The Ohio Supreme Court’s new Civil Justice Program Fund will improve access to justice for low-income, underserved, and disadvantaged Ohioans.

The Ohio Supreme Court’s new Civil Justice Program Fund will improve access to justice for low-income, underserved, and disadvantaged Ohioans.

Improving access to justice for low-income, underserved, and disadvantaged Ohioans is the goal of a new Ohio Supreme Court competitive award process.

The Civil Justice Program Fund seeks to provide direct civil legal assistance and increased access to assistance for Ohioans’ civil legal needs such as housing, healthcare, and economic security, among other areas.

The fund was created through Supreme Court rule changes that increased pro hac vice registration fees, which out-of-state attorneys pay if they want to appear in an Ohio court proceeding, from $150 to $300 and a $50 voluntary “add on” fee to the biennial attorney registration for Ohio attorneys. The rule changes were recommended by a 2015 Court task force charged with identifying obstacles to accessing the civil justice system in Ohio.

Award amounts top out at $100,000 for a “strong statewide impact” submitted by nonprofit organizations or public entities or agencies whose purpose is to provide access to civil legal services. Other grant amounts operate on a sliding scale depending on the impact proposed: $75,000 for regional impact applicants (five or more counties), $50,000 for applicants with an impact on two or more counties, and $25,000 for applicants with countywide or citywide impact. Applications must be submitted by Aug. 4 with awards expected to be announced in October. The program will be evaluated annually to determine award amount ceilings and funding priorities.

According to the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, revenue from interest on lawyers’ trust accounts, a primary funder of civil legal aid, has decreased 88 percent since 2007 because of lower interest rates. Even though overall funding has inched up, limited resources mean that Ohio legal aids must turn away about three people for every one person served.