California Supreme Court Accepts Case Brought to Protect Constitutional Rights of Low-Income Litigants
即时发布
陶韦尔迪
家庭暴力上诉项目
tweldy@fvaplaw.org
510-858-7358
Oakland, CA (February 20, 2025) – The California Supreme Court has accepted a case brought to protect the rights of low-income litigants who are being harmed by the statewide court reporter shortage. The Supreme Court only accepts a small percentage of the cases, so its acceptance of this case signals its recognition of the important constitutional issues and the breadth of the impact caused by the shortage.
This critical case brought by Family Violence Appellate Project, represented by Covington & Burling LLP and Community Legal Aid SoCal, and Bay Area Legal Aid alleges that the trial courts’ failure to provide a verbatim record (word-for-word record) to low-income litigants violates due process, equal protection, and separation of powers under the California Constitution. 如果没有逐字记录，诉讼当事人几乎不可能对可能对他们造成损害的错误判决提出上诉。目前，诉讼当事人无法平等地获得上诉法院的审判机会，原因很简单，他们无法负担私人法庭书记员的费用——平均每天 $3,300。1 此外，逐字记录对于我们的司法系统的基本运作至关重要，它使法官能够公正有效地执行司法。
常见问题
For a link to our petition, the media release issued when our petition was filed, and further details and background on our lawsuit and the court reporter shortage, 请查阅我们的常见问题解答.
媒体报道
我们的 法庭记者短缺媒体页面 包含与此案相关的最新报道列表.
The California Supreme Court ordered the Superior Courts of Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, and San Diego Counties to provide the Court with more information about “why the relief sought in the petition should not be granted.” It also invited the California Legislature to participate in briefing and set a briefing schedule.
家庭暴力上诉项目的项目主任詹娜弗·瓦格纳 (Jennafer Wagner) 解释说： “We are incredibly grateful the Supreme Court has agreed to consider our case addressing trial courts’ inability to provide a verbatim (word-for-word) record of what happens in thousands of court hearings every day resulting in devastating effects to low-income litigants, including survivors of domestic abuse.”
Brenda Star Adams, Bay Area Legal Aid’s Director of Litigation, adds: “Our attorneys see first-hand that access to justice in California too often comes at the cost of a private court reporter. We are thankful that in accepting our case, the Supreme Court has recognized the importance of this issue. Wealth must not be the deciding factor in determining access to justice.”
Family Violence Appellate Project is represented by Sonya D. Winner, Ellen Y. Choi, Bryanna Walker, Jacob Pagano and Eva Dorrough of Covington & Burling LLP, and Sarah Reisman, Katelyn Rowe and Erica Embree Ettinger of Community Legal Aid SoCal. Bay Area Legal Aid is represented by Brenda Star Adams and Jessica Wcislo of Bay Area Legal Aid.
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家庭暴力上诉项目是加利福尼亚州和华盛顿州的一个非营利性法律组织，其使命是通过帮助家庭暴力和其他形式的亲密伴侣、家庭和性别虐待的幸存者获得有效的上诉代理来确保他们的安全和福祉。有关此案的更多信息，请访问 FVAP 的网页.
湾区法律援助是湾区最大的免费民事法律服务提供商，每年为数千名低收入客户提供建议和咨询、转介和代理服务，服务范围覆盖阿拉米达、康特拉科斯塔、马林、纳帕、旧金山、圣马特奥和圣克拉拉七个县。有关此案的更多信息，请访问 BayLegal 的网页.
SoCal 社区法律援助是一个法律援助组织，致力于打击不公正现象，倡导社会、经济和种族平等，为奥兰治县和洛杉矶东南部的低收入人群提供富有同情心、全面且有影响力的法律服务。有关此案和其他案件的更多信息，请访问 系统影响单位网页.
在监管日益严格的世界里，Covington & Burling LLP 提供公司、诉讼和监管方面的专业知识，帮助客户解决最复杂的业务问题、交易和纠纷。该公司经常因无偿服务而获得认可，其中 12 次被《美国律师》评为美国第一无偿律师事务所
笔记：
- Judicial Council of California, Fact Sheet: Shortage of Certified Shorthand Reporters in California (June 2024). ↩︎