ADVANCING JUSTICE
| ACCESS TO JUSTICE
The Maryland Access to Justice Commission is an independent entity that unites leaders to drive reforms and innovations to make the civil justice system accessible, user-friendly and fair to all Marylanders. One of our key projects over the past year has been understanding and shedding light on the issue of ICE Arrests in Maryland Courts. We will share our work on this important access to justice issue over a series of articles in the Maryland Bar Journal.
ICE Arrests in Maryland Courts BY WARD COE AND REENA SHAH
“The unhindered and untrammeled functioning of our courts is part of the very foundation of our constitutional democracy.� 1 IN RESPONSE TO increased1 reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) arresting individuals in state and federal courthouses across Maryland in late 2017, the Access to Justice Commission (A2JC), which had been already convening immigration legal services and defender providers since the start of 2017, formed a sub-committee to study the issue and understand its scale and scope. The shared concern was that ICE arrests in courts may be: 1. impeding the ability of all Marylanders to access equal justice under law; 2. undermining the ability of the courts to administer justice fairly and efficiently; and 3. impacting public trust in the justice system and the rule of law. After researching what other states were doing in response to the issue, A2JC developed and disseminated a survey to legal and social services providers, private attorneys, community, faith-based and health organizations and other entities that may serve immigrant communities. The survey ran for three weeks and closed on October
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MSBA.ORG | SPRING 2019