Legal Aid Kiosks Expand Access to Free Legal Help Throughout Minnesota

 

New Legal Aid Kiosks Expand Access to Free Legal Help Throughout Minnesota 

 

Richfield is excited to announce they have partnered with the Minnesota Legal Service Coalition, a provider of justice to low-income people throughout Minnesota, to help bridge the digital divide members of our community face.  

 

As a result of the pandemic, many legal services and hearings have been moved to online formats. Court hearings can now be held over Zoom, and paperwork must be scanned and emailed, putting people who do not have access to technology at a disadvantage.  

 

This partnership has brought a way to bridge this digital to divide to Richfield. The city now has a kiosk available to provide free legal services to the community. With this technology, anyone can attend a Zoom court hearing, print, scan and submit legal documents for free and get online legal advice and connections to legal services using a dedicated system at no cost.  

 

Richfield Human Rights Commission Chair Walter Burk shared the HRC’s excitement for the project, highlighting the “free computer access for all to the Minnesota state courts, including its Self Help Center, online remote hearings and legal aid resources.” The HRC would like to thank former Mayor Gonzalez, Mayor Supple, the City Council and the staff of the City of Richfield for cooperating in this effort.     

 

“The city of Richfield is proud and excited to partner with the Minnesota Legal Service Coalition to help bring legal assistance to our community” said Richfield Management Analyst Chris Swanson, “the growing digital divide causes real problems in our community and this project will help to bridge that gap.” 

 

For a list of publicly accessible kiosks, please visit the legal kiosk location webpage for more information. The kiosk terminals are ADA accessible. The kiosks are currently set up in English and will soon have translations into Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. 

 

To access legal forms or attend a court hearing, please reserve the kiosk by signing up online, emailing the city (cswanson@richfieldmn.gov) or by calling 612-861-9712. Please be aware that city staff is unable to give legal advice. The kiosk is not available for general internet access. 

 

Find more information about the Legal Kiosk Project website by visiting www.legalkiosk.org.