Digital Divides and Justice Gaps

A recent study by the Pew Research Center suggests that 11% of Americans don't use the internet. 11%! For those of us who spend our days talking about ways to more effectively use digital resources, 11% is a staggering statistic. At the Harris County Law Library, we're on the internet every day. Pulling a case in Westlaw or Lexis requires connectivity. Assisting self-represented litigants (SRLs) access TexasLawHelp.org for forms and information does too. Access to many forms of legal information is either bolstered by internet access or, in some instances, totally dependent on it.

Legal aid organizations across the country are also on the internet every day leveraging technology to close justice gaps. In Texas, we have a variety of success stories. TexasLawHelp.org counts thousands of page hits each month and offers chat services to SRLs across the state. Houston Volunteer Lawyers and Lone Star Legal Aid share information and leverage automated intake forms on their websites. The Houston Bar Association and Texas State Law Library distribute legal information to SRLs on the most needed topics, including family and consumer law.

Can you see where this is going? What happens when our efforts to offer legal aid and share legal information are focused on a medium that the intended recipients either cannot or do not access? Diving further into the Pew report, we see the problem is exacerbated. The digital divide is concentrated in vulnerable populations that legal aid services are intended to help. Specifically,

• 35% of Seniors (65+),
• 19% of those earning less than $30k per year, and
• 35% of individuals without a high school education

do not use the internet. Building on these base statistics, if 19% of those living in poverty do not use the internet at all, how many of the remaining 81% have had the opportunity to develop the skill set to use it well?

Ok, enough doom and gloom. What do we do? Answer: remember that public law libraries are partners in access to justice. If the issue is lack of access to equipment, libraries offer public access computers. If it's digital literacy, we offer reference assistance and free learning opportunities. If information literacy is the issue, we help patrons every day wade through nonsense Google results to find authoritative resources like TexasLawHelp.org. And all of these resources are available for free to all at locations across the country.

For more information on the role of public law libraries in access to justice, take a look at the following resources:

• Report: Law Libraries and Access to Justice. A Special Report of the American Association of Law Libraries Access to Justice Special Committee (AALL 2014)
• Partnering with Libraries, Center on Court Access to Justice for All
• Report of the Texas Commission to Expand Texas Legal Services (Dec. 6, 2016)

Tax Law Resource Month

April is Tax Law Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library. All month long, you will find materials on federal and Texas taxes on display in the Law Library and on our website.

Self-Help Resource: Nolo's Stand Up to the IRS

Written by tax attorney Frederick W. Daily, Nolo’s Stand Up to the IRS is an excellent resource to answer your questions about the IRS, tax returns, audits, federal tax liens, taxpayer advocates, fraud and tax crimes, and penalties and interest.

Houston Volunteer Lawyers Neighborhood Tax Center Tax Clinics

NTC tax clinics are held every third Thursday of each month at Baker Ripley Neighorhood Tax Center for persons seeking assistance with IRS issues.  Walk-In legal advice clinic.  The first 6 people will be seen 

At a legal advice clinic, applicants meet with a licensed Texas attorney one-on-one and receive free advice on their legal issue. Individuals needing continued representation beyond the legal advice clinic generally must be residents of Harris County and have a household income of no greater than 250% of Federal Poverty Guidelines. 

Houston Volunteer Lawyers Low Income Taxpayer Clinic

LITC clinics are held once a week at the Houston Volunteer Lawyer's office. They are by appointment only. Please call 713-225-1TAX to schedule an appointment. 

At the appointment, applicants will meet with a HVL staff attorney one-on-one and receive free advice on their IRS tax issue. Individuals needing continued representation beyond the legal advice clinic generally must be residents of Harris County and have a household income of no greater than 250% of Federal Poverty Guidelines.

Free Tax Return Preparation for Qualifying Taxpayers

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people who generally make $54,000 or less, persons with disabilities and limited English speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing to qualified individuals.

In addition to VITA, the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly those who are 60 years of age and older, specializing in questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors. The IRS-certified volunteers who provide tax counseling are often retired individuals associated with non-profit organizations that receive grants from the IRS.

