{"id":595,"date":"2007-03-12T16:57:21","date_gmt":"2007-03-12T20:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/shlep\/2007\/03\/12\/tell-your-legislatures-to-increase-smal"},"modified":"2007-03-12T17:44:17","modified_gmt":"2007-03-12T21:44:17","slug":"tell-your-legislatures-to-increase-small-claims-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/2007\/03\/12\/tell-your-legislatures-to-increase-small-claims-limits\/","title":{"rendered":"tell your legislatures to increase small claims limits"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Both HALT<\/a> and shlep<\/em> believe that increasing the dollar limits at Small Claims courts is a most-promising strategy for\u00a0achieving broader access to justice in the United States. At the main webpage of its Small Claims Reform Project<\/a>, HALT\u00a0states that small claims courts “have tremendous promise as a means of empowering ordinary people to take charge of their own routine legal needs,”\u00a0and that\u00a0significant increases in dollar limits “would be the most meaningful reform to increase consumer access to the small claims courts.”\u00a0 HALT has a national campaign to increase the dollar amounts, and would like to see $20,000 case limits.\u00a0 Unfortunately, consumers in most states still face limits of $5000 or less.\u00a0 [Find out the small claims rules and dollar limits in your state, at this<\/a> HALT page.]\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"doorFront\" Back in August 2000, long before launching shlep<\/em>, I wrote “Supersize Small Claims<\/em>”\u00a0for the now-defunct PrairieLaw<\/em>.com.\u00a0[reproduced\u00a0at Crime & Federalism<\/em>, as part of the guest post “<\/em>fedLabs 101: small claims, big potential<\/a>“] The article asserts that “[Our lawmakers could give a big chunk of the civil justice system back to the people by simply increasing the dollar limits allowed in small claims courts.\u201d\u00a0 And, the C&F<\/em> post preaches:<\/p>\n

Do you want to give power back to individuals?\u00a0 Would you prefer to do so on a broad scale, at the local level, and without waiting for federal constitutional amendments, programs or court precedent?\u00a0\u00a0 Whether you’re a liberal or libertarian, a lawyer, legislator or law student, I have a suggestion: start working to increase the dollar limits in small claims courts in your state.\u00a0 I can’t think of anything that could so quickly, and at so little cost, increase access to justice — especially, if coupled with other modest reforms that have been shown to work well in several states (e.g., from adopting Plain English forms and evening hours, to exploiting digital technology — as with California’s Small Claims Self-Help Center<\/a>).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The newest HALT eJournal<\/a><\/em> (March 12, 2007<\/a>) reminded me today of this prior advocacy and of the continued need for ATJ advocates and all citizens to lobby for more effective small claims courts.\u00a0 The main\u00a0piece in HALT’s March 12 eJournal<\/em><\/a> focuses on bills pending in four states that would increase the small claims dollar limits:<\/p>\n