President Trump’s proposed budget which eliminates federal funding to the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) would hurt people across the country, including Connecticut, in need of legal aid in civil court cases. Legal Services has enjoyed bi-partisan support since its inception in 1974 and helps nearly two million people each year.
Monte Frank
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CT Bar Association opposes Trump’s cuts to Legal Services Corporation
President Trump’s proposed budget, which eliminates federal funding to the Legal Services Corporation, would hurt people across the country, including Connecticut, in need of legal aid in civil court cases.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Task force recommends legal help for child custody, eviction and restraining order cases
On Dec. 15, the Connecticut Task Force to Improve Access to Legal Counsel in Civil Matters issued its final report and recommendations. The Connecticut Bar Association supports the findings of the task force.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Budget cuts to Judicial Branch undermine access to justice
It is clear that once again lawmakers in Hartford are going to spend much of next year seeking to reduce spending in state government as a means of balancing the budget. A projected shortfall of more than $1 billion means that almost every budget item is vulnerable to spending reductions. In the face of this challenge, it is important for the legislature to decide at the beginning of the process which parts of the budget should be classified as essential to the general public and maintained at current levels. Our state court system surely must be placed in this category.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The legal community coming together to increase diversity
Recent events and the rhetoric of this year’s presidential campaign have put a sharp focus on the need to devote more energy to the issues of diversity and inclusion and combating implicit bias. The urgent need to face these challenges first grabbed me in the aftermath of the shooting in 2012 at the Sandy Hook School located in my hometown. That event dramatically changed my outlook on life and led me to devote more of my personal time working in and learning about some of our most disadvantaged communities.