Geography and the Law -- Data Mapping to Improve Access to Justice

Today marks the last day of Geography Awareness Week, an annual event sponsored by the National Geographic Society, the National Council for Geography Education, and the American Association of Geographers. The purpose of this week is to call attention to the importance of geography as a discipline and as a field of inquiry. It is also a good opportunity to discuss the role that geography can play in the access to justice movement.

The Self-Represented Litigants Network created a geospatial story map called America's Civil Courts: Whom Do We Serve?. This analysis of publicly-available datasets from the 2014 American Community Survey, the Esri Racial Diversity Index, and the FCC Form 77 County Data on Internet Access Services examines the potential impact of social, economic, and demographic factors on access to justice in communities across the nation. Depicting the data geographically helps identify problems that contribute to the justice gap and provides insights about the need for improved access to the legal system. Those who serve low-income, self-represented litigants, can predict the prevalence of various legal problems, identify high-value collaborations, evaluate the responsiveness of providers, and assess the impact of various interventions.

Using geographic information software to examine the variables that affect diffusion of legal services to low-income litigants is just one example of how geography plays a role in law. Another dataset, The National Registry of Exonerations, has been mapped to reveal trends in the number of exonerations by state and the factors that contribute to false convictions. Several other datasets are just waiting to be mapped, including the legal data from Data.gov and the Datasets for Empirical Legal Research at Yale Law School.  The White House open data initiatives are continually generating data that can be mapped to reveal trends over time in various areas of the law and legal system. The possibilities are endless!

Featured Podcast: And Justice for Some -- Lost Without Translation

A previous post on Ex Libris Juris called attention to the need for qualified interpreters in U.S. courts. (Texas outlines its policies on language access in the courts on the Texas Judicial Branch website.) This issue is getting more attention as the shortage of licensed court interpreters, particularly those who speak an indigenous language, is becoming more of a concern. The State Bar of Texas Access to Justice Commission recently reported on the issue and included legislative history to explain the development of laws that provide translation services for people with Limited English Proficiency. Last week's episode of the Reveal podcast, a project of The Center for Investigative Reporting, covered the story in a program called And Justice for Some. This program details the courtroom experience of an Alabama mother who speaks Mixteco, a language spoken by 750,000 people in Mexico, but by precious few in the United States, especially in U.S. courtrooms. The implications of not having access to a qualified interpreter are great. This podcast explores these implications and calls for better access to justice in U.S. courts, especially with respect to translation services for foreign language speakers.

Pro Bono Services for Veterans

Legal aid organizations throughout the state are celebrating Veterans Week, which runs from November 6th to the 12th. Many, including TexasLawHelp.org, which is funded by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, are offering resources and pro bono services to our nation's men and women who served in uniform. 

Free help for Texas veterans is also provided via the Veterans Legal Aid Portal with links to a number of helpful resources and a free legal assistance hotline (1-800-622-2520). Other organizations, including Lone Star Legal Aid, the Texas Legal Services Center, the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association, and the Texas Veterans Legal Assistance Project, have similar initiatives in place.

The Harris County Law Library is providing access to legal research materials, including federal forms for veterans, the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 38: Veterans Affairs), and a veterans benefits handbook, along with several military law titles, which are available though HeinOnline. Please visit our Veterans' Legal Resources display in the library. It will be available throughout the week.