Ex. Housing Justice: The Right to Counsel in Housing Court

Students in the Housing Justice Externship will explore the Right to Counsel model used in summary proceedings in NYC Housing Courts. In 2017, NYC enacted the first legislation in the country establishing a Universal Access to Counsel program (UAC) also known as the Right to Counsel (RTC) for all income-eligible tenants facing eviction. During an unprecedented pandemic, NYC amended the legislation to fully implement RTC in Housing Court eviction proceedings and termination hearings at The New York City Housing Authority more than a year earlier than the original effective date. The original five-year phase-in was accelerated to provide a free attorney in Housing Court beginning in June 2021. The focus of the seminar will be to delve into the RTC model in New York City while using a critical racial lens to examine the systemic racism and inherent bias of the court system especially in its high-volume courts and how the system can be improved to provide low-income New Yorkers better access to justice. We will also explore the historical significance of RTC, its implementation and compare and contrast it with other jurisdictions

Evaluation Method: Paper/presentation and Field work and seminar contribution