Chief Justice Rush to join LSC discussion of opioid crisis

Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush will be part of a panel discussion on the opioid crisis at the Legal Service Corporation’s annual Forum on Increasing Access to Justice in Washington, D.C.

The forum will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Georgetown University Center. It will feature remarks by American Bar Association President Hilarie Bass and author John Grisham along with four panel discussions. Also, LSC board chair John Levi will announce the launch of a new national LSC task force on legal aid and the opioid crisis.

Rush and Jay Chaudhary, managing attorney of Indiana Legal Services, will be among the participants on the Access to Justice and the Opioid Epidemic panel. Joining them will be: Stephanie Harris, development director with the Ohio State Legal Services Association; Judge Patricia Keller of the West Virginia Sixth Circuit Family Court; and Paul Reiber, chief justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. The moderator will be Ronald Flagg, LSC vice president for legal affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary.

The panel will discuss the numerous civil legal issues raised by the opioid crisis in areas such as family law, domestic violence, child and elder abuse, and housing.

This is will not be the first time Rush has taken part in an examination of the drug epidemic. In September 2017, she was tapped to co-chair a national opioid task force established by the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators. That group has also been focusing, in part, on the impact of opioids on children and state courts. 

Other panel discussions at the LSC forum will focus on the importance of legal aid after a natural disaster, how technology is expanding access to legal help for low-income households, and why American businesses depend on a justice system where everyone has access. 

The forum will be livestreamed via Facebook Live. To view the briefing, visit LSC’s Facebook page during the event.