Dean Johnson Presides at Hearing on California's Civil Justice Crisis

Dean Kevin R. Johnson was part of a distinguished panel presiding over a special Hearing on California's Civil Justice Crisis held on November 15 at Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.  The event was the first of a series of four hearings intended to highlight the fundamental role of both the courts and legal assistance in society and explore the devastating effects, especially for low-income Californians, of chronic underfunding and recent budget cuts.  The hearings are co-sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Commission on Access to Justice, and the State Bar of California.

The hearing was chaired by Justice Ron Robie of the California Court of Appeal, and presided over by Dean Johnson, Kevin Baker, Deputy Chief Counsel for the Assembly Judiciary Committee; James Brosnahan, Senior Partner of Morrison Foerster LLP; Associate Dean Julie Davies of Pacific McGeorge Law School; Saskia Kim, Chief Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee; Jon Streeter, President of the State Bar of California; and Allan Zaremberg, President and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce. The hearing included testimony from four panels of experts and practitioners on the impact of the economic downturn and underfunding on courts and legal services organizations and related topics.

Additional hearings are planned for November 30 in San Francisco, December 2 in Los Angeles, and December 7 in Irvine.

Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.

Civil Justice Crisis Hearings schedule

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