Legal Consumer Group Urges Legislature to Pass Bill, Open Access to State's People's Court
November 7, 2003
Contact: Tom Gordon or Kristin Weber 202/887-8255
Boston, Mass.-In a hearing before Massachusetts' Joint Committee on the Judiciary yesterday, HALT offered testimony in support of a Senate Bill that stands to significantly increase the state's jurisdictional dollar limit on small claims. Massachusetts Senate Bill 1109 stands to lift the state's ceiling on small claims from $2,000 to $5,000, which would leave far less people stuck outside the justice system.
"Many Americans are stranded in a legal no-man's land because their routine legal problems have a dollar value above the state's ceiling on small claims, yet they cannot afford to hire an attorney for such a simple matter," stated HALT Senior Counsel Tom Gordon. "These people are effectively shut out of the legal system."
Small claims courts, which use simplified procedures and require plain language, have tremendous promise as a means of empowering ordinary people to take charge of their own routine legal needs. HALT's Small Claims Reform Project advocates for states across the nation to raise their jurisdictional limits to $20,000 in order to open up small claims courts. Realizing that the $20,000 mark is an ambitious goal, HALT views Senate Bill 1109 as an excellent first step in refusing to stifle such potential with prohibitively low dollar limits. Only three states have small claims limits lower than the current Massachusetts limit.
"This bill will bring Massachusetts in line with the rest of the country by allowing many of its small claims courts to handle more than just dry cleaning disputes," says Gordon.
Gordon cautioned that further reform is still needed to ensure full access to the courts. In his testimony, Gordon outlined several other reforms necessary for Massachusetts' small claims court system: providing assistance with collecting judgments; authorizing small claims judges to issue court orders; expanding small claims dispute resolution programs; and making small claims courts user-friendly by adding additional hours of court operation and simplifying procedures.
Founded in 1978, HALT-An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform is a non-partisan, non-profit public interest organization. HALT pursues an ambitious education and advocacy program that challenges the legal establishment to improve access and accountability and reduce costs in the civil justice system. Please visit www.halt.org for more information.
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