(1)The general assembly finds and
declares that:
(a)Access to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law, and it ensures that
all persons, institutions, and entities, public and private, including the state itself,
are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and
independently adjudicated. In the absence of access to justice, people are unable to
have their voice heard, exercise their rights, challenge discrimination, or hold
decision makers accountable.
(b)Lack of access to justice is a problem that has serious social, legal,
economic, and political consequences;
(c)Since 2003, the Colorado access to justice commission has collaborated
with organizations concerned about the gap in access to justice in Colorado to
develop and support a range
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(1) The general assembly finds and
declares that:
(a) Access to justice is a basic principle of the rule of law, and it ensures that
all persons, institutions, and entities, public and private, including the state itself,
are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and
independently adjudicated. In the absence of access to justice, people are unable to
have their voice heard, exercise their rights, challenge discrimination, or hold
decision makers accountable.
(b) Lack of access to justice is a problem that has serious social, legal,
economic, and political consequences;
(c) Since 2003, the Colorado access to justice commission has collaborated
with organizations concerned about the gap in access to justice in Colorado to
develop and support a range of tools, policies, and services to address this gap. The
commission has served as a hub for the many stakeholders working on access to
the civil legal process without statutory acknowledgment.
(d) From 2003 to the present, the need for access to justice and the
importance of improving access have grown, but the challenges of access to justice
in Colorado and around the nation have become more acute;
(e) A study by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal
System at the university of Denver found that access to justice is a broad societal
problem, with sixty-six percent of the American population experiencing at least
one legal problem in the past four years and with less than half of those problems
being completely resolved;
(f) People with fewer economic resources are a vulnerable population due to
lack of access to justice, and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color are
particularly vulnerable as they encounter legal issues at a higher rate and of
greater seriousness than other populations, according to the Institute for the
Advancement of the American Legal System at the university of Denver. A 2022
study by the Legal Services Corporation found that low-income Americans do not
receive any or enough legal help for ninety-two percent of their legal problems.
(g) In response to these trends, in 2021, the commission undertook a
systematic statewide study to better understand the challenges facing those trying
to resolve civil legal problems. The commission conducted a total of forty-one
different listen and learn sessions, meeting virtually with legal and community
service providers in each of Colorado's twenty-two judicial districts. The study
revealed that, due to the complexity of legal matters and the prohibitive cost of
legal help, barriers to access impact Coloradans of all backgrounds and from all
walks of life.
(h) The COVID-19 pandemic required experimentation and innovation in
Colorado's court system and elsewhere, uncovering ways that the legal system can
work better for people and organizations with legal needs; and
(i) There is an intersection of need and opportunity with respect to access to
civil justice for all Coloradans, such that the commission's ongoing work merits
statutory recognition, informing the governor and general assembly through
regular, systematic input from the commission.
(2) Therefore, the general assembly recognizes that access to civil courts is
a pillar of democracy and enacts this article 5.7 to codify the Colorado access to
justice commission and affirm its commitment to equitable access to the civil legal
process.