Poverty and Access to Justice - Review of the Literature

The following is a brief review of some of the many issues at the intersection between poverty and the justice system, and more generally, poverty and access to justice. [...] The likelihood of a criminal conviction and the consequences of a criminal conviction are directly influenced by the means of the defendants and the means and social capital of those who are convicted. [...] In particular, the Access to Justice Measurement Framework, developed for Access to Justice BC, distilled the costs as (i) those borne by the justice system or any of its components; (ii) those incurred by the user of justice services or by the providers/funders of the service; and (iii) the economic impact of access to justice (Dandurand & Jahn, 2017). [...] Mitigating the Impact of Poverty on Access to Justice Legal Empowerment and Inclusion It is vital that justice systems increase their efforts to improve inclusion and empowerment of people affected by poverty and try to facilitate their access to justice. [...] 29 Poverty and Access to Justice The experiences, social and economic statuses, and legal needs of both the victims of crime and all others in contact with the Canadian justice system varies deeply.