NAWJ 16th Annual Meeting with the Congressional Women's Caucus Summary

The initial presentation was made by Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, representative of Michigan’s 43rd district. Congresswoman Lawrence is also Co-chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus as well as second Vice-chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. In her presentation, Congresswoman Lawrence highlighted a few main issues that have been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic: the digital divide (especially when it comes to students as well as litigants), the treatment of incarcerated women (specifically in terms of healthcare and hygiene), and how both of these issues, as well as others, disproportionately affects women of color in the United States.

The meeting then proceeded to a panel discussion moderated by Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring, Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Washington, D.C. The panelists included: Eric Angel (Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Washington, D.C.), Judge Brenda Murray (federal judge, Co-chair of NAWJ’s Women in Prison Committee, and former president of NAWJ), Jonathan Smith (Executive Director of Washington’s Lawyer Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs), and Professor Gigi Sohn (Professor at the George Washington Law Center for technology law and policy). The panel centered on some of the issues outlined by Congresswoman Lawrence in her presentation, separating the discussion into categories of the technological divide, the criminal justice system as a whole, incarcerated women, and issues regarding civil courts, and how all of these issues related to the court system.

The digital divide in the United States has been highlighted by the pandemic, as many functions of society, like schools and courts, have moved online. 77 million households in the United States do not have access to broadband internet in the home, and lower income households and people of color are disproportionately represented in this number. Courts are in a unique position as community anchoring institutions which, much like schools and libraries, can assist in bringing access to the Internet to all members of the communities in which they are situated. As we move away from the pandemic, access to broadband internet will only become more important. Judges can help in this effort by informing litigants of resources provided by the U.S. government as well as subsidies provided by individual companies.

Throughout the pandemic, institutions such as prisons and jails proved to be hotspots for the virus, causing many states to consider implementing or bolstering programs such as compassionate release and home confinement, as well as decreasing custodial stops by law enforcement. These programs were largely successful in both decreasing the prison population as well as recidivism rates. Moving forward, it is important to continue to bolster these programs (“closing the front door” to these institutions) as well as provide further training for incarcerated populations, especially women, and eliminate the discriminatory treatment of formerly incarcerated people.

Once the eviction moratoria put in place during the pandemic end, small claims civil courts will experience an avalanche of cases, mainly involving landlord/tenant issues. At the root of the issue is the right for all to housing and a basic income. However, in the meantime, high volume courts must take the time to guarantee that federal rental assistance funding reaches individuals before trying cases. Also highlighted was the importance of connecting litigants directly with lawyers.

The webinar concluded with a active Q & A session.

Written by Galicia Rothe
NAWJ Summer Intern
Attending the Roger Williams University School of Law.