Florida Chief Justice Joins White House Push For Legal Aid

WFSU | By Jim Ash

Published April 19, 2016 at 5:16 PM EDT

Florida Chief Justice Jorge Labarga joined colleagues from other states on a White House panel Tuesday to discuss lack of access to the judicial system.

Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge (George) Labarga was at the White House Tuesday to help the Obama Administration’s bi-partisan effort to increase legal services for the poor.

Tuesday’s ceremony marks the second time Labarga has gone to Washington highlighting a problem he calls a crisis. He joined chief justices from five other states and the District of Columbia to talk about court costs and fees.

Labarga warned the approximately 400 dollar filing fee for a divorce in Florida could be a threat to domestic violence victims.

“So what happens? Low or moderate income people have no choice but to postpone divorcing their abusers, postpone pursuing support for their children, or postpone taking other action that should effect the wellbeing of their families.”

Labarga complains most of the 1 billion dollars generated by court fines and fees in Florida doesn’t go back to the courts.

“We just asked for a mere 25 million, so that we could update our technology in Florida. That was denied. We got a cut, though, of 2.7 million dollars to the trial courts instead.”

It was an unusual performance for a man who rarely criticizes the Legislature in public.

Vice President Joe Biden says lack of access to the courts effects everyone from domestic violence victims to combat veterans who find themselves back at home unable to fight foreclosure.

“If you can’t actually afford to walk into a courtroom and be represented, then you really are being denied access to justice.”

John Levi, chairman of Legal Services Corporation, a non-profit group that provides the bulk of the nation’s legal aid funding, warns support is dwindling. He said the $385 million Congress allocated this year is less than half the budget LSC received in the 1970s.

“We’re not yet running on fumes, but the refill light on the dashboard has been on red for far too long.”

This year, Microsoft is giving LSC a $1 million grant to open an experimental web portal that can help people find the services they need. If it works, it could be a model nationwide.