March 20, 2023

On March 17, 2023, David Udell, Executive Director of the National Center for Access to Justice, and Bruce Green, a law professor at Fordham Law School, coauthored an op ed in The New York Times titled, What’s Wrong With Getting a Little Free Legal Advice? The op ed describes the importance of a lawsuit brought by a reverend in the South Bronx, and by a nonprofit organization, Upsolve, that is challenging the "unauthorized practice laws" of New York State on the ground that these laws unconstitutionally interfere with the First Amendment freedom of the reverend to speak with members of his community about their legal problems, including to give them free advice on how to complete court-approved Answer forms. The lower court ruled in favor of the reverend and Upsolve, and New York State filed an appeal. We invite you to read the op ed and consider NCAJ's amicus brief. Please also visit our website to learn more about NCAJ's additional Legal Empowerment initiatives and other projects to increase access to justice. 

Recent Articles

In NY Times Op Ed, NCAJ asks "What's Wrong with Getting a Little Free Legal Advice"

March 20, 2023
NCAJ Executive Director David Udell and Fordham Law Prof. Bruce Green describe in their New York Times Op Ed why the First Amendment protects the freedom of a reverend in the South Bronx to talk with community residents about the basic problems of everyday life including by advising them on how to complete court forms provided by the New York Courts for use by lay people.
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New Findings on Fines & Fees Policies, Released Today by the National Center for Access to Justice, Rank the States & Provide a 50-State Policy Reform Agenda

December 1, 2022
In 2016, a court in Lexington County, South Carolina ordered Twanda Marshinda Brown, a single mother who worked at Burger King, to pay $2,300 for two traffic offenses. Although she told the court she could only afford to pay $50 each month, the judge ordered her to pay $100 in monthly installments. Ms. Brown managed to make the payments for five months but she fell behind when her son was hospitalized and several checks from her employer bounced. The sheriff’s office ...
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NCAJ Files Amicus Brief to Protect Access to Justice for Indigent People in Prison

July 29, 2022
On June 25 the National Center for Access to Justice filed a brief as lead amicus (“friend of the court”) in Rosa v. Doe in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. On behalf of nine organizations, the amicus brief urges the Circuit Court to guide its federal district courts on how to ensure that people in state prison are not forced by substantial federal court filing fees to choose between pursuing justice in court and covering their “necessary expenses” including their expenditures for family members.
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NCAJ Launches 2021 Justice Index

May 19, 2021
We are delighted to share with you the news that yesterday, the National Center for Access to Justice at Fordham Law launched the updated and expanded Justice Index 2021 at NCAJ's new website, https://ncaj.org.
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