The February 2023 edition of New Jersey Lawyer is the first in a two-part series dedicated to helping people and communities access justice.
The issue, published by the New Jersey State Bar Association, is a collaboration between the NJSBA’s Pro Bono Committee and the New Jersey Lawyer Editorial Board to address themes of equality under the law, a person’s right to counsel and pro bono work. The interest from the NJSBA community to contribute articles was so overwhelming that the Editorial Board decided to run two consecutive issues of the magazine devoted to the topic.
Some of the articles cover incarcerating non-violent criminal defendants with mental health illnesses, filing fees as a barrier to justice and a 30-year history of Madden v. Delran, the case that established New Jersey’s attorney assignment system to fulfill the constitutional right to counsel.
Here is a full list of the articles in the edition:
• The Coming of Age of New Jersey Mental Health Courts: Addressing a Dilemma in the Criminal Justice System—By Joanna R. Adu and Eric Marcy.
• Crisis of Magnitude: Madden v. Delran on its 30th Anniversary—By Amy Vasquez.
• Justice Speaks All Languages: Ensuring the Due Process Rights of Limited English Proficient Litigants through Volunteerism and Judicial Collaboration—By Victoria B. Nicholson.
• The Effect of Filing Fees on the Access to Justice—By Adelina Herrarte and Melanie Zelikovsky.
• The Impact of Court-Ordered Psychological Evaluations in Child Welfare Cases—By Maling Miranda and Classie Colinet.
• The Disparate Impact of Driver’s License Suspensions on Communities of Color—By Karen Robinson.
• The Impact and Consequences of True Poverty on Access to Justice—By Akil Roper and Shivi Prasad.
The edition also includes practice tips for using social media and eating well, NJSBA President Jeralyn L. Lawrence’s perspective on ending the Madden system of assigned counsel and a look at the NJSBA Pro Bono Award winners for 2022.
The full issue of New Jersey Lawyer is available on njsba.com.