PSJD Public Interest News Digest – April 26, 2019
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Hello there, interested public! Major stories this week include Senator Warren’s proposal for student debt forgiveness, continuing fallout from Premier Doug Ford’s announced 30 percent cut to Ontario Legal Aid, and pushback from various law enforcement groups against efforts by progressive prosecutors (and, in the case of immigration, judges). I’d say more, but time is short for me this week. As always, sources for these stories and more can be found below.
See you around,
Sam
Immigration, Refugee, & Citizenship Issues
- In Albany NY, “The head of the union for state court officers says New York’s administrative judges have created an unenforceable rule aimed at blocking federal immigration agents from arresting undocumented immigrants in courthouses without judicial warrants.“
- In Boston MA, “Mayor Marty Walsh said he’ll include money to help immigrants facing legal challenges in next fiscal year’s budget.“
- In Sacramento CA, “lawmakers and activists have been pushing a local and state-level campaign to kill contracts with tech companies that work with Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement.“
- In Yolo County CA, “[c]ounty officials have put on hold a plan to set aside $50,000 toward the cost of an attorney tasked with representing immigrant residents facing deportation.“
- In Ontario, aid groups condemned the Provincial Government’s recent decision to cut Legal Aid Ontario’s funding by 30 percent, with the Candian Council for Refugees stating that “[p]eople will end up being sent back to face persecution” and the Migran Workers Alliance for Change arguing that “[t]hese changes will be disastrous for many, fatal for the rest.”
Non-Profit Management & Hiring
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges announced plans to “give students entering prestigious law schools the chance to work with U.S.-based nonprofits for a year[, i]nvesting $1 million per year and providing mentorship to 10 students to work in the public interest.“
- In Rockville MD, RespectAbility released a report on “the inclusion and exclusion” of people who live with a disability in nonprofit organizations. The report found that “[e]ven among this very well-intentioned group, most are not doing enough — or anything — to provide people with disabilities the access and accommodations they need to they can participate, just like anyone else.“
- In New York NY, the Clooney Foundation for Justice launched its TrialWatch program in partnership with Columbia Law School and the ABA. “TrialWatch will train and send monitors to observe legal proceedings in nations where human rights may be at risk.“
Student Loans & Student Debt
- In Washington DC, Senator and Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren released a proposal for “[u]niversal free public college and cancellation of student loan debt.” Much debate has ensued about the specifics of her plan; dissecting it is left as an exercise for the reader.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that “[n]early 20 states are trying a new legislative tack to lure recent college graduates: paying off their student loans.“
- Meanwhile, StudentLoans.net published a list of “the states with a student loan tax credit.”
- In San Francisco CA, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco released a report outlining a student loan crisis in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- In New Jersey, “Governor Murphy [] signed two pieces of legislation to assist student loan borrowers who are struggling with repayment.“
- In Mississippi, “the legislature adopted new language that will prohibit the state from pulling your [professional] license just because you couldn’t make a payment on your student loans.“
Legal Technology
- In Montreal QC, the Attorney General of Canada “announced the Government of Canada is supporting professional development in legal translation at McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies. This funding will support the development of an online program in legal translation that will allow jurists and translators across Canada to access training opportunities through distance education.“
- In Sacramento CA, “[s]tate lawmakers…advanced eight industry-backed bills aimed at limiting the reach of the California Consumer Privacy Act, signaling that in the Assembly at least the 2018 law giving customers more control over their data will likely be a ceiling for privacy changes, not a floor.“
- In South Africa, Epoq Legal announced the launch of “JusDraft, a real-time online legal document drafting tool designed for South African non-profit organizations.“
Access to Justice – Civil
- In Ontario, “[t]he union representing lawyers who ork for Legal Aid Ontario sa[id] the main justification offered by the province for its 30-per-cent funding cut for the agency is wrong–and that the government of Premier Doug Ford has been misleading the public.” See also this article in Canadian Lawyer.
Access to Justice – Criminal
- In Augusta ME, “Maine’s legislative watchdog is set to review a potential lack of financial oversight over the state’s system of providing legal services to the poor.“
- In Berrien County MI, “[c]ommisioners…approved a resolution allowing [Chief Public Defender] Renna to request $2.5 million in state funding for indigent defense, which includes an additional $1 million over this year for five additional attorneys…The hires will bring the contingent of full-time public defenders up to 17.“
- In Travis County TX, “[l]eaders of the Indigent Legal Services Working group presented parts of a proposal [to develop a public defender’s office] to Travis County leaders [] during Commissioner’s Court.“
- In Victoria County TX, a local editorial board encouraged county commissioners to adopt the idea of “partnering with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid to create a public defender’s office in Victoria County”–an idea the commissioners had been exploring in a recent meeting.
- In Dubois County IN, Circuit Judge Verkamp noted that “[t]he number of cases coming through the courts each year have [sic] steadily grown [and] we probably haven’t done a good job of each year increasing our budgets accordingly.“
- In California, a state senator has proposed a bill that would prevent counties from assessing and collecting administrative fees charged to defendants in relation to their criminal cases; “things like using a public defender ($50) or being arrested ($25).”Meanwhile, in New Jersey, “[t]he Bayonne City Council passed an ordinance [] raising the public defender fee from $50 to $200, the maximum allowed by state statute.”
Criminal Justice Reform
- In Chicago IL, the AP argued that “anyone who has followed [Cook County State’s Attorney] Kim Foxx’s work recognized in the texts the same reforms she has been implementing for years: Don’t overcharge for nonviolent crimes and, whenever possible, offer alternatives to taking a suspect to court.“
- In Dallas County TX, “A group of Dallas County Police Chief’s [sic] says that a new policy from the District Attorney aimed at reducing mass incarceration won’t stop them from arresting theft suspects.“
- In Philadelphia PA, the city’s “[p]olice union call[ed] for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s removal [after] Krasner decided to drop a challenge that clears the way for [Mumia] Abu-Jamal to argue his appeal before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.“
- In New Hampshire, a superior court has ordered that “[a] list containing the names of approximately 250 New Hampshire law enforcement officers who may have credibility issues must be made public…under the state’s Right to Know laws.“
- Meanwhile, in New York NY Gothamist published a piece on their city’s “quiet[] internal databases to track police officers who may have credibility problems as witnesses at trial,” noting that “[i]n Philadelphia, where the DA’s office released their list last year, public defenders have petitioned the DA’s office to re-examine over six thousand past convictions.”
- In Deschutes County OR, “[t]he district attorney…has a plan to stop prosecuting more than 200 misdemeanor crimes unless his department gets a mandate from the county commission in the form of more funding.“