Itamar Mann: An app that empowers people to solve their legal problems | TED Fellows

翻译人员: 思辰 李 校对人员: Helen Chang

[SHAPE YOUR FUTURE]

【塑造你的未来】

I’m going to start by telling you a story about Danielle.

让我用丹尼尔的故事来开场，

When she was a senior in college, Danielle's dad passed away,

丹尼尔的父亲 在她大四那年去世了，

which left her mom with no way to support herself.

她的母亲无法独自抚养这个家庭，

So Danielle had to drop out of college

所以丹尼尔不得不辍学，

and pick up three jobs as a barista, a bartender and a car washer.

同时做咖啡师、酒保 和洗车工三份工作。

Altogether, the three jobs paid Danielle 23,000 dollars per year,

这三份工作加起来 能给丹尼尔 2 万 3 千美金的年收入。

which wasn't a whole lot,

这并不多，

but it allowed her to feed her mom and keep a roof over their head.

但是她至少可以担负起 她们母女的温饱。

And for Danielle, that was enough.

对于丹尼尔来说，这就足够了。

But early one morning when Danielle was driving home from one of her jobs,

然而一天早上，当丹尼尔 下班开车回家时，

a deer ran in front of her car.

一只鹿跑到了她的车前，

She swerved off the road and crashed into a barn.

她一头转向路边，撞上了一个谷仓。

And Danielle doesn't remember exactly what happened next,

丹尼尔不太记得之后发生了什么，

but when she woke up in a hospital a few hours later,

但几小时后她从医院醒来，

a doctor told her that she had damaged her brain stem and C1 vertebrae.

一位医生告诉她， 她伤到了脑干和 C1 椎骨。

Now, the good news is that Danielle was going to leave the hospital alive.

好消息是丹尼尔会活着离开医院，

But the bad news is that Danielle had 55,000 dollars in medical bills.

而坏消息则是丹尼尔要付 5 万 5 千美金的医疗费。

Now, Danielle tried so hard for the next two years to try and pay back that debt,

之后的两年，丹尼尔 花了很大的力气去还债。

but it was impossible.

然而这是不可能的任务。

It was impossible for Danielle to pay back 55,000 dollars in medical bills,

每年只挣 2 万 3 千美金的丹尼尔，

earning just 23,000 dollars per year.

是不可能还清 5 万 5 千美金的医疗费的。

She felt trapped.

她感到陷入了困境，

One freak accident put Danielle

一个意外事故

几乎就要让丹尼尔 无家可归、挨饿、穷困潦倒。

on the verge of homelessness, hunger, poverty.

And when you're in Danielle's shoes, bankruptcy is a lifeline.

如果你是丹尼尔， 那破产保护就是你的救命稻草。

It's a powerful legal tool that allows you to relieve your debt

这个有力的法律工具 可以解除你的债务

and re-enter the economy.

并恢复你的经济能力。

Medical emergency, a job loss, a divorce.

医疗紧急情况、失业、离婚，

These are financial shocks that could happen to any of us.

这些经济打击可能发生在任何人身上。

And when you're living paycheck to paycheck

而当你像大部分美国人一样，

and don't have a whole lot of savings, like so many Americans,

是一个没什么积蓄的月光族。

a financial shock can ruin your life.

一个经济打击就可以毁了你的人生，

Bankruptcy gives you a second chance.

申请破产可以给你 一个重新再来的机会。

But when Danielle went to go find a bankruptcy lawyer,

但当丹尼尔去找破产律师时，

she, like so many others filing for bankruptcy,

就像很多申请破产保护的人一样，

learned that it was going to cost her 1,500 dollars.

得知司法费用将是 1500 美金。

She didn't have that kind of money.

她没有这么多钱，

I mean, what a cruel irony.

多么残酷的讽刺啊。

In America, it costs you 1,500 dollars to tell the court

在美国，你需要花 1500 美金去告诉法庭

that you have no money.

你没有钱。

When you walk into a court,

而当你走上法庭，

everyone from the judge to the clerk to the forms themselves

法庭上从书记到法官的所有人

will tell you to go find a lawyer,

都会让你去找个律师，

no matter how little money you have.

不管你有多穷。

One of the great civil rights injustices in America

美国公民权利最大的不平等之一

is that we don't have equal rights under the law.

就是法律面前，人并非平等，

What we have is equal rights if you can afford a lawyer.

有了律师的人才平等。

Whether you're evicted from your home in an abusive relationship

无论你是因为虐待而被赶出家门，

or need access to bankruptcy,

或是需要申请破产保护。

大部分民事案件涉案人 是没有免费律师的。

you have no right to a free lawyer in most civil cases.

And because there aren't even close to enough

因为自愿选择公益和法律援助的律师 数量远远不够，

pro bono or legal aid lawyers around,

four out of five low-income Americans

每五个低收入的美国人，

can't get the legal help they need to access their civil legal rights.

就有四个无法行使他们的公民权利 去获得所需的法律援助。

Four years ago, I helped start an organization

四年前，我参与创立的一个组织

to fight for new civil right in America,

立志于为美国的新公民权利而斗争。

the right to solve your own legal problem when you can't afford a lawyer.

给你即使你没有钱请律师 也可以解决自己的法律问题的权利。

We started with bankruptcy.

我们一开始着手的就是破产

Our nonprofit Upsolve has built an app to help people file for bankruptcy

我们的非盈利公司，Upsolve，

做了一个应用 来帮助人们自己免费申请破产保护。

on their own for free.

People like Danielle.

面向丹尼尔这样的人，

Our app asks people questions about their finances

我们的应用会用简单易懂的语言

in language they can understand

问一些个人经济相关的问题，

and then uses this information to help generate their forms.

然后用这些信息来帮助填写法律表格。

Last year, Danielle used Upsolve to file for bankruptcy

去年，丹尼尔用Upsolve

自己免费申请了破产保护。

on her own for free.

She got her final letter from the court, relieving all of her medical debt,

圣诞节刚过，法庭就给她发来通知书，

解除了她所有的医疗债务。

right after Christmas Day.

Today, Danielle has the highest paying job she's ever had

现在，丹尼尔拿着 她从未有过的最高薪水

and she's on track to finish her degree.

并即将完成她的学位。

There are so many opportunities to create a more just legal system

要建立一个更公平的法律系统 实在有太多机会，

by empowering people to solve their own legal problems

只要给人们随时可以解决 他们法律问题的权利。

whenever possible.

This is especially true in nonadversarial areas of the law,

在压制型的法律制度中尤其有效，

things like no-asset bankruptcies,

比如无形资产破产

uncontested divorces and Social Security disability.

无争议的离婚，和社会保障及残障福利。

But there are two main barriers that stand in the way.

但是，有两个主要的阻碍

The first is legal complexity.

第一个是法律的复杂度。

We've designed our forms in courts around lawyers, not regular people.

我们的法庭是设计给律师的， 不是给大众的。

Many legal forms are like modern day literacy tests.

大多数法律表单读起来就像是 现代文学考试。

When you can't understand them, you can't access your rights.

但只要你读不懂 你就没法行驶你应有的权利。

Every year, poorly designed forms, courts and processes

就因为不亲民的表单、 法庭系统和法律流程

deny millions of Americans their life, their liberty and their property.

每年都有数以百万的美国人 丧失他们的人生、自由，以及财产。

Legal complexity is a civil rights injustice.

繁琐的法律就是人权的不公。

To start solving this problem,

要解决这个问题，

we need to require basic user testing in courts

我们得在法庭上进行测试

and reviser assumption in areas of poverty law

并且修改贫困法案中

that everybody will be able to afford a lawyer.

假设大家都有钱请律师的条款。

A second barrier is a closed culture.

第二个阻碍是封闭的社会和文化。

We've been met with pushback from some folks

我们也遭到了一些反对。

who believe that you need to go see a lawyer

有些人说不管出了什么事，

no matter what legal problem you have.

你都得去请律师。

Imagine you had to go see a doctor

想想如果你普通的头疼老毛病犯了，

to cure a plain old headache

但你不能在药房买止痛药，

rather than being able to buy Advil at your local pharmacy.

而是必须去挂号排队看私人医生。

Telling a person who is poor to go find a lawyer

告诉根本不可能付得起 律师费的穷人去请律师，

when they obviously can't afford one

is out of touch,

就是饮鸩解渴、

iIntimidating, unfair and wrong.

骇人听闻、不平不法、荒谬绝伦。

It's also a racial injustice.

对于一些种族也不公平。

Black and brown communities disproportionately cannot afford

绝大多数的黑、棕色人种公民 付不起司法费用，

the legal fees they need to access their civil legal rights.

无法行驶他们的法律权益。

Many legal fees are like modern day poll taxes.

许多司法费用在如今就相当于人头税。

When you can't afford to pay the fees, you can access your rights.

付不起费用的人就失去了权利。

And we have a decision to make

我们得做出决定

about how open and equal we want our system of justice to be.

决定司法系统应该有多公开和平等。

The only way we're ever going to have equal rights in America

唯一能在美国实现平等权利的途径

is if we get rid of the modern day literacy tests

就是舍弃当下的繁文缛节，

and poll taxes that dominate our courts and legal system.

舍弃控制着法庭和司法系统的人头税。

We need a new civil right in America,

我们需要新的人权，

the right to solve your own legal problem when you can't afford a lawyer.

一个就算请不起律师， 也能自己解决法律问题的人权。

Because in America, our rights are supposed to be inalienable,

因为在美国，我们的权利 是不可剥夺的，

our protections are supposed to be equal,

我们们该受到平等的保护，

and we all deserve a chance at life,

我们也都应该有机会

liberty and the pursuit of happiness,

去追求美好，自由、和幸福的生活。

whether or not we can afford the legal fees.

无论能否跨过司法费用的门槛。

Thank you.

谢谢！