{"id":4154,"date":"2005-10-14T18:48:52","date_gmt":"2005-10-14T22:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/10\/14\/small-claims-courts-get-even-"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:54:30","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:54:30","slug":"small-claims-courts-get-even-better-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/10\/14\/small-claims-courts-get-even-better-in-california\/","title":{"rendered":"small claims courts get even better in California"},"content":{"rendered":"

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California already has one of the very best small claims court systems in the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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nation.  <\/FONT>Despite the veto of reform efforts by then-Governor Pete Wilson in 1997, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the State <\/FONT>got the second-highest<\/A> grade on HALT’s 2004 Small Claims Report Card<\/FONT><\/A>.   <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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A new <\/FONT>law signed Governor Schwarzenegger, on October 6, 2005, will give the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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State’s <\/FONT>residents even better access to the civil justice system.  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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\"tiny Along with the legal reform group H<\/A><\/FONT>ALT<\/FONT><\/A>, your Editor has long argued <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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(e.g.<\/EM>, here<\/A><\/FONT> and elsewhere<\/FONT><\/A>) that reforming small claims courts — with <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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meaningful dollar limits and user-friendly improvements (like Plain <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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English forms, <\/FONT>better hours, and both in-person and online<\/FONT><\/A> advice) is <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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the single most effective way to give our justice system back to the <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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people (wresting it from lawyers who are jealous of their gatekeeper <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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perquisites and have <\/FONT>stymied<\/FONT><\/A> such reform).<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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“calMap2”   Thanks in large part to efforts by <\/FONT>HALT<\/FONT><\/A>, and hard-working California <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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allies like State <\/FONT>Sen. Joe Simitian<\/FONT><\/A> and Assembly Member <\/FONT>Joseph Canciamilla<\/FONT><\/A>, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“natural persons” will be able to seek up to $7500 in damages in small claims <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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courts, beginning Jan. 1, 2006, and they will find improved “advisory services” <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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and better-trained “temporary judges.”  You can find a summary by legislative <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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counsel, along with the text of the Act, <\/FONT>here<\/FONT><\/A>, and an extensive explanation <\/FONT>here<\/FONT><\/A>.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"tiny  Click here<\/A> to find out how your State did in HALT’s 2004 <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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Small Claims Report <\/FONT>Card, as well as state by state small <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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claims rules.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"tiny A Suggestion for Law Student Projects<\/EM>:  Do your share to \"scales<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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improve access to justice by everyday Americans — <\/FONT>start a <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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project to improve the small claims laws in your state; help <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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design <\/FONT>easy-to-use and to understand materials for these <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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People’s<\/FONT>Courts — online and hardcopy; and volunteer to <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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serve as <\/FONT>advisors at small claims courts.  Contact HALT<\/A> <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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for ideas and assistance. <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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overcast morning–<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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ripe blackberries<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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out of reach<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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  <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> <\/DIV>
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eviction notice —
a moth ricochets
in the lampshade<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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chill wind –
autumn leaves covering
autumn leaves<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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Alice Frampton<\/FONT><\/A><\/DIV>
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“overcast morning” – <\/FONT>New Resonance 3<\/FONT><\/EM><\/A>;<\/EM><\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“eviction notice” —  The Heron’s Nest<\/FONT><\/A><\/EM> (March 2004)  <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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“chill wind” – <\/FONT>World Haiku Assn<\/FONT><\/A> website; <\/FONT> Haiku Canada Newsletter <\/I>XV:2<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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“califiaCover”  Speaking of California, I recently finished an intriguing adventure<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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novel called Califia’s Daughters<\/EM><\/A>, by Leigh Richards (a pseudonym for best-<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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selling and much-honored mystery writier <\/FONT>Laurie R. King<\/FONT><\/A>).  Set in the near <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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future, the story involves a world where “women warriors guard their peaceful, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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self-sustaining California enclave, hunting, planting, harvesting, and keeping <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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watch over the men and boys essential to survival after most males perished <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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along with electric power and fossil-fuel-driven engines.”  <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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If you can suspend <\/FONT>reality sufficiently to imagine a world in which men are <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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highly valued (and not <\/FONT>allowed to do anything rowdy or dangerous, as only <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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10% survive past the age <\/FONT>of two), you’ll enjoy this book, which was <\/FONT>inspired <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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by the legend <\/FONT>of Califia<\/A>, the <\/FONT>warrior queen for whom the State is named. <\/FONT>There <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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are also marauding bands from north of old San Francisco, huge and <\/FONT>intensely <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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loyal dogs, abandoned babies, mothers afraid of broken hearts whenever they <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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give birth to a male child, citizens attempting to escape oppressive dictators, <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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and — of course — some great fight scenes with the women warriors.<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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\"leaves  by <\/FONT><\/EM>dagosan<\/EM><\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A>                                               <\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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leaf-peepers ooh<\/EM> and ah<\/EM> — <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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why didn’t I<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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bring my gloves?<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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                     [Oct. 14, 2005]                         <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV>
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                                                                                                                <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/EM> \"CalMapN\"<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California already has one of the very best small claims court systems in the nation.  Despite the veto of reform efforts by then-Governor Pete Wilson in 1997,  the State got the second-highest grade on HALT’s 2004 Small Claims Report Card.    A new law signed Governor Schwarzenegger, on October 6, 2005, will give the State’s residents even better […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-150","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4154"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12973,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4154\/revisions\/12973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}