A new report titled A Blueprint for Expanding Access to Justice in Los Angeles Superior Court’s Eviction Docket—produced by Stanford Law School’s Deborah L. Rhode Center in collaboration with the Legal Design Lab and the Los Angeles Superior Court (LASC)—presents an ambitious plan to modernise court processes and improve access to justice, especially for self-represented litigants in high-volume eviction cases.
Key Findings
Drawing from analysis of 150,000 eviction (unlawful detainer) cases, 100+ interviews, focus groups, shadowing, and digital tool reviews, the report highlights several pressing issues:
- Rising Corporate Evictions: Eviction filings by corporate landlords rose by 11% between 2019 and 2023.
- Legal Representation Gap: In 2023, 92% of landlords had lawyers, compared to just 14% of tenants.
- Technology Gaps: LASC’s websites barely appear in Google searches, and its three self-help platforms lack integration with core tools like e-filing and document generators.
- Low Tech Uptake: The court’s Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) system has had minimal impact—used by both parties in just 1% of cases, with only five settlements in two years.
Despite these challenges, LASC is well positioned to lead reform. Executive Officer David W. Slayton welcomed the report’s findings as a roadmap for meaningful change.
Four Pillars of Reform: The Blueprint
The report identifies four areas for digital and procedural innovation to enhance access to justice:
1. LASC as a Learning Organization
- Enhance data systems and analytics to better understand user needs and outcomes.
- Recommend text-based court user surveys and automated data extraction from filings.
- Introduce unique identifiers for tracking users across platforms.
2. LASC as an Information Hub
- Redesign court forms (e.g., eviction notices) using behavioural science principles.
- Expand communications via text and email to better reach users.
- Localise and personalise information delivery across jurisdictions and languages.
3. LASC as a Collaboration Hub
- Propose a self-guided online triage tool to direct users to suitable legal services.
- Include chat-based user interfaces and backend databases of legal aid providers.
- Match users with services based on case type, eligibility, preferences, and provider capacity.
4. LASC as a Digital Hub
- Revamp ODR platform with better UX, support, and awareness.
- Create a Default Judgment Assistant using AI to verify compliance with legal requirements and reduce clerical burdens.
- Develop a “One-Stop Digital Hub” with generative AI to guide users through legal processes—from form filing to sealing cases—via a single interface.
Context and Outlook
While LASC has a track record of innovation—such as developing the “Gina” chatbot and the AI-driven “CourtHelp” project—it still faces the broader challenge of handling a rising volume of high-stakes but low-dollar civil cases like evictions, debt, and family law disputes.
The report is both diagnostic and prescriptive. According to Stanford Law professor David Freeman Engstrom, it sets a foundation for reform not only in Los Angeles but also for court systems across the U.S.
Two webinars will discuss the report’s findings:
- April 30 (L.A.-focused): Empirical findings and local implementation.
- May 1 (National): Broader discussion of digital transformation in courts.
Conclusion
This report from Stanford and LASC serves as a call to action for courts facing rising caseloads and digital lag. It proposes data-driven, user-centred, and scalable tech solutions to narrow the justice gap and improve court efficiency—offering a replicable model for jurisdictions nationwide.
Source: LawSites
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