Questioning Our Expectations of Legal Tech

In December 2016, an article appeared in this blog which stated the following:

Legal tech solutions have proven to be an effective remedy to the shortage of affordable legal representation. Supporting and endorsing legal tech startups, particularly those that address niche concerns for self-represented litigants, is an excellent way to help "modest means" individuals participate in the legal process. 

While this may hold true, and plenty of legal tech observers are reinforcing this claim, others are starting to question the true usefulness of legal apps and the innovations of legal start-ups as the keys to removing barriers to justice. Obviously, tech-as-a-solution has its limitations, and not only in the legal field. Holistic approaches to reducing the justice gap should include other strategies as well, such as increased funding for public law libraries, and amendments to ethics rules that would allow lawyers more freedom in providing additional services via limited scope representation. An excellent resource on this subject is the book, Beyond Elite Law: Access to Civil Justice in America which looks at the wide range of options for improving just outcomes for people of modest means. Technology is only one. Law schools, bar associations, pro bono services, alternative dispute resolution, and nonlawyer services are others. Implementing a reform agenda, creating a culture of service, and working to continually improve the delivery of legal services are the elements that must combine with technology to lessen the justice gap in the United States. 

Be an Einstein. Use the Library.

Happy Birthday to Albert Einstein, who was born on this day in 1879. Celebrated as a brilliant theoretical physicist and one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, Einstein's very name is synonymous with genius, but in some ways, he was just a regular guy. He enjoyed smoking his pipe, took great pleasure in riding his bicycle, and encouraged playfulness as the key to discovery and creative thought. He also placed great value in visiting the library.

Einstein claimed to possess no special talents but described himself as "passionately curious." What better way to satisfy one's curiosity than to visit the library? He once said, "The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library," a sentiment that we at Harris County Law Library share. Knowing where to access accurate, authoritative, and trustworthy sources of legal information is critical for both legal professionals and the public. Those who represent the best interests of their clients need not only information but a supportive environment in which to work, and those representing themselves need unrestricted access to unbiased sources of information to help them address their legal needs.

In the digital age, libraries have changed tremendously, evolving from the traditional institutions that Einstein would have known to vibrant, dynamic hives of activity where people from all walks of life come in search of not only information but for guidance, services, education, training, support, and community. We at Harris County Law Library take the needs of our visitors very seriously, and we continue to expand our range of offerings on an ongoing basis.

For guidance, we partner with the Houston Volunteer Lawyers to offer our pro se patrons access to attorneys at no expense (Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm). Our reference staff provide services and support 11 hours a day, 5 days a week by assisting self-represented litigants in finding forms for a variety of legal needs. Our Legal Tech Institute, an ongoing series of free learning opportunities for attorneys and the public, provides legal tech education and skills training in both face-to-face and virtual settings. 

We aim to cultivate a sense of community for our regular visitors, both attorneys and the public, and to create an environment conducive to productivity, exploration, problem-solving, and achieving justice. Knowing where to find this kind of environment and the resources it offers is a must. We like to think that Einstein would agree. 

Free Legal Assistance via the Houston Bar Association LegalLine

On the first and third Wednesdays of every month, the Houston Bar Association provides an invaluable community service -- free legal assistance for residents of Harris County via the HBA LegalLine. Most callers ask questions about family law matters, such as divorce, child custody, child support, and adoption, but other legal topics -- consumer law, neighborhood disputes, immigration, and legal issues arising from special events like Hurricane Harvey -- are addressed as well. 

Volunteer attorneys licensed in the state of Texas will answer your legal questions from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm tonight, December 6, and again on December 20. Spanish speakers can call from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on the first Thursday of every month, including this Thursday, December 7, to ask questions in Spanish.

Volunteer attorneys will offer legal information and assistance and, depending on the situation, they may refer callers to additional resources in the community, including legal aid organizations, helpful websites, or lawyer referral services. The volunteers will not represent the callers in any way, and, to protect confidentiality, all callers remain anonymous. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with a legal issue or just needs some helpful legal infomration about a pending case or what to expect at an upcoming court date, the Houston Bar Association LegaLine is here to help!