The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, in partnership with the Pew Charitable Trusts, Hamilton County General Sessions Court, and several city, county, and national partners has begun a project to study the civil legal system in Hamilton County and throughout Tennessee.
Together, they will work to identify solutions to facilitate the fair and efficient administration of justice – particularly in disputes involving consumer debt – and offer innovative ideas to address various problems facing plaintiffs and defendants who enter local courthouses.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonpartisan organization that seeks to improve public policy, is partnering with the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga (CFGC) to collect and share data on civil courts systems – in particular on evictions and debt collection – and identify areas for improvement.
“For too long, civil courts across the country have not kept pace with the evolving needs of the people who use them,” says Erika Rickard, director of Pew’s civil legal system modernization project. “But several counties and states are taking important strides to make the civil legal system more accessible, open, and equitable—and Hamilton County is one of them. We’re looking forward to partnering with policymakers, judges, members of the private bar, and philanthropic organizations in Hamilton County in the important work ahead.”
Building on the successful work of the Eviction Prevention Initiative, CFGC will collaborate with city, county, and court officials, as well as foundation and nonprofit partners and local and national consultants. Pew will begin with an intensive period of data gathering and research, which will be used to shape policy recommendations for local and state governments.
“This partnership with Pew builds on work that began more than two and a half years ago, when the Community Foundation and its partners came together at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to help families facing the threat of eviction,” says CFGC President and CEO Maeghan Jones.
“The Eviction Prevention Initiative has been a great success in that it’s helped hundreds of families avoid homelessness, but it’s also taught us a lot about our civil courts and the importance of everyone having equal access to justice. We’re grateful for the partnership of Pew and members of the General Sessions bench in moving this work to the next step.”
“As a judge, I believe in the fair and impartial application of the law, but I also believe that our courthouses can be places of solutions and innovation,” says Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Alex McVeagh, who also serves as the Vice Chair of the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission. “Hamilton County has already established itself as a leader in ‘problem-solving’ court programs like our Drug Recovery Court, Mental Health Court, medical debt online dispute resolution program, and our eviction diversion initiative. Our partnership with Pew will help us gather more data about the parties and cases that are litigated in our court, so that policy makers might be able to identify and implement solutions to eliminate certain barriers to access to justice.”
The Community Foundation has begun to convene city and county officials and to brainstorm about specific improvements that may be possible within the local civil justice system. Former U.S. Senator Bob Corker was an attendee at one such session.
“Many of our hard working citizens are under constant financial stress and with one unforeseen hardship can find themselves homeless or on the verge of homelessness,” says Corker, referring to the eviction proceedings that are often adjudicated in civil courtrooms. “I look forward to reviewing the data and seeing what recommendations are put forth.”
As part of their civil justice reform work, the Community Foundation will engage Emily O’Donnell, former City Attorney and Eviction Prevention Initiative co-founder, to provide consultation on strategy and project development.