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Five
Minute Justice: In 1986, the Task Force issued the first comprehensive
study of the N.Y.C. Housing Court entitled, "Five Minute Justice."
The study found that tenants are more often in court without attorneys
than owners are, that almost 50% of the pre-trial hearings were
completed in only five minutes, and that approximately 80% of pre-trial
hearings and half of all trials lasted less than 15 minutes.
The
Donaldson Report: In 1993, the Task Force issued a report entitled,
"Housing Court, Evictions and Homelessness: The Costs and Benefits
of Establishing the Right to Counsel," referred to as the "Donaldson
Report," which found that:
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Only 11.9 percent of tenants were able to afford counsel, although.
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97.6 percent of landlords were represented by attorneys.
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60% of tenants were financially eligible for free legal representation
and that providing counsel could save approximately $67 million
spent in homelessness services.
Both
studies are often cited in the media, and are used by several institutions
for planning and development. In addition, the Task Force is constantly
called upon to assist others in their research on Housing Court.
The
Task Force is currently working on a report analyzing the effectiveness
of HP Actions for tenants. The anticipated completion date for the
report is December 2001.
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