I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9018 

To provide for the establishment of the Office for Access to Justice in 

the Department of Justice, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 17, 2020 

Mr. NADLER (for himself and Ms. SCANLON) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of the Office for Access 

to Justice in the Department of Justice, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Office for Access to 

5 Justice Establishment Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

9 means the Department of Justice. 


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1 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

2 the Director of the Office. 

3 (3) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of4 fice for Access to Justice established under section 

5 2. 

6 SEC. 3. OFFICE ESTABLISHMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the 

8 Department, the Office for Access to Justice, which shall 

9 be headed by a Director, who shall be appointed by the 

10 Attorney General. 

11 (b) PERSONNEL AND FUNDS.—The Attorney General 

12 shall provide to the Office such personnel and funds as 

13 are necessary to establish and operate the Office as a com14 ponent of the Department. 

15 (c) ORDER OF REPORTING.—The Director shall re16 port to the Attorney General through the Deputy Attorney 

17 General and the Associate Attorney General. 

18 SEC. 4. DUTIES. 

19 The Director shall— 

20 (1) serve as legal and policy advisor to the At21 torney General to ensure access to justice for low22 income and other underrepresented people in the 

23 criminal and civil justice systems; 

24 (2) serve as the principal legal advisor for the 

25 Department on the constitutional right to counsel 


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1 and the other rights guaranteed under the Sixth 

2 Amendment to the Constitution of the United 

3 States; 

4 (3) serve as the Executive Director of the Legal 

5 Aid Interagency Roundtable in accordance with sec6 tion 5; 

7 (4) serve as the liaison and point of contact be8 tween the Department and indigent defense and civil 

9 legal aid organizations, including Federal public de10 fender organizations, and conduct, along with the 

11 Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the 

12 Deputy Attorney General, and the Office of the As13 sociate Attorney General, semi-annual meetings with 

14 representatives of these organizations to receive 

15 input and recommendations on how to improve ac16 cess to justice and fulfillment of the right to counsel; 

17 (5) coordinate with other components and divi18 sions within the Department to ensure each is con19 sidering access to justice and right to counsel in pol20 icy, enforcement, and funding decisions; 

21 (6) consult with Department grantmaking com22 ponents to ensure funding decisions take into ac23 count access to justice; and 

24 (7) consult with the Secretary of State and 

25 serve as the central authority of the executive 


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1 branch on access to justice before international and 

2 multilateral organizations. 

3 SEC. 5. LEGAL AID INTERAGENCY ROUNDTABLE. 

4 (a) PURPOSE; COMPOSITION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

7 General shall establish a Legal Aid Interagency 

8 Roundtable, which shall be headed by an Executive 

9 Director, to raise the awareness of executive branch 

10 agencies of the ways in which civil legal aid and indi11 gent defense can help advance a wide range of Fed12 eral objectives, including employment, family sta13 bility, housing, consumer protection, health services, 

14 and public safety. 

15 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Legal Aid Interagency 

16 Roundtable s established under paragraph (1) shall 

17 be composed of representatives of executive branch 

18 department offices identified by the Executive Direc19 tor of the Legal Aid Roundtable with the consent of 

20 the Attorney General. 

21 (3) REQUIREMENT.—The Executive Director of 

22 the Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable shall convene 

23 the Roundtable not less frequently than semi-annu24 ally. 


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1 (b) DUTIES.—The Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable 

2 shall— 

3 (1) improve coordination among Federal pro4 grams that help the vulnerable and underserved, so 

5 that such programs are more efficient and produce 

6 better outcomes by including, where appropriate, 

7 legal services among the range of supportive services 

8 provided; 

9 (2) develop a list of federally funded programs 

10 and resources that incorporate or may incorporate 

11 civil legal aid and indigent defense; 

12 (3) develop policy recommendations that im13 prove access to justice in Federal, State, local, and 

14 Tribal jurisdictions; 

15 (4) facilitate non-governmental partnerships to 

16 promote access to civil legal aid and indigent de17 fense, and further law enforcement and civil rights 

18 objectives; 

19 (5) advance evidence-based research, data col20 lection, and analysis on civil legal aid and indigent 

21 defense, including the potential of technology innova22 tions and non-traditional legal professionals to im23 prove access to justice; 


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1 (6) promote the provision of civil legal aid to 

2 servicemembers, servicemember families, and vet3 erans; and 

4 (7) report on the activities of the Legal Aid 

5 Interagency Roundtable to the President on an an6 nual basis, including policy recommendations to im7 prove access to civil and criminal justice in the 

8 United States. 

9 (c) APPOINTMENT OF REPRESENTATIVES.—The 

10 head of each executive branch department and each par11 ticipating executive agency and office shall designate a 

12 senior Federal official who shall serve as their representa13 tive on the Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable. 

Æ 


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