The Supreme Court is important. But do not forget our inferior courts.

Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearings vied with the nation. The confirmation process is complete. But it is essential not only to maintain – but broaden – the interest we have shown in our judicial system to include not only the Supreme Court, but also our lower courts.

The lower courts are the gateway to our legal system. This is where victims of family violence go to get out-of-order orders, where child care decisions are made and families are evicted. Decisions of lower courts can change the lives of the parties involved and have a profound and widespread impact on society as a whole, especially when considered collectively.

Unfortunately, lower courts do not provide the same admission to everyone. People often need a lawyer to navigate or even enter the court system. Unlike criminal cases, however, there is no right to a lawyer in civil cases – even if civil cases involve basic rights relating to family, home, security, health and livelihoods. Many people can not afford the services of a lawyer, so they go without representation – and without the justice that depends on it – in business that upsets their lives.

The result is not a lack of access to justice, but a gulf of access to justice. A recent Justice Gap report, commissioned by Legal Services Corporation and produced by the NORC Social Science Research Organization at the University of Chicago, documented that low-income people represented little to no 86 % of their legal needs and particular groups, such as domestic violence survivors, veterans, seniors and persons with disabilities have even more unmet legal needs.

The gap of justice is not inevitable. We can close it and we need our justice system – and our society – to really work for everyone. The first step is for society as a whole to scrutinize our entire justice system, to recognize the justice gap and the perverse and pervasive impact our courts have on all of us, and to engage in a collective dialogue. on how to fix it.

The Supreme Court is of paramount importance and we should pay a lot of attention to it. But we must remember that the fate of our highest court can not be separated from our lower courts. " Their justice – and ours – is the same.

– Rebecca Rapp, Madison, Wis.

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