At a program hosted by the National Center for Access to Justice on September 13, 2023, former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman outlined a plan to close the infamous Rikers Island by 2027. "How do we close Rikers? What’s the secret potion to make it happen? It’s not so secret and it’s not so difficult. Mental illness is the key,” he said.

Join us on September 13th at 6:30 pm as NCAJ's Legal & Policy Director Lauren Jones leads this panel of NYC leaders in this timely and critical conversation...

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.

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 ...

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.

New Perspectives on Service Delivery by Non-Lawyers

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.

On March 18, hear the candidates' positions on key issues.