General Assembly Raised Bill No. 471
February Session, 2016 LCO No. 3277
*03277_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 471
February Session, 2016
LCO No. 3277
*03277_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING ACCESS TO JUSTICE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2016) (a) The Judicial Branch shall establish, within available resources, a volunteer attorney program. The Chief Court Administrator shall enlist the services of attorneys who are admitted to the bar of this state and who are in good standing to provide legal services to program participants, who are not otherwise represented by attorneys, at no cost to the program participants. Under the program, services provided by such attorneys shall include, but not be limited to, assistance in applying for a restraining order under section 46b-15 of the general statutes and assistance in applying for a civil protection order under section 46b-16a of the general statutes. With respect to the administration of the pilot program, the Chief Court Administrator shall prescribe (1) the level of professional experience required of a participating attorney, (2) the training requirements for a participating attorney, (3) the scope of services that may be provided, and (4) the dates, times and locations for the provision of services.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2018, and not later than January first of each year thereafter, the Chief Court Administrator shall submit a report in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary that sets forth: (1) The number of attorneys participating in the program; (2) the total number of volunteer hours provided by attorneys participating in the program; (3) the number of persons receiving services under the program; and (4) the costs incurred by the Judicial Branch to administer the program.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2016 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2016
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To establish a volunteer attorney program that provides legal services, at no cost, to individuals who are without the economic means to retain competent legal counsel.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]