On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Erika Rickard, director of civil legal modernization at the PEW Charitable Trusts. From 1993 to 2013, the number of debt claims filed in civil courts across this country increased to the point where it became the single largest share of civil court business over that period, particularly as people used civil courts less for other issues.
Rickard talks about the PEW report, how consumers can protect themselves, how the court system has become a debt collection tool for businesses suing consumers and how the COVID-19 pandemic presents a critical opportunity for courts to address the challenges of debt claims cases ahead of a likely surge in filings.
