Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 10

FEATURE
COURT
SIMPLIFIED
A Complicated
By Jeremy Conrad
Justice Reform Solution
W
riting in 2020 about the future of courts,
professor Richard Susskind describes
plainly and succinctly the barriers to
meaningful access to justice: " [E]ven in
justice systems that we regard as the most advanced,
dispute resolution in public courts generally takes too
long, costs too much, and the process is unintelligible
to all but lawyers. "
Susskind, author of several books on the future of law and the legal profession,
offers up several sources of blame, from " the widespread reduction
in public legal funding " to " the current judicial and court machinery
[that] is disproportionate in many cases " to lawyers " because they can inflame
disputes. "
Advocates have advanced many solutions to bridge the justice gap, including
pro bono and reduced-cost legal assistance, self-help centers for
pro se litigants, legal clinics, and community education and outreach.
Another path to increased access to justice: simplified court procedures
to make courts more accessible, increase efficiency, and reduce delays in
the resolution of claims. Proponents say a streamlined judicial process
10 WASHINGTON LAWYER
* NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024
would help level the playing field for unrepresented individuals who often
face well-heeled and well-represented opponents in court.
Courts in the United States might look to revised procedures in Ontario,
Canada, for a blueprint. In that province's Superior Court of Justice, civil
claims that involve less than $200,000 may go through a simplified procedure
that caps the recovery of costs and disbursements, eliminates
jury trials, limits trial length to five days, and limits each party to three
hours of oral examination in discovery. First introduced in 1996 as a costand
time-saving measure for cases with a maximum $50,000 in dispute,
the simplified procedure's perceived success led Ontario to expand its
use, doubling the maximum amount in contest to $100,000 in 2010 and
to $200,000 in 2020. If a party objects to use of the simplified procedure,
the case follows the court's standard processing, which can take from
nine months to a year to get resolved.
In the United States, a 2009 study by the Institute for the Advancement
of the American Legal System at the University of Denver found that civil
case processing in federal district courts can take between two months
and three years to reach resolution. Approximately 35 percent of the
7,700 cases sampled for the study took more than a year to resolve.
RETHINKING THE SYSTEM
It is worth noting that the courts with the highest rates of unrepresented
litigants hear cases with the highest stakes in terms of personal impact
Illustrations: iStock

Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024

Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024
Digital Extras
From Our President
Calendar
Practice Management
Toward Well-Being
Court Simplified feature
Erin Larkin feature
Navigating the Court feature
Demystifying the Corporate Transparency Act feature
Erin Larkin feature
Data Breach Readiness feature
Member Spotlight - Murray Scheel
On Further Review
Newly Minted
Worth Reading
Attorney Briefs
Speaking of Ethics
Disciplinary Summaries
Pro Bono Effect
A Slice of Wry
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Cover2
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 1
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 2
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 3
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Digital Extras
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 5
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - From Our President
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Calendar
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Practice Management
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Toward Well-Being
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Court Simplified feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 11
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 12
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 13
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Erin Larkin feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 15
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Navigating the Court feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 17
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Demystifying the Corporate Transparency Act feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 19
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Erin Larkin feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 21
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Data Breach Readiness feature
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 23
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 24
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 25
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Member Spotlight - Murray Scheel
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 27
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - On Further Review
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 29
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Newly Minted
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 31
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Worth Reading
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 33
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Attorney Briefs
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 35
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Speaking of Ethics
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 37
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Disciplinary Summaries
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 39
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 40
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 41
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Pro Bono Effect
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 43
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 44
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 45
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 46
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 47
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - A Slice of Wry
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Cover3
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - Cover4
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