Qualifications: What training, experience and characteristics qualify you for this position?
ISSUES: What are the two (2) most pressing issues that you will face in the office that you seek? Describe your specific plans/ideas for addressing these issues.
Steve Duble
I took office as Justice of the Peace in January 2023. Prior to becoming a judge, I worked as a litigator with over thirty years experience advocating for plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of cases. Since taking office, I have worked to make my court a model of what is possible, increasing access to justice, reducing and mitigating the harms of evictions, and taking common sense steps to make the court more effective, efficient, and equitable. This has included creating an award-winning Eviction Diversion Initiative; opening a legal resource center to help those without representation; launching a pilot program providing free legal services for people who can't afford them; and more.
Justice of the Peace courts primarily handle evictions, traffic violations, and civil and debt claims up to $20,000. We are often the first point of contact for people in crisis, and we have a unique opportunity to provide resources to people who need them the most. First, we must ensure that justice and resources are accessible to everyone. This means thinking through every aspect of how people interact with the court, from removing dress codes and providing hybrid hearings, to building programming such as our Eviction Diversion Initiative and legal resource center. Second, fines and fees can create inequitable and unsustainable burdens for the most vulnerable, and our court has lead the way on establishing ability to pay determinations.
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