News Release
Texas Access to Justice Foundation
June 9, 2020
The justice system fails marginalized Texans when they need it most
By Betty Balli Torres
‘No Justice, No Peace’. These four words often permeate
protests about the disparate treatment of marginalized people in our
criminal justice system. The
grim statistics show that the criminal justice system has a
disproportionately negative impact on vulnerable communities and people of
color. The system fails entire communities––and at its worst, results in
lives lost. Generations have been irreparably harmed due to these dismal
failures.
The civil justice system has also failed these communities.
America’s greatness is based on the principles of equality and justice but
the promise of “justice for all” holds empty for hundreds of thousands of
Texans and has for decades. The doors of the civil justice system are most
often closed to those in dire need of its support. The courthouse, a beacon
of our democracy, is inaccessible when one cannot afford a lawyer––a reality
for many.
Legal aid programs and pro bono lawyers across Texas are doing
everything they can to ensure that communities in need have access to the
courthouse doors. Other allies, including judges, corporations, court
administrators, technology companies and law students also toil to make the
courts accessible, but these efforts have failed to produce wide open doors
for everyone who seeks justice.
How can there be peace for persons being
abused in their homes, removed from their homes or whose children may have
special needs that aren’t being legally met? Legal aid organizations help
more than 150,000 Texas families each year, but due to a lack of resources,
only approximately 10% of the civil legal needs of eligible Texans are being
met. How can there be peace for those 90% who are promised justice, but find
none? How can there be peace for the rest of us knowing that our democracy
has failed in its promise? For those most in need in our society, the tragic
truth is that there is “No Justice, No Peace”.
We, the people, are all
better if the civil justice system honors its promise of justice. There must
be a commitment to massive reforms in the judicial system so that everyone
shares in this essential piece of our democracy. Foundations, along with
other influencers and decision makers, must commit to making significant
strides and investments to ensure that everyone has equal access to our
courts. ##
Betty Balli Torres is the executive director of the Texas Access
to Justice Foundation, the largest funding source for civil legal services
for the poor in Texas. She has dedicated her professional career to public
interest work serving as an advocate for civil legal services for vulnerable
Texans and is the recipient of several awards for her commitment to this
work.
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