walk to the
Hill for Civil Legal Aid on Feb. 22 at the Statehouse's Great Hall
of Flags. Gants, co-chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice
Initiative and the first SJC sitting justice to attend, pleaded to
the governor and lawmakers to provide justice for all.
Massachusetts Bar Association President-Elect Richard P.
Campbell, said "As we make strides [in providing access to
justice], it's frustrating that resources continue to fall short.
In the long road to passing a budget, please remind legislators
that it's their constituents who face foreclosure and who face
court orders."
Gov. Deval Patrick has recommend level funding of $9.5 million
this fiscal year for Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corp. State
funding is more critical than ever, as revenue from the Interest on
Lawyers' Trust Accounts program (IOLTA) has declined 66 percent
since 2008 and MLAC grants have been cut 55 percent.
MLAC client Natasha Torres, who uses a wheelchair, shared her
battle to keep the Oxford home she and her mother bought in 2005
and almost lost to foreclosure. "On our own we wouldn't have been
able to do this," she said.
Walk to the Hill is sponsored by the Equal Justice Coalition,
Massachusetts Bar Association and Boston Bar Association, and is
co-sponsored by 30 county and specialty bar associations.
Click here to view event
images.