PSJD Public Interest News Digest – June 15, 2018
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives 
Hello there, interested public! It’s been quite a week, with major developments in Access to Justice, Student Loans, and Immigration. In Colorado and Connecticut, the right-to-counsel-for-eviction-cases movement seems to be gaining ground. Meanwhile, Wisconsin is engaged in some soul-searching about its pay rate for private attorneys assigned indigent defense cases. And in DC, the DoE’s Inspector General accused the Department of slow-walking applications for student debt forgiveness while Senators Warren and Rubio introduced a bill to protect the professional licenses of student loan borrowers in default. Last but far from least, General Sessions issued an immigration ruling with a dramatic impact on asylum seekers.
See you around,
Sam
Immigration
- According to Reuters, “[ICE] has entered into a 120-day agreement with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the U.S. Marshals Service to house to up about 1,600 people awaiting immigration hearings or deportation in prisons.” Prison workers and immigration advocates argue the move “puts [both immigration] detainees and prison staffers at risk”.
- In an agency adjudication, U.S. Attorney General Sessions “overturn[ed] a precedent set during the Obama administration that allowed more women to claim credible fears of domestic abuse [as grounds for asylum].” General Sessions’ decision also affects the asylum claims of victims fleeing gang violence.
- The US DoJ threatened the Seventh Circuit, which has stayed an en-banc rehearing of its April 19th decision in Chicago v. Sessions pending the Supreme Court’s resolution of Trump v. Hawaii. It a letter, the DoJ threatened to take its appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if the Seventh Circuit has not ruled by Monday on the DoJ’s “effort to block a nationwide injunction restricting its power to deny certain funds to so-called sanctuary cities.“
- Following a deeply-disturbing visit to a migrant processing center, and after being denied entry to a separate immigration detention facility, Senator Merkeley announced he would promote a bill “allow[ing] members of Congress to visit any detention facility in the United States given 24 hours notice.“
Student Loans
- The Washington Post reported that “[a]s thousands of applications for student debt forgiveness poured into the U.S. Education Department, the Trump administration cut the staff working on the claims and ordered a halt to an overhaul of the system, according to the agency’s inspector general.“
- According to Law.com, “U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Marco Rubio on Thursday introduced a bill that would prohibit states from suspending professional licenses and driver’s licenses of those who fail to pay their federal student loans.“
- An opinion column in The Hill argued that “the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)…should stay out of the federal student loan program. That’s the business of the U.S. Department of Education.“
Law & Technology
- Joyce Raby (the 2018 NALP Education Conference Public Service Luncheon Speaker!) argued on the ABA’s “Legal Rebels” podcast that technology is a compliment to other access to justice efforts but not the “saving grace for the justice ecosystem” which is it sometimes presented as.
- Fordham Law School’s Center for Legal Information Policy published a report calling attention to the lack of regulations protecting student information and documenting the “commercial ecosystem” for student data.
- In San Francisco, CA, the district attorney announced plans to partner with Code for America to automate the task of clearing past cannabis convictions under a provision of California’s Proposition 64.
- According to CTV, “Apple is closing a security gap…that will thwart law enforcement agencies that have been exploiting the vulnerability to collect evidence in criminal investigations.”
Access to Justice – Civil
- The NLADA released its 2017 Impact Report!
- In Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court modified its rules to reduce obstacles for retired attorneys who want to perform pro bono service.
- In Denver, CO, “Colorado Legal Services and other lawyers are participating in [a] pilot program [providing free legal services for people facing eviction.” The program has strong support from the Denver City County, many of whom “donated money from their office budgets or personal accounts to start the program.“
- In Connecticut, the Editorial Board of the Connecticut Law Tribune argued that “this may be the best time to explore whether an investment in a right to counsel in eviction matters would help improve outcomes for Connecticut families, while also alleviating financial burdens placed on our state and municipal governments.“
- Others are also taking notice of the growing trend of right-to-counsel movements focused on eviction and immigration. The 2018 Equal Justice Conference featured a panel discussing the trend. You can hear from the panelists, who spoke with the Legal Talk Network about their work.
Access to Justice – Criminal
- The NLADA released its 2017 Impact Report!
- In Wisconsin, attorneys petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court, seeking to increase pay rates for private attorneys appointed to indigent defense cases. Wisconsin has the lowest compensation in the country for private attorneys taking such cases.
- In Louisiana, a lawsuit challenging the state’s indigent defense system argued for class action certification.
- In Bexar County, TX, the Editoral Board of the San Antonio Express-News argued that “[t]he Bexar County Public Defender’s Office must grow [because] a more robust office would serve as a much-needed complement, and competitor, to private attorney representation. One that could set the bar for indigent defense but also serve as a hub for continuing legal education, providing assistance to private lawyers and mentoring new attorneys.“
Criminal Justice Reform
- In Chittenden County, VT, a state prosecutor announced her office will decline to prosecute any citations or arrests for misdemeanor possession of certain opioid compounds. The move presents a challenge to the U.S. District Attorney for Vermont, who recently scuttled an initiative from county leaders to open a supervised injection facility in the county by “suggesting her office would prosecute anyone who tried to open [such a site] and seize the property.”
- In Clark County, Nevada, a progressive candidate running for district attorney was defeated in Tuesday’s primary.
- In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin State Bar published an article on the fiscal and social costs of mass incarceration in the state.