CENTER FOR ACCESS TO JUSTICE
The Center for Access to Justice promotes meaningful access to the courts and equal treatment in the civil and criminal justice systems, with a focus on the South.
Our faculty and students conduct research and host community education programs to explore and address obstacles to access to justice.
The center is a hub for students interested in pursuing public interest or pro bono work, either during or after their time in law school. Our student programming helps prepare future lawyers to be agents of change.
1 of 12 schools to receive an A+ for public interest law by Prelaw Magazine (2018)
hours served by students through the
Center’s Pro Bono Program since 2017.
Law School Excellence in
Access to Justice Award
Student Opportunities
The center is a community for students interested in addressing disparities in the justice system.
- Certificate in Public Interest Law & Policy
The Certificate in Public Interest Law and Policy focuses on issues likely to arise in representing under-served populations. Through an innovative course of study, law students explore concepts and practice skills central to public interest and pro bono practice.
- Pro Bono Program
Students work under the supervision of practicing attorneys to help address low-income people’s unmet legal needs. - Alternative Spring Break
The Center’s Alternative Spring Break trips give students a chance to spend a week immersed in an area of law, engaging in related pro bono service.
Research
The Center for Access to Justice conducts and facilitates research to help identify and better understand the difficulties individuals face in navigating the justice system. Below are a few examples of the research projects underway or recently completed by the Center and its student fellows.
Projects
Courts in Crisis: Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Eviction Court in Georgia
Georgia has 159 different courts that process evictions and all of them have responded to the COVID-19 crisis in their own way. In this report, Courts in Crisis: Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Eviction Court in Georgia, Professors Sudeall and Pasciuti analyze publicly-available and survey-based data to identify court trends in the handling of eviction cases. While most courts are currently accepting filings, almost none are holding hearings or actively evicting tenants. The authors have also identified important ways in which courts are handling issues differently—including level of access by the public and whether they are continuing to calendar cases or accept applications for writs. These differences, and the resulting inconsistency, may make it more difficult for litigants to navigate the process and to ensure consistent outcomes. Ultimately, this patchwork approach risks a chaotic and uneven process when courthouse doors reopen across the state.
Limited Assistance, Meaningful Results
The Impact of the Housing Court Assistance Center Eviction affects nearly two million Americans every year. Georgia renters are almost twice as likely to be evicted as the average renter in the United States. As much as 90% of the time, tenants appear in court without a lawyer. In Fulton County, however, the Housing Court Assistance Center (HCAC) provides limited-scope representation that can lead to positive outcomes for tenants. This report, “Limited Assistance, Meaningful Results” details how the HCAC is making a difference for Fulton County residents.
Misdemeanor Bail Reform
Several states and municipalities, including Atlanta, have recently enacted or considered legislation to address pretrial policy, such as bail practices. The center prepared a report, “Misdemeanor Bail Reform and Litigation: An Overview,” for the Georgia Judicial Council’s Committee on Misdemeanor Bail for its use in considering what changes might be implemented in Georgia.
Assessing the Civil Legal Needs of Indigent Criminal Defendants
Supported by a grant from the Charles Koch Foundation, the Center conducted a study, Unfamiliar Justice: Indigent Criminal Defendants’ Experiences with Civil Legal Needs, of the civil legal needs of indigent criminal defendants. In conjunction with the Sociology and Criminal Justice and Criminology departments at Georgia State, the center worked with public defender offices in Fulton and DeKalb counties to assess the nature and pervasiveness of civil legal issues facing those who enter the criminal justice system.
Observations from Mississippi State Criminal Courts
As part of an Alternative Spring Break trip, and in conjunction with the Mississippi Office of the Public Defender, students observed court proceedings to see how indigent defendants experience criminal courts. This report, “Mississippi’s No-Counsel Courts,” details the unconstitutional practices students witnessed in some of Mississippi’s misdemeanor courts.
Eviction in Semi-Rural Georgia
In 2018, the center received a $24,000 Opportunity Grant from the American Bar Endowment to study eviction in semi-rural Georgia. The study is a collaboration with the Georgia State Sociology department and the Georgia Legal Services Program.
Rural Justice
The Center’s faculty director, Lauren Sudeall, co-authored an article, Legal Deserts: A Multi-State Perspective on Rural Access to Justice about common obstacles people in rural areas have to navigating the justice system.
Self-help Resources in Georgia
In 2016, more than 800,000 cases in Georgia involved self-represented litigants. In partnership with the Administrative Office of the Courts, the center worked with a student to profile a sample set of self-help resources of Court-based Self-Help Programs available in Georgia Courts.
Featured Research Project
In partnership with Georgia Tech professors Joshua Weitz and Chad Wigington, the center produced an Access to Justice map of Georgia. The map provides a snapshot of how geographic and demographic data may impact a person’s ability to access legal resources in the pursuit of justice.
CONTACT
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 4037
Atlanta, GA 30302-4037
Physical Address
85 Park Place NE
Atlanta, GA 30303