Restoring the Department of Justice's Access-to- Justice Function and Reinvigorating the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable
| Published date | 21 May 2021 |
| Citation | 86 FR 27793 |
| Record Number | 2021-10973 |
| Section | Presidential Documents |
| Court | Executive Office Of The President |
Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 97 (Friday, May 21, 2021)
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 97 (Friday, May 21, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27793-27796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10973]
[[Page 27791]]
Vol. 86
Friday,
No. 97
May 21, 2021
Part VThe President-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Memorandum of May 18, 2021--Restoring the Department of Justice's
Access-to-Justice Function and Reinvigorating the White House Legal Aid
Interagency Roundtable
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 97 / Friday, May 21, 2021 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 27793]]
Memorandum of May 18, 2021
Restoring the Department of Justice's Access-to-
Justice Function and Reinvigorating the White House
Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and in order to increase meaningful access to
our legal system and an array of Federal programs, it
is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. This Nation was founded on the ideal
of equal justice under the law. Everyone in this
country should be able to vindicate their rights and
avail themselves of the protections that our laws
afford on equal footing. Whether we realize this ideal
hinges on the extent to which everyone in the United
States has meaningful access to our legal system. Legal
services are crucial to the fair and effective
administration of our laws and public programs, and the
stability of our society.
Recognizing the importance of access to justice and the
power of legal aid, the Department of Justice (DOJ) in
2010 launched an access-to-justice initiative. In 2016,
DOJ formally established the Office for Access to
Justice. This office worked in partnership with other
DOJ components to coordinate policy initiatives on
topics including criminal indigent defense, enforcement
of fines and fees, language barriers in access to the
courts, and civil legal aid. The DOJ and the White
House Domestic Policy Council also launched the Legal
Aid Interagency Roundtable (LAIR) in 2012 to work with
civil legal aid partners to advance Federal programs;
create and disseminate tools to provide information
about civil legal aid and Federal funding
opportunities; and generate research to inform policy
that improves access to justice.
The LAIR's successes prompted President Obama to issue
the memorandum of September 24, 2015 (Establishment of
the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable),
which formally established LAIR as a White House
initiative. Using the White House's convening power,
LAIR examined innovative and evidence-based solutions
for access to justice, from medical-legal partnerships
to improve health outcomes and decrease health costs to
better procedures in court hearings for individuals
representing themselves.
But there is much more for the Federal Government to
do. According to a 2017 study by the Legal Services
Corporation, low-income Americans receive inadequate or
no professional legal assistance with regard to over 80
percent of the civil legal problems they face in a
given year. All too often, unaddressed legal issues
push people into poverty. At the same time, in the
criminal legal system, those who cannot afford private
counsel often receive a lower-quality defense because
public defender caseloads are overburdened.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has
further exposed and exacerbated inequities in our
justice system, as courts and legal service providers
have been forced to curtail in-person operations, often
without the resources or technology to offer remote-
access or other safe alternatives. These access
limitations have compounded the effects of other harms
wrought by the pandemic. These problems have touched
the lives of many persons in this country, particularly
low-income people and people of color.
[[Page 27794]]
With these immense and urgent challenges comes the
opportunity to strengthen access to justice in the 21st
century. Through funding, interagency collaboration,
and strategic partnerships, the Federal Government can
drive development of new approaches and best practices
that provide meaningful access to justice today, and
into the future, consistent with our foundational ideal
of equal justice under the law.
Sec. 2. The Department of Justice's Access-to-Justice
Function. (a) My Administration is committed to
promoting equal access to justice and addressing access
limitations throughout the criminal and civil legal
systems. The DOJ has a critical role to play in
improving the justice delivery systems that serve
people who cannot afford lawyers, and I am committed to
reinvigorating that work.
(b) The Attorney General shall consider expanding
DOJ's planning, development, and coordination of
access-to-justice policy initiatives, including in the
areas of criminal indigent defense, civil legal aid,
and pro bono legal services. As soon as practicable,
and no later than 120 days from the date of this
memorandum, the Attorney General shall--in coordination
with the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget--submit a report to the President describing the
Department's plan to expand its access-to-justice
function, including the organizational placement of
this function within the Department, expected staffing
and budget, and, if necessary, the timeline for
notifying the Congress of any reorganization.
Sec. 3. Reinvigorating the White House Legal Aid
Interagency Roundtable. My Administration is committed
to ensuring that all persons in this country enjoy the
protections and benefits of our legal system.
Reinvigorating LAIR as a White House initiative is a
key step in this direction.
Accordingly, I direct as follows:
(a) The LAIR is hereby reconvened as a White House
initiative in furtherance of the vision set forth in
the memorandum of September 24, 2015, by which it was
established and in light of today's most pressing
challenges. The September 2015 memorandum is superseded
to the extent that it is inconsistent with this
memorandum.
(b) The LAIR shall work across executive
departments, agencies, and offices to fulfill its
mission, including to:
(i) improve coordination among Federal programs, so that programs are more
efficient and produce better outcomes by including, where appropriate,
legal services among the range of supportive services provided;
(ii) increase the availability of meaningful access to justice for
individuals and families, regardless of wealth or status;
(iii) develop policy recommendations that improve access to justice in
Federal, State, local, Tribal, and international jurisdictions;
(iv) assist the United States with implementation of Goal 16 of the United
Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to promote peaceful and
inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice
for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at
all levels; and
(v) advance relevant evidence-based research, data collection, and analysis
of civil legal aid and indigent defense, and promulgate best practices.
(c) The Attorney General and the Counsel to the
President, or their designees, shall serve as the Co-
Chairs of LAIR, which shall also include a
representative or designee from each of the following
executive departments, agencies, and offices:
(i) the Department of State;
(ii) the Department of the Treasury;
(iii) the Department of Defense;
(iv) the Department of Justice;
(v) the Department of the Interior;
[[Page 27795]]
(vi) the Department of Agriculture;
(vii) the Department of Labor;
(viii) the Department of Health and Human Services;
(ix) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;
(x) the Department of Transportation;
(xi) the Department of Education;
(xii) the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(xiii) the Department of Homeland Security;
(xiv) the Environmental Protection Agency;
(xv) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;
(xvi) the Corporation for National and Community Service;
(xvii) the Office of Management and Budget;
(xviii) the United States Agency for International Development;
(xix) the Administrative Conference of the United States;
(xx) the National Science Foundation;
(xxi) the United States Digital Service;
(xxii) the Domestic Policy Council;
(xxiii) the Office of the Vice President; and
(xxiv) such other executive departments, agencies, and offices as the Co-
Chairs may, from time to time, invite to participate.
(d) The Co-Chairs shall invite the participation of
the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the
Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade
Commission, the Legal Services Corporation, and the
Social Security Administration, to the extent
consistent with their respective statutory authorities
and legal obligations.
(e) The LAIR shall report annually to the President
on its progress in fulfilling its mission. The report
shall include data from participating members on the
deployment of Federal resources to foster this mission.
The LAIR's 2021 report shall be due no later than 120
days from the date of this memorandum.
(f) In light of the mission and function set forth
in section 3(b) of this memorandum, LAIR shall focus
its first annual report on the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on access to justice in both the criminal and
civil legal systems. Moreover, the first convening of
LAIR shall, at a minimum, address access-to-justice
challenges the pandemic has raised and work towards
identifying technological and other solutions that both
meet these challenges and fortify the justice system's
capacity to serve the public and be inclusive of all
communities.
(g) The Attorney General shall designate an
Executive Director of LAIR who shall, as directed by
the Co-Chairs, convene regular meetings of LAIR and
supervise its work. The DOJ staff designated to support
the Department's access-to-justice function under
section 2 of this memorandum shall serve as the staff
of LAIR.
(h) The DOJ shall, to the extent permitted by law
and subject to the availability of appropriations,
provide administrative services, funds, facilities,
staff, equipment, and other support services as may be
necessary for LAIR to carry out its mission.
(i) The LAIR shall hold meetings at least three
times per year. In the course of its work, LAIR should
conduct outreach to Federal, State, local, Tribal, and
international officials, technical advisors, and
nongovernmental organizations, among others, as
necessary to carry out its mission (including public
defender organizations and offices and legal aid
organizations and providers).
[[Page 27796]]
(j) The LAIR members are encouraged to provide
support, including by detailing personnel, to LAIR.
Members of LAIR shall serve without any additional
compensation for their work.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent
with applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) Independent agencies are strongly encouraged to
comply with the provisions in this memorandum.
(d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
(e) The Attorney General is authorized and directed
to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, May 18, 2021
[FR Doc. 2021-10973
Filed 5-20-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4410-19-P
