In September 2003, the DC Bar Foundation released a report, Civil Legal Services Delivery in the District of Columbia, documenting the challenges faced in meeting low-income residents’ need for civil legal assistance in our community.  The Foundation, joined by the D.C. Bar and the D.C. Consortium of Legal Services Providers, asked the D.C. Court of Appeals to establish a commission to address these challenges.  The Court of Appeals responded by establishing the DC Access to Justice Commission, and named seventeen Commissioners in February 2005.  The term of the Commission was extended in October 2007, and new Commissioners were appointed in February 2008. The Commission is chaired by Georgetown University Law Center Professor Peter Edelman, and includes judges, members of the Bar, Bar Foundation, Consortium of Legal Services Providers, and other community leaders. 

The Commission’s work, as ordered by the Court of Appeals, is to:

1. Establish a coordinated planning process that involves all members of the community who are affected by the crisis in equal access to justice in an effort to develop strategies to improve access and reduce barriers;

2. Facilitate efforts to create improved coordination and support of civil legal services programs;

3. Work with courts, administrative agencies and lawmaking bodies to propose and promote rules and systemic changes that will open greater access to the justice system; and

4. Propose and promote strategies to generate adequate levels of public, private, and volunteer resources and funding for the District's civil justice network and the access to justice initiatives identified by the Commission.

The Commission's most recent annual report details progress towards these goals.

The Commission meets approximately once a month, and meetings are open to the public.  For further information about the Commission, please contact its Executive Director, Sunil Mansukhani, at (202) 344-4441, or Sunil.Mansukhani@dcaccesstojustice.org, or visit the Commission's website.

Click to download the Court of Appeals Orders establishing  the Commission, and extending its term.  Click here  for the current list of Commission members.

Civil Legal Services Delivery in the District of Columbia September 2003 Report