Civil Court-Based Reforms

Cartoon of effect of Zoom court on failure to appear rates

Student Voices: What Effect Does Zoom Court Have on Failure to Appear Rates?

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The COVID-19 pandemic thrust online court into a mainstream alternative to traditional in-person court hearings. Zoom has shown mixed results, both in its ability to capture the needs of a court hearing (including sticky notes passed between attorneys and clients) and its role in reducing failure to appear rates in court. This makes online court a prime candidate for a randomized control trial to test its impact on court appearances.

Cartoon depicting mice with instructions on getting through a maze

Outside Research: Simple Solutions to Courts’ Failure-to-Appear Rates

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Can we do anything about failure to appear in criminal cases? According to Alissa Fishbane, we can, and for once, what we can do is cheap and easy. Her research has shown that low-cost interventions such as redesigning summons and traffic tickets have been highly effective at reducing missed dates, resulting in fewer penalties for defendants, more efficient adjudication, and savings for the justice system as a whole.

Cartoon depicting non-lawyer legal services in agency immigration litigation

Student Voices: Non-lawyer Legal Services in Agency Immigration Litigation

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Two-thirds of people facing deportation lack legal representation, and 86% of immigrants being detained do not have a lawyer. Without counsel, many will be deported to face persecution or violence – regardless of their legal right to stay. One partial solution may lie in empowering non-lawyers to take a larger role in representing individuals facing deportation.

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