News
Chief Justice Appears at Senate Hearing on Legal Services
News Article
May 18, 2013
Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Ronald D. Castille spoke at a state Senate Judiciary Committee hearing studying the need for civil legal services by poor Pennsylvanians, calling it “an important government service.”
“As a Commonwealth, we should be treating civil legal services for indigent individuals and families as an important government service,” he said. “Like roads and police service and courts — there should be a dedicated, line item with equal application in every county for citizens facing serious civil legal situations.”
The hearing Civil Legal Representation of the Indigent: Have We Achieved Equal Access to Justice? drew community and business leaders in addition to judges and lawyers. The participants — along with the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Bar associations — are part of a Civil Legal Justice Coalition in which Chief Justice Castille serves as honorary chair.
The hearing was the second of three on the topic in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh that the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled. The hearings are being chaired by Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf (R-Montgomery). The effort is designed to develop strategies to improve access to justice for a growing number of Pennsylvanians needing legal assistance with such issues as housing, safety, health and child custody.