Lisa Foster, the Director of U.S. Justice Department’s Office for Access to Justice, was the keynote speaker. She praised an Oxford-based legal group for changing local policies that kept poor people locked up when they couldn’t afford to pay fees or bonds. She said that Mississippi is the first to change how courts treat people. She pointed to recent court settlements between MacArthur Center for Justice and Jackson, and between the ACLU of Mississippi with Biloxi to modify their bail and fine policies. If the defendants could not afford fees or fines, the cities held the poor in “pay or stay” policies. Foster stated that these settlements were models for other parts of the country and not just here. Foster stated that the country’s justice system contributes to poverty because the poor are unable to get legal advice or representation. The outgoing chairman, Judge Denise Owens from Jackson, recalled the many years it took to create the state’s Access to Justice network. Owens said that ten years went by too quickly, but that there is still so much to do. Owens informed her audience at Mississippi Supreme Court that over 600,000 Mississippi citizens are eligible for free legal assistance, but that not enough attorneys are available to help them. Rodger Wilder (a Gulfport attorney) said that the problem of access to justice is caused by poverty. Wilder stated that there is no one solution to this problem and that there are many. Wilder said that educating the poor to be able to advocate themselves is crucial. He also stated, “I’m afraid there’s never enough lawyers” to help every Mississippian in need of legal assistance. Wendy Scott, the dean of Mississippi College School of Law, stated that there is a justice gap within the country and that the commission’s work was accelerated by Chief Justice Ed Pittman, and Justice Jess Dickinson in 2006. The commission brings together free legal services from the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project, Mississippi Legal Services, the Mississippi Center for Justice, Mission First Legal Aid Office, Gulf Coast Women’s Center for Nonviolence/Northcutt Legal Clinic, Disability Rights Mississippi, Domestic Violence Legal Assistance at Catholic Charities and the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi. Tiffany Graves, executive director of the commission, spoke about plans to create a mobile app that will provide information to those who need to represent themselves, particularly in minor civil cases in municipal and justice courts. She also announced a new internet site – ms.freelegalanswers.org – for the poor to ask questions of real volunteer attorneys about civil legal issues. Graves, who is a member of Mississippi Today’s board, encouraged state attorneys to get involved in the website. To support this important work, make a regular donation and sign up today for our Spring Member Drive.