The Justice Center

Background Statement

The Justice Center (TJC) was conceived in 2004 driven by the passion and commitment of three key people: retired District Court Judge Douglas Anderson, retired Judge Barbara Hughes, and Judge Timothy Schutz. Determined to meet the desperate need for pro bono legal services among indigent people in El Paso County, the group began working to obtain referrals for people in need of services. TJC obtained public charity status in 2011 as the Pikes Peak Pro Bono Project; it later merged with TJC of the El Paso County Bar Association.

While legal assistance is a right in criminal cases, no such right to counsel exists in civil cases, and yet, 71% of low-income households experience at least one civil legal problem that places their well being at risk. The latest research shows that 86% of civil legal problems reported by low-income Americans receive inadequate or no legal help. The most significant challenge Colorado faces today in developing a system of 100% access to justice is to ensure that free or low-cost representation is available to low- and middle-income parties requiring full representation by an attorney. People are often unaware of how to access legal help or they believe they can navigate the legal system on their own (pro se). In many instances, there is a desperate lack of pro bono attorney hours available. Colorado ranks fifth worst in the nation for its number of attorneys available for free legal assistance to low-income people in civil cases.

TJC exists to help bridge the gap between those requiring legal help and Colorado barred attorneys willing to provide it for free or at a reduced cost. We do this through our three programs:

Ask-a-Lawyer - providing free anonymous one time legal advice through the phone, email, or in person;

Find-a-Lawyer - providing free or reduced cost legal representation;

Learn-with-Lawyers - providing free legal educational tools to the legal community and to the general population.