by Jennifer Emens-Butler , Esq .
PRESIDENT ’ S COLUMN Justice for All
Never have I thought more about this phrase , Justice for All , nor actually felt it , than while attending ABA Day in Washington DC last week . At ABA Day , bar leaders from nearly every state gathered to impress upon their Congressional representatives the importance of key legal matters such as funding for the Legal Services Corporation (“ LSC ”). The two top issues for the ABA this year were ( 1 ) funding for the LSC , which is yet again less than it was in 2010 , and ( 2 ) sentencing reform , particularly for juveniles who have committed non-violent offenses .
The bar leaders were given a briefing on the importance of both of these issues at an introductory breakfast . Representative Joe Kennedy III shared with us the frighteningly memorable statistic that Americans spend more money on Halloween costumes for their pets than the federal government spends funding the LSC . Funding is still down from 2010 despite the oft-cited statistic that approximately 80 % of the poorest Americans have unmet legal needs . A vast majority of tenants appear in courts without counsel despite the fact that tenants with counsel are up to ten times more likely to be successful than those without . Similar lower success rates for pro se litigants versus represented litigants exist across several case-type lines .
As for the sentencing reform issue , Republican David Jolly spoke about the bipartisan effort required to push sentencing reform forward , noting that it is time for all of Congress to recognize how critical an issue incarceration has become in this country . It is well known that the US leads the OECD countries by far in having the most individuals incarcerated per capita ; at about 700 per 100,000 , the US ranks second in the world , only behind the Seychelles . Western democratic countries like Norway and Sweden , for example , have rates of 72 and 60 per 100,000 respectively . As prison populations have grown approximately 50 % in the last fifteen years , the Department of Justice has struggled to maintain adequate funding for the Bureau of Prisons as a percentage of its budget . Any increase will only negatively impact the remaining segments of the Department of Justice . Adding to the issue of cost are the detrimental collateral consequences suffered by America ’ s youth who have been incarcerated for nonviolent offenses .
One of the most fascinating parts of ABA Day is listening to other states ’ representatives lament the difficulty of the task
at hand . Not only do most states have far more than three members of Congress to meet with , but many have an extremely difficult time describing in a non-partisan way the importance of funding legal aid , for example . One attorney we spoke with , whose name and southern state will not be repeated here , had to overcome the first hurdle : convincing her congressperson that Legal Aid does not , as a matter of policy , hire prostitutes ! Others vow to zero-fund the LSC no matter what — a far cry from the requested $ 475M . Indeed , our trip would have been far less successful if we were met with this kind of resistance from our legislators .
There was no need to divide or to conquer with our delegation . We set off — myself , as VBA President , Mike Kennedy , as VBA President-Elect , Fritz Langrock , as ABA state delegate for Vermont , and Bob Paolini as VBA Executive Director and VBA ’ s state bar delegate to the ABA — confident that our pleas would not fall on deaf ears . As suspected , our legislators were in favor of increased funding for the LSC and sentencing reform . We did encounter some unanticipated push-back from Sen . Sanders ’ staff , however , noting that the sentencing reform package was a “ good first step ” but not nearly enough to reduce the incarceration statistics and collateral consequences , particularly for non-violent offenders . Because the Vermont representative and senators were decidedly on-board , we were able to move on quickly to the best part of the visit , which is just spending a bit of time with Representative Welch and Sena- tor Leahy hearing and sharing stories , and talking about the happenings in Vermont .
In our meeting with Sen . Leahy and his senior staff counsel , we undoubtedly got sidetracked from our ABA mission in order to discuss the SCOTUS appointment and hearing process . We all remarked on how quickly the chatter in the press died down soon after Justice Scalia ’ s death and the initial refusal to hold a hearing for Judge Garland . It is unfortunate how politicized the appointment has become , despite the fact that the only “ side ” the Supreme Court should be on is the side of justice , fairness , and impartiality . In our analysis , we figured the public may only get fired up again after a few more four-to-four decisions come out of the Court on issues having a profound impact on people ’ s rights . Like LSC and sentencing reform , we found that the issue of the SCOTUS appointment bonds lawyers on both sides of the political spectrum , proving that lawyers have a common bond in supporting the rule of law and the administration of justice , no matter what form that justice takes .
Despite our Vermont representatives harping on what appears to have been the worst year in Congress for accomplishing anything of import , and despite the harrowing statistics proving why these two issues are so important , while in DC I couldn ’ t help but feel optimistic and inspired . My family and I took an extra few days to visit many of DC ’ s museums and monuments . The visit gave me the opportunity to reflect upon the meaning of the word “ justice ” and what it means to be a lawyer and part of a com- www . vtbar . org THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SPRING 2016 5