This is Street Outreach Court. Created five years ago by Ann Arbor District Judge Elizabeth Hines, the court is held every other month in this setting because homeless people are intimidated by traditional courthouses with their metal detectors and serious-looking bailiffs. They often will avoid such places because many of them have outstanding warrants and fear an arrest.

In this court, homeless people with unpaid tickets, fines and warrants out for their arrests are referred by social service agencies, such as Catholic Social Services.

Working with the agency and the court, the defendants put together an action plan to find housing, to get treatment for any substance-abuse problems they have and to obtain job training and employment.

Hines created the court after realizing that many destitute people appearing before her often were hampered further by fines, court costs and fees that they never would be able to pay.

"These fees can be enormous barriers," she said. "Sometimes we're talking thousands of dollars. And it is unlikely they would ever be paid."

Hines and a group of volunteers -- including defense attorneys, prosecutors and social workers -- monitor the person's progress. If the person shows signs of success, Hines drops all the fees and cancels warrants. The program, which handles nearly 300 cases a year, is not open to people who have committed violent crimes.

"I want to emphasize this is not a free ride," Hines said. "What we're doing is removing legal barriers so that they can continue to make progress."

The court saves about 1,500 jail days a year, and frees up dockets for more serious crimes.

An early feature of the new health-care law that allows people who are already sick to get insurance to cover their medical costs isn't attracting as many customers as expected.

In the meantime, in at least a few states, claims for medical care covered by the "high-risk pools" are proving very costly, and it is an open question whether the $5 billion allotted by Congress to start up the plans will be sufficient.

Federal health officials contend the new insurance plans, designed solely for people who already are sick, are merely experiencing growing pains. It will take time to spread the word that they exist and to adjust prices and benefits so that the plans are as attractive as possible, the officials say.

State-level directors of the plans agree, in part. But in interviews, they also said that the insurance premiums are unaffordable for some who need the coverage - and that some would-be customers are skittish about the plans because federal lawsuits and congressional Republicans are trying to overturn the entire law.

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, the program's official name, is an early test of President Obama's argument that people will embrace the politically divisive health-care overhaul once they see its advantages firsthand. According to some health-policy researchers, the success or failure of the pools also could foreshadow the complexities of making broader changes in health insurance by 2014, when states are to open new marketplaces - or exchanges - for Americans to buy coverage individually or in small groups.

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Maybe ND vs Miami -- but only to reflect nostalgically upon the good old days of Convicts vs Catholics, Jimmy Johnson vs Lou Holtz, playing for the championship usually.

JC makes a comment to mock those making false equivalency awards and the Not Too Brights nominate him for the comment mocking them.  Priceless.

John asks: [Do you think there is even the slightest chance they understand we're making fun of them?]