June 13th, 2020 by WCBC Radio
As Maryland’s courts reopen, Attorney General Brian Frosh has formed a COVID-19 Access to Justice Task Force to deal with preexisting racial inequities within the health care and justice systems, which are poised to be exacerbated by the ongoing public health crisis. In an online news conference, Frosh said economic hardship caused by business closures and COVID-19 have created conflicts that are handled in the civil justice system, including evictions, disputes over medical or consumer debt, and people being wrongfully denied public benefits.
“As courts reopen, we expect to see a huge spike in civil legal court cases, about evictions and consumer debt,” said Reena Shah, executive director of the Maryland Access to Justice Commission and a leader in Frosh’s task force.
“We know that Marylanders lose their civil cases and, therefore, get evicted, have their wages garnished, do not receive lifelines like food stamps or unemployment benefits, not because they did anything wrong, but because they did not have the legal information or help they needed,” Shah said. “And this already happened before COVID-19 hit.”
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