With rural lawyers long in the news, Law 360 turns to rural courthouses and the challenge of distance

This story by Jack Karp for Law 360 is a real gem for several reasons.  But before I move to those, here's the lede: 

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill in November, following the Senate's lead, that would add two federal court locations in rural parts of Texas and Washington state.

Lawmakers hope the legislation will improve access to the federal courts for those who live in remote areas. Experts, however, say there's already a sufficient number of courthouses to serve rural residents. It's getting to them that's the problem.

On this point, I can't resist pointing to my detailed analysis of the struggles rural residents sometimes face in getting to services in metro areas; read more here and here.  Karp's story continues: 

Long distances, geography, weather and even wildlife can make traveling to the local courthouse difficult for residents of rural communities, hampering access to the legal system, according to attorneys.

* * * 

Some attorneys say remote proceedings have eased the problem, but others insist that the cost and lack of broadband and computers make online hearings inaccessible for rural litigants, who often prefer being able to go to a physical courthouse staffed by real people.

Then Karp quotes Michele Statz of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth, who researches rural access to justice, with a focus on far northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, including tribal courts:  

There's this sort of 30,000-foot view that we'll put in the technology and people can just attend court differently. But it's so much more than that. It's so much more than just a hearing.

* * *

Overwhelmingly, our survey data with self-represented litigants show that litigants almost always want to attend in-person hearings, which very powerfully counters the sort of message on the streets where we have this technological silver bullet. In reality, humans are what people want.

Besides pithy quotes like these, one thing that makes this story so great is that Karp touches on several regions, though the Western U.S. features most prominently.  (Western states tend to be divided into counties that cover much greater land area than those of their eastern and midwestern counterparts.  Arizona, for example, is the 6th largest state but only 15 counties).  

Here's an excerpt from California, featuring my former student from Law and Rural Livelihoods, Kaly Rule, now family law facilitator and self-help center director in Lake County California, population 68,000: 

Gas is expensive, and if you're living on the edge — you have a low income, you can barely afford to pay your rent or you're not even paying your rent — the gas to get to and from the courthouse is going to be a huge barrier.

Also featured prominently:   Columbia Legal Services and the work they are doing in the rural reaches of Washington State.  Here's a quote from that part of the article: 

In Stevens County, Washington, which has a population of 40,484, it can take over an hour for people in the county's most populated area to drive to the district courthouse, according to Judge Lech J. Radzimski, presiding judge for the Tri-County Judicial District, which includes Ferry, Pend Oreille and Stevens counties.

Distances like that are a problem, especially for low-income litigants and defendants who may not be able to afford the time off work or child care expenses that traveling those stretches requires, according to area attorneys.

"If they have to take an hour or an hour and a half just to get to the courthouse, they can lose their jobs because they don't have sick time or vacation time or personal days," said Columbia Legal Services Executive Director Merf Ehman. "If they're agricultural workers, particularly in eastern Washington, that can be a huge problem."

Another terrific part of the story is that Karp speaks to lots of folks--not just academics.  He also got this quote from Nathan Hall of the National Center for State Courts:  

There are just beautiful examples of the steps leading to the courthouse, and then what you'll see is there'll be, like, a little side door that's the handicapped entrance.

Karp provides some specific examples of these problems, including one out of eastern Washington state and one out of Fresno, California.  He also quotes Hall regarding how expensive it is to build new courthouses. 

A fourth commendable part of the story is that it includes some cool photos, like the lead one of a horse in front of a court house.  Please click through to see it and the others.