ABA AND SBAND
SUPPORT LEGAL SERVICES FUNDING
D A N T R AY N O R
ABA Delegate
The ABA’s annual fly-in to Washington,
D.C., occurred April 9-11. As usual, the
pitch involved advocacy for Legal Services
Corporation (LSC) funding. It has become
a common occurrence for a budget-cutting
White House to propose eliminating the
funding. Each year federal legislators save the
day and restore program funding.
LSC funding is provided to Legal Services
North Dakota (LSND), which provides
24/7 access to every eligible person who has
a legal problem. LSND provides services
throughout the state and has offices in each
quadrant. The LSND office in Grand Forks
is located in the University of North Dakota
Law School, providing experiential learning
to the next generation of North Dakota
lawyers.
Twenty percent of the annual budget for
LSND comes from federal funds provided
by the Legal Services Corporation, and this
year, North Dakota legislators provided
much-needed additional funding. HB 1516
increased state funding by an additional
$100,000. LSND will now get $750,000 per
biennium.
Armed with that good news from our
state legislators, SBAND’s LSC backers
approached North Dakota’s Congressional
Delegation. As usual, our congressional
delegation was very welcoming to the North
Dakota lawyers led by SBAND President
Zack Pelham.
In our visit with Senator John Hoeven,
North Dakota lawyers were joined by ABA
President Bob Carlson from Butte, Mont.
Senator Hoeven was clearly impressed
by the good work of North Dakota’s
Legislature. The Senator’s Legislative Aide
Caitlan Flis was more intrigued about
the ABA’s advocacy for Public Service
Loan Forgiveness. Caitlan is a recent
law graduate and mentioned she has the
student loans to prove it.
SBAND member and North Dakota’s
new Congressman, Kelly Armstrong,
discussed his own experience with LSND.
As a litigator, Representative Armstrong
was well aware of the work of LSND. In
reviewing some of the ABA’s material, he
recounted his own experience with judges
in the Southwest Judicial District. He
noted even without a lawyer, those seeking
restraining orders are given a fair shake
because North Dakota’s state court judges
listen and render a fair decision.
As a member of the House Judiciary
Committee, Representative Armstrong
has already put his trial experience to work
when questioning some of the friends and
foes of the Trump Administration.
Pictured (L to R): ABA Delegate Dan Traynor, North Dakota Congressman Kelly Armstrong,
SBAND President Zack Pelham, and SBAND Executive Director Tony Weiler.
30
THE GAVEL
We caught Senator Kevin Cramer’s
staff one day before he moved from
his temporary basement office to the
Russell Building near Senator Hoeven.
Nonetheless, Chief of Staff Mark Gruman