[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 97 (Friday, May 21, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27793-27796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10973]



[[Page 27791]]

Vol. 86

Friday,

No. 97

May 21, 2021

Part V





The President





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Memorandum of May 18, 2021--Restoring the Department of Justice's 
Access-to-Justice Function and Reinvigorating the White House Legal Aid 
Interagency Roundtable
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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 97 / Friday, May 21, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 27793]]

                Memorandum of May 18, 2021

                
Restoring the Department of Justice's Access-to-
                Justice Function and Reinvigorating the White House 
                Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in order to increase meaningful access to 
                our legal system and an array of Federal programs, it 
                is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. This Nation was founded on the ideal 
                of equal justice under the law. Everyone in this 
                country should be able to vindicate their rights and 
                avail themselves of the protections that our laws 
                afford on equal footing. Whether we realize this ideal 
                hinges on the extent to which everyone in the United 
                States has meaningful access to our legal system. Legal 
                services are crucial to the fair and effective 
                administration of our laws and public programs, and the 
                stability of our society.

                Recognizing the importance of access to justice and the 
                power of legal aid, the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 
                2010 launched an access-to-justice initiative. In 2016, 
                DOJ formally established the Office for Access to 
                Justice. This office worked in partnership with other 
                DOJ components to coordinate policy initiatives on 
                topics including criminal indigent defense, enforcement 
                of fines and fees, language barriers in access to the 
                courts, and civil legal aid. The DOJ and the White 
                House Domestic Policy Council also launched the Legal 
                Aid Interagency Roundtable (LAIR) in 2012 to work with 
                civil legal aid partners to advance Federal programs; 
                create and disseminate tools to provide information 
                about civil legal aid and Federal funding 
                opportunities; and generate research to inform policy 
                that improves access to justice.

                The LAIR's successes prompted President Obama to issue 
                the memorandum of September 24, 2015 (Establishment of 
                the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable), 
                which formally established LAIR as a White House 
                initiative. Using the White House's convening power, 
                LAIR examined innovative and evidence-based solutions 
                for access to justice, from medical-legal partnerships 
                to improve health outcomes and decrease health costs to 
                better procedures in court hearings for individuals 
                representing themselves.

                But there is much more for the Federal Government to 
                do. According to a 2017 study by the Legal Services 
                Corporation, low-income Americans receive inadequate or 
                no professional legal assistance with regard to over 80 
                percent of the civil legal problems they face in a 
                given year. All too often, unaddressed legal issues 
                push people into poverty. At the same time, in the 
                criminal legal system, those who cannot afford private 
                counsel often receive a lower-quality defense because 
                public defender caseloads are overburdened.

                The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has 
                further exposed and exacerbated inequities in our 
                justice system, as courts and legal service providers 
                have been forced to curtail in-person operations, often 
                without the resources or technology to offer remote-
                access or other safe alternatives. These access 
                limitations have compounded the effects of other harms 
                wrought by the pandemic. These problems have touched 
                the lives of many persons in this country, particularly 
                low-income people and people of color.

[[Page 27794]]

                With these immense and urgent challenges comes the 
                opportunity to strengthen access to justice in the 21st 
                century. Through funding, interagency collaboration, 
                and strategic partnerships, the Federal Government can 
                drive development of new approaches and best practices 
                that provide meaningful access to justice today, and 
                into the future, consistent with our foundational ideal 
                of equal justice under the law.

                Sec. 2. The Department of Justice's Access-to-Justice 
                Function. (a) My Administration is committed to 
                promoting equal access to justice and addressing access 
                limitations throughout the criminal and civil legal 
                systems. The DOJ has a critical role to play in 
                improving the justice delivery systems that serve 
                people who cannot afford lawyers, and I am committed to 
                reinvigorating that work.

                    (b) The Attorney General shall consider expanding 
                DOJ's planning, development, and coordination of 
                access-to-justice policy initiatives, including in the 
                areas of criminal indigent defense, civil legal aid, 
                and pro bono legal services. As soon as practicable, 
                and no later than 120 days from the date of this 
                memorandum, the Attorney General shall--in coordination 
                with the Director of the Office of Management and 
                Budget--submit a report to the President describing the 
                Department's plan to expand its access-to-justice 
                function, including the organizational placement of 
                this function within the Department, expected staffing 
                and budget, and, if necessary, the timeline for 
                notifying the Congress of any reorganization.

                Sec. 3. Reinvigorating the White House Legal Aid 
                Interagency Roundtable. My Administration is committed 
                to ensuring that all persons in this country enjoy the 
                protections and benefits of our legal system. 
                Reinvigorating LAIR as a White House initiative is a 
                key step in this direction.

                Accordingly, I direct as follows:

                    (a) The LAIR is hereby reconvened as a White House 
                initiative in furtherance of the vision set forth in 
                the memorandum of September 24, 2015, by which it was 
                established and in light of today's most pressing 
                challenges. The September 2015 memorandum is superseded 
                to the extent that it is inconsistent with this 
                memorandum.
                    (b) The LAIR shall work across executive 
                departments, agencies, and offices to fulfill its 
                mission, including to:

(i) improve coordination among Federal programs, so that programs are more 
efficient and produce better outcomes by including, where appropriate, 
legal services among the range of supportive services provided;

(ii) increase the availability of meaningful access to justice for 
individuals and families, regardless of wealth or status;

(iii) develop policy recommendations that improve access to justice in 
Federal, State, local, Tribal, and international jurisdictions;

(iv) assist the United States with implementation of Goal 16 of the United 
Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to promote peaceful and 
inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice 
for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at 
all levels; and

(v) advance relevant evidence-based research, data collection, and analysis 
of civil legal aid and indigent defense, and promulgate best practices.

                    (c) The Attorney General and the Counsel to the 
                President, or their designees, shall serve as the Co-
                Chairs of LAIR, which shall also include a 
                representative or designee from each of the following 
                executive departments, agencies, and offices:

(i) the Department of State;

(ii) the Department of the Treasury;

(iii) the Department of Defense;

(iv) the Department of Justice;

(v) the Department of the Interior;

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(vi) the Department of Agriculture;

(vii) the Department of Labor;

(viii) the Department of Health and Human Services;

(ix) the Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(x) the Department of Transportation;

(xi) the Department of Education;

(xii) the Department of Veterans Affairs;

(xiii) the Department of Homeland Security;

(xiv) the Environmental Protection Agency;

(xv) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission;

(xvi) the Corporation for National and Community Service;

(xvii) the Office of Management and Budget;

(xviii) the United States Agency for International Development;

(xix) the Administrative Conference of the United States;

(xx) the National Science Foundation;

(xxi) the United States Digital Service;

(xxii) the Domestic Policy Council;

(xxiii) the Office of the Vice President; and

(xxiv) such other executive departments, agencies, and offices as the Co-
Chairs may, from time to time, invite to participate.

                    (d) The Co-Chairs shall invite the participation of 
                the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the 
                Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade 
                Commission, the Legal Services Corporation, and the 
                Social Security Administration, to the extent 
                consistent with their respective statutory authorities 
                and legal obligations.
                    (e) The LAIR shall report annually to the President 
                on its progress in fulfilling its mission. The report 
                shall include data from participating members on the 
                deployment of Federal resources to foster this mission. 
                The LAIR's 2021 report shall be due no later than 120 
                days from the date of this memorandum.
                    (f) In light of the mission and function set forth 
                in section 3(b) of this memorandum, LAIR shall focus 
                its first annual report on the impact of the COVID-19 
                pandemic on access to justice in both the criminal and 
                civil legal systems. Moreover, the first convening of 
                LAIR shall, at a minimum, address access-to-justice 
                challenges the pandemic has raised and work towards 
                identifying technological and other solutions that both 
                meet these challenges and fortify the justice system's 
                capacity to serve the public and be inclusive of all 
                communities.
                    (g) The Attorney General shall designate an 
                Executive Director of LAIR who shall, as directed by 
                the Co-Chairs, convene regular meetings of LAIR and 
                supervise its work. The DOJ staff designated to support 
                the Department's access-to-justice function under 
                section 2 of this memorandum shall serve as the staff 
                of LAIR.
                    (h) The DOJ shall, to the extent permitted by law 
                and subject to the availability of appropriations, 
                provide administrative services, funds, facilities, 
                staff, equipment, and other support services as may be 
                necessary for LAIR to carry out its mission.
                    (i) The LAIR shall hold meetings at least three 
                times per year. In the course of its work, LAIR should 
                conduct outreach to Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
                international officials, technical advisors, and 
                nongovernmental organizations, among others, as 
                necessary to carry out its mission (including public 
                defender organizations and offices and legal aid 
                organizations and providers).

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                    (j) The LAIR members are encouraged to provide 
                support, including by detailing personnel, to LAIR. 
                Members of LAIR shall serve without any additional 
                compensation for their work.

                Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
                memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise 
                affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent 
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) Independent agencies are strongly encouraged to 
                comply with the provisions in this memorandum.
                    (d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
                party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.
                    (e) The Attorney General is authorized and directed 
                to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, May 18, 2021

[FR Doc. 2021-10973
Filed 5-20-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4410-19-P