Overview
In October 2018, the Commission received a grant from the National Center for State Courts to develop a Strategic Action Plan for New Mexico using the Justice for All framework.
The Justice for All Initiative is an exciting project launched by the National Center for State Courts to help states develop meaningful, actionable plans to ensure that 100% of people with essential civil legal needs have access to help. The initiative prioritizes collaboration and coordination with non-legal community providers. It also identifies several high-value “components” that states can focus on to deliver access to the court system.
Equal justice under the law is a right, not a privilege. As such, in our democracy, everyone with a non-criminal legal problem who needs help accessing the civil justice system should have help.
–New Mexico Justice for All Plan
The New Mexico Supreme Court approved and adopted the Access to Justice Commission’s Justice for All Plan in October 2019. Read the plan below.
Some plan highlights include a statewide self-help center that can be accessed remotely; an online portal that will guide users to the resources and services they need; plain language forms; protocols for smaller form packets so court users can receive only the specific form or forms they need; and appropriate courthouse signage to ensure courts are user-friendly.
The Commission has created six Implementation Teams to actualize our JFA priorities and the teams meet regularly between full Commission meetings.
It is important to eliminate barriers to the civil justice system that deny justice and keep people in poverty, such as racial inequities.
–New Mexico Justice for All Plan
Justice for All Implementation Teams
The Justice for All action items are carried out by the following Implementation Team
JFA Community Integration Project
Part of the JFA initiative is building relationships between the legal system and other community resources.
To help the Commission better understand the needs and challenges faced by people with civil legal needs around New Mexico, we are engaged in a series of listening sessions in various communities. These listening sessions are attended by community members from social service organizations, health care providers, the business community, faith-based organizations, local libraries, and others. The reports from our 2020 listening sessions are available below.
ATJ Communications Campaigns
On June 25, 2019, the Commission launched a media campaign called “…And Justice for All” to highlight the need for help in civil legal cases. We have continued this campaign in 2020 and 2021 to inform the public about resources available to those facing hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.