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Full-Text Articles in Law
A New Deal For Debtors: Providing Procedural Justice In Consumer Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey
A New Deal For Debtors: Providing Procedural Justice In Consumer Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey
Articles by Maurer Faculty
Across the criminal and civil justice systems, research regarding procedural justice — feeling that one has a voice, is respected, and is before a neutral and even-handed adjudicator — shows that people’s positive perceptions of legal processes are fundamental to the legal system’s effectiveness and to the rule of law. About a million people file bankruptcy every year, making the consumer bankruptcy system the part of the federal court system with which people most often come into contact. Given the importance of bankruptcy to American families and the credit economy, there should exist a rich literature theorizing and investigating how …
Access To Consumer Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey
Access To Consumer Bankruptcy, Pamela Foohey
Articles by Maurer Faculty
This essay examines the state of access to justice in the context of consumer bankruptcy from two vantage points: (1) how people decide that their money problems are legal problems addressable by filing bankruptcy; and (2) the barriers people face in using the consumer bankruptcy system. To shed new light on how people decide to use bankruptcy to address their financial troubles, I analyze a sample of narratives accompanying consumers' complaints about financial products and services submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I also chronicle the evolution of research regarding consumer bankruptcy’s “local legal culture,” systemic racial bias, and …