PSJD Public Interest News Digest – May 10, 2019
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Hello there, interested public! Lots of serious stories this week. The ACLU has spoken out against the charges filed late last week against a Massachusetts judge for obstruction of justice after she acted to frustrate the federal government’s policy of conducting immigration arrests at state courthouses. Lawmakers in congress have introduced a bipartisan-sponsored bill that would allow for student loan debt to be discharged in bankruptcy, while a new NBER report suggests that student loan forgiveness has an out-sized positive economic impact. Meanwhile, a lawyer in British Columbia is accusing the provincial government of diverting legal services taxes intended for civil legal aid into the general purpose treasury. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
See you around,
Sam
Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Issues
- In Massachusetts, “ACLU Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose is infuriated by Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s decision to pursue charges against New Judge Shelley Joseph for conspiracy to obstruct justice. [See last week’s digest.]” Rose called the matter “an outrageous case, and a real political case brought by U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling[.]“
- In San Francisco CA, “[a] three-judge panel of the [9th Cir.] issued a stay of a preliminary injunction…that would have blocked the [Trump administration’s] policy [of forcing Central American asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while they pursue their asylum claims].“
- In Karnes County TX, RAICES filed a formal complaint against the Trump administration that “accuses Immigration and Customs Enforcement of creating barriers for people held at the Karnes, Texas, immigration detention facility to meet with legal teams.“
Student Loans
- “Rates on Plus loans for graduate students and parents will fall to 7%, down from 7.6% last year.” (Forbes has more on this loan rate decrease.)
- The Wall Street Journal reported that “[m]ore than 73,000 people have applied for debt forgiveness as of March 31 of this year…but just 864 have had their loans erased.“
- The National Bureau of Economic Research published a working paper on “Life Without Student Debt” that found “[w]hen roughly 10