PSJD Public Interest News Digest – July 6, 2018
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives 
Hello there, interested public. Noteworthy news this week includes a special advance announcement for readers of the digest. See below!
See you around,
Sam
Public Service Attorney Compensation
- On Monday, NALP will be officially announcing the release of its 2018 Public Service Attorney Salary Report, analyzing data collected during a survey of local public defenders’ offices, local prosecutors’ offices, legal aid offices, and public interest organizations conducted earlier this year. For the first time, the report is available for free to PSJD account holders. (Students and alumni of PSJD subscriber schools can create a PSJD account for free.) The big splash is next week, but if you check out the link above now (and you have a PSJD account) you can get an early look at the new, interactive tool.
- In New Mexico, “[f]ive female employees of the statewide Law Offices of the Public Defender have filed a lawsuit accusing the agency of violating New Mexico’s Fair Pay for Women Act.”
- In Philadelphia, PA, the Philadelphia Law Department announced an across-the-board pay increase for its 217 attorneys.
- In New York, NY, the Legal Aid Society asked for increases in public defender pay, as the city prepares a pay bump for entry-level prosecutors.
Immigration
- In Sacramento, CA, “[a] federal judge rejected the U.S. Justice Department’s request to block California’s ‘sanctuary laws’ protecting undocumented immigrants…But the judge also temporarily barred a law that had required employers to restrict federal immigration officials’ access to workplaces.”
- “Thirty-four large corporate law firms — half of them with offices in Texas and two firms based in Texas — have signed a pledge to provide legal support and resources for immigrant families who are separated from their children when crossing the border to seek asylum.”
- In Tuscon, Arizona, the federal public defender’s office put together “a legal education class for attorneys and advocates on how to handle cases of separated families.”
- In New Jersey, the governor and state legislators passed a budget that includes “$2.1 million to help pay for attorneys for immigrants fighting deportation.”
- The Huffington Post reported that “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are telling detained migrant parents that to be reunited with their children they must sign a voluntary deportation form.”
- The Nation published an article documenting how “[a] sudden surge in the number of children starting deportation proceedings in 2017 and 2018 means that tens of thousands of more children have entered courtrooms with attorney representation.”
Disaster Relief
Access to Justice – Criminal
- In Spokane, WA, the county public defenders’ office has reached caseload limits set by the state. “Officials say some defendants charged with felony crimes will not have a chance to speak to a court-appointed attorney and could spend up to seven days behind bars.“