NYCLA endorses resolution to right to counsel in Housing

[NYHawk]

[url=[url=http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:-pKZzw9yVLMJ:www.nycla.org/3-18-05.pdf+%22NYCLA+endorses+resolution%22+housing&hl=en]Here]http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:-pKZzw9yVLMJ:www.nycla.org/3-18-05.pdf+%22NYCLA+endorses+resolution%22+housing&hl=en]Here[/url] is the link[/url]

<small>[ April 12, 2005, 04:24 PM: Message edited by: NYHawk ]</small>

[Anna]

contents of link:

NEWS RELEASE
CONTACT: Anita Aboulafia (212) 267-6646, ext. 225 (phone) (212) 406-9252 fax)
aaboulafia@nycla.org

NYCLA ENDORSES RESOLUTION TO RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN HOUSING COURT

March 18, 2005 - New York, NY - New York County Lawyers' Association’s (NYCLA) Board of
Directors has endorsed a resolution on a right to counsel for residential tenants in New York
City’s Housing Court. The resolution is based on the consensus of participants at a working
conference, “The New York City Housing Court in the 21st Century: Can It Better Address the
Problems Before It?” held in October under the auspices of NYCLA’s Justice Center.
The resolution acknowledges that “the vast majority of tenants facing eviction are unable to obtain legal representation, while the vast majority of landlords in such cases are represented.” It calls for funding to provide “free counsel for all tenants in Housing Court who cannot afford counsel” and states that the costs of providing counsel to such tenants “may well be outweighed by the projected savings” in shelter, foster care and other costs associated with homelessness.
Council Member Alan Jay Gerson (D-WFP - District 1, lower Manhattan) said, "I salute the New
York County Lawyers' Association for its leadership and vision concerning the right to counsel.
People should not end up homeless through lack of legal representation and I look forward to
working with NYCLA to secure representation for people in need in Housing Court.” Norman L. Reimer, NYCLA President, acknowledged, "You cannot have justice without a lawyer, and at present you cannot have a lawyer if you cannot afford to hire one. The close correlation between eviction and the terrible blight of homelessness makes the appointment of counsel a fundamental necessity. Access to justice requires it. Fundamental human decency demands it." He concluded, “NYCLA urges the implementation of this basic right, and funding to establish a pilot program to provide counsel to particularly vulnerable groups such as the elderly."

The Right to Counsel resolution is based on findings of a conference sponsored by NYCLA’s
Justice Center, which is chaired by John D. Feerick, former Dean at Fordham Law School. The
Center was established in 2003 in part as a response to the American Bar Association’s
challenge to the nation’s judiciary, state and local bar associations to actively seek solutions in partnership with the communities they serve. In January, the Justice Center received the New
York State Conference of Bar Leaders’ 2004 Award of Merit for Local Bar Associations.

The New York County Lawyers' Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as the first
major bar association in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity,
religion or gender. Since its inception, NYCLA has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and
tangible reforms in American jurisprudence and has continuously played an active role in legal
developments and public policy.
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[Imp]

What happens to this resolution from here? Could it be passed into law? Where would the funding come from to pay the lawyers?

I barely squeaked by under the income caps for Pro Se representation a few years ago. If I hadn't been represented, I might've been evicted even though the case was frivolous--simply because I didn't understand how Law works, at that point.

So, this resolution is great! How do we impliment it?

<small>[ April 14, 2005, 04:43 PM: Message edited by: Imp ]</small>

[Anna]

RESOLUTION ON RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN HOUSING COURT

This Resolution was approved by the Board of Directors of the New York County Lawyers' Association at its meeting on March 14, 2005.

WHEREAS, on October 29, 2004, the Justice Center of the New York County Lawyers’ Association sponsored a working conference, “The New York City Housing Court in the 21st Century: Can It Better Address the Problems Before It”; and

WHEREAS, the consensus of participants at the conference was that a right to counsel should be established for tenants in Housing Court, as evidenced by reports from each of the conference working groups that addressed a range of important issues in the Housing Court; and

WHEREAS, the New York City Family Homelessness Special Master Panel has concluded that New York City, to avoid evictions and homelessness, should provide legal representation to tenants in Housing Court who are unable to afford counsel; and

WHEREAS, the vast majority of tenants facing eviction are unable to obtain legal
representation, while the vast majority of landlords in such cases are represented; and

WHEREAS, studies have shown that tenants are more successful in opposing eviction when they are represented by lawyers; and

WHEREAS, unnecessary evictions affect the health and well-being of families and individuals, and impose enormous costs on the government;3 and

WHEREAS, providing counsel to tenants in Housing Court would protect individuals and families from unjust evictions, facilitate the mission of the Court, strengthen the rule of law, and avoid unnecessary displacement that has the effect of destabilizing neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS, the anticipated costs of providing for a right to counsel, while significant, may well be outweighed by the projected savings;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the New York County Lawyers’ Association hereby endorses, as a matter of principle, a right to the appointment of free counsel for all tenants in Housing Court unable to afford counsel, and supports initiatives to establish a right to the appointment of free counsel for such tenants in Housing Court, including initiatives that recognize the right for particularly vulnerable sub-populations of tenants such as the elderly.

http://www.nycla.org/3-18-05pr.pdf