SECTIONS 68650-68651 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 68650-68651

68650. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act.

68651. (a) Legal counsel shall be appointed to represent low-income
parties in civil matters involving critical issues affecting basic
human needs in those specified courts selected by the Judicial
Council as provided in this section.
(b) (1) Subject to funding specifically provided for this purpose
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 70626, the Judicial Council
shall develop one or more model pilot projects in selected courts
pursuant to a competitive grant process and a request for proposals.
Projects authorized under this section shall provide representation
of counsel for low-income persons who require legal services in civil
matters involving housing-related matters, domestic violence and
civil harassment restraining orders, probate conservatorships,
guardianships of the person, elder abuse, or actions by a parent to
obtain sole legal or physical custody of a child, as well as
providing court procedures, personnel, training, and case management
and administration methods that reflect best practices to ensure
unrepresented parties in those cases have meaningful access to
justice, and to gather information on the outcomes associated with
providing these services, to guard against the involuntary waiver of
those rights or their disposition by default. These pilot projects
should be designed to address the substantial inequities in timely
and effective access to justice that often give rise to an undue risk
of erroneous decision because of the nature and complexity of the
law and the proceeding or disparities between the parties in
education, sophistication, language proficiency, legal
representation, access to self-help, and alternative dispute
resolution services. In order to ensure that the scarce funds
available for the program are used to serve the most critical cases
and the parties least able to access the courts without
representation, eligibility for representation shall be limited to
clients whose household income falls at or below 200 percent of the
federal poverty level. Projects shall impose asset limitations
consistent with their existing practices in order to ensure optimal
use of funds.
(2) (A) In light of the significant percentage of parties who are
unrepresented in family law matters, proposals to provide counsel in
child custody cases should be considered among the highest priorities
for funding, particularly when one side is represented and the other
is not.
(B) Up to 20 percent of available funds shall be directed to
projects regarding civil matters involving actions by a parent to
obtain sole legal or physical custody of a child. This subparagraph
shall not apply to distributions made pursuant to paragraph (3).
(3) For the 2012-13 fiscal year, and each subsequent fiscal year,
any amounts collected pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 70626 in
excess of the total amount transferred to the Trial Court Trust Fund
in the 2011-12 fiscal year pursuant to subparagraph (E) of paragraph
(1) of subdivision (c) of Section 68085.1 and subdivision (d) of
Section 70626 shall be distributed by the Judicial Council without
regard to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2). Those amounts may be
distributed by the Judicial Council as set forth in this subdivision
beginning July 1, 2012. If the funds are to be distributed to new
projects, the Judicial Council shall distribute those amounts
pursuant to the process set forth in this subdivision.
(4) Each project shall be a partnership between the court, a
qualified legal services project, as defined by subdivision (a) of
Section 6213 of the Business and Professions Code, that shall serve
as the lead agency for case assessment and direction, and other legal
services providers in the community who are able to provide the
services for the project. The lead legal services agency shall be the
central point of contact for receipt of referrals to the project and
to make determinations of eligibility based on uniform criteria. The
lead legal services agency shall be responsible for providing
representation to the clients or referring the matter to one of the
organization or individual providers with whom the lead legal
services agency contracts to provide the service. Funds received by a
qualified legal services project shall not qualify as expenditures
for the purposes of the distribution of funds pursuant to Section
6216 of the Business and Professions Code. To the extent practical,
the lead legal services agency shall identify and make use of pro
bono services in order to maximize available services efficiently and
economically. Recognizing that not all indigent parties can be
afforded representation, even when they have meritorious cases, the
court partner shall, as a corollary to the services provided by the
lead legal services agency, be responsible for providing procedures,
personnel, training, and case management and administration practices
that reflect best practices to ensure unrepresented parties
meaningful access to justice and to guard against the involuntary
waiver of rights, as well as to encourage fair and expeditious
voluntary dispute resolution, consistent with principles of judicial
neutrality.
(5) The participating projects shall be selected by a committee
appointed by the Judicial Council with representation from key
stakeholder groups, including judicial officers, legal services
providers, and others, as appropriate. The committee shall assess the
applicants' capacity for success, innovation, and efficiency,
including, but not limited to, the likelihood that the project would
deliver quality representation in an effective manner that would meet
critical needs in the community and address the needs of the court
with regard to access to justice and calendar management, and the
unique local unmet needs for representation in the community.
Projects approved pursuant to this section shall initially be
authorized for a three-year period, commencing July 1, 2011, subject
to renewal for a period to be determined by the Judicial Council, in
consultation with the participating project in light of the project's
capacity and success. After the initial three-year period, the
Judicial Council shall distribute any future funds available as the
result of the termination or nonrenewal of a project pursuant to the
process set forth in this subdivision. Projects shall be selected on
the basis of whether in the cases proposed for service the persons to
be assisted are likely to be opposed by a party who is represented
by counsel. The Judicial Council shall also consider the following
factors in selecting the projects:
(A) The likelihood that representation in the proposed case type
tends to affect whether a party prevails or otherwise obtains a
significantly more favorable outcome in a matter in which they would
otherwise frequently have judgment entered against them or suffer the
deprivation of the basic human need at issue.
(B) The likelihood of reducing the risk of erroneous decision.
(C) The nature and severity of potential consequences for the
unrepresented party regarding the basic human need at stake if
representation is not provided.
(D) Whether the provision of legal services may eliminate or
reduce the potential need for and cost of public social services
regarding the basic human need at stake for the client and others in
the client's household.
(E) The unmet need for legal services in the geographic area to be
served.
(F) The availability and effectiveness of other types of court
services, such as self-help.
(6) Each applicant shall do all of the following:
(A) Identify the nature of the partnership between the court, the
lead legal services agency, and the other agencies or other providers
that would work within the project.
(B) Describe the referral protocols to be used, the criteria that
would be employed in case assessment, why those cases were selected,
the manner to address conflicts without violating any attorney-client
privilege when adverse parties are seeking representation through
the project, and the means for serving potential clients who need
assistance with English.
(C) Describe how the project would be administered, including how
the data collection requirements would be met without causing an
undue burden on the courts, clients, or the providers, the particular
objectives of the project, strategies to evaluate their success in
meeting those objectives, and the means by which the project would
serve the particular needs of the community, such as by providing
representation to limited-English-speaking clients.
(7) To ensure the most effective use of the funding available, the
lead legal services agency shall serve as a hub for all referrals,
and the point at which decisions are made about which referrals will
be served and by whom. Referrals shall emanate from the court, as
well as from the other agencies providing services through the
program, and shall be directed to the lead legal services agency for
review. That agency, or another agency or attorney in the event of
conflict, shall collect the information necessary to assess whether
the case should be served. In performing that case assessment, the
agency shall determine the relative need for representation of the
litigant, including all of the following:
(A) Case complexity.
(B) Whether the other party is represented.
(C) The adversarial nature of the proceeding.
(D) The availability and effectiveness of other types of services,
such as self-help, in light of the potential client and the nature
of the case.
(E) Language issues.
(F) Disability access issues.
(G) Literacy issues.
(H) The merits of the case.
(I) The nature and severity of potential consequences for the
potential client if representation is not provided.
(J) Whether the provision of legal services may eliminate or
reduce the need for and cost of public social services for the
potential client and others in the potential client's household.
(8) If both parties to a dispute are financially eligible for
representation, each proposal shall ensure that representation for
both sides is evaluated. In these and other cases in which conflict
issues arise, the lead legal services agency shall have referral
protocols with other agencies and providers, such as a private
attorney panel, to address those conflicts.
(9) Each pilot project shall be responsible for keeping records on
the referrals accepted and those not accepted for representation,
and the reasons for each, in a manner that does not violate any
privileged communications between the agency and the prospective
client. Each pilot project shall be provided with standardized data
collection tools, and required to track case information for each
referral to allow the evaluation to measure the number of cases
served, the level of service required, and the outcomes for the
clients in each case. In addition to this information on the effect
of the representation on the clients, data shall be collected
regarding the outcomes for the trial courts.
(10) A local advisory committee shall be formed for each pilot
project, to include representatives of the bench and court
administration, the lead legal services agency, and the other
agencies or providers that are part of the local project team. The
role of the advisory committee is to facilitate the administration of
the local pilot project, and to ensure that the project is
fulfilling its objectives. In addition, the committee shall resolve
any issues that arise during the course of the pilot project,
including issues concerning case eligibility, and recommend changes
in project administration in response to implementation challenges.
The committee shall meet at least monthly for the first six months of
the project, and no less than quarterly for the duration of the
pilot period. Each authorized pilot project shall catalog changes to
the program made during the three-year period based on its
experiences with best practices in serving the eligible population.
(c) The Judicial Council shall conduct a study to demonstrate the
effectiveness and continued need for the pilot program established
pursuant to this section and shall report its findings and
recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature on or before
January 31, 2016. The study shall report on the percentage of funding
by case type and shall include data on the impact of counsel on
equal access to justice and the effect on court administration and
efficiency, and enhanced coordination between courts and other
government service providers and community resources. This report
shall describe the benefits of providing representation to those who
were previously not represented, both for the clients and the courts,
as well as strategies and recommendations for maximizing the benefit
of that representation in the future. The report shall describe and
include data, if available, on the impact of the pilot program on
families and children. The report also shall include an assessment of
the continuing unmet needs and, if available, data regarding those
unmet needs.
(d) This section shall not be construed to negate, alter, or limit
any right to counsel in a criminal or civil action or proceeding
otherwise provided by state or federal law.
(e) The section shall become operative on July 1, 2011.