In these days of
increasing inequality and changing federal funding priorities, the wellbeing of
the nation’s most vulnerable population is particularly at risk. Numerous
studies have confirmed what everyone knows: that people living in poverty have
unmet legal needs. We in the academy and legal profession are not alone in this
realization. Thanks to media interest in legal issues many students enter law
school with a sense of where justice is lacking and with images of what it means
to “do” justice. Meanwhile, in March, 2017, President Trump announced his
budget blueprint, which slashes funding to a range of social service and
education programs, including the elimination of all funding to the Legal
Service Corporation (“LSC”). Threats to LSC’s funding have been an issue for
the last 20 years, with notable Congressional budget cuts during several
administrations. Whatever happens to Trump’s current budget proposal, cuts to
legal services are very much on the horizon and must be addressed. This
Discussion Group will use short presentations and moderated discussion to
consider how technology, television, and Trump impact our understanding of, and
response to, the access to justice crisis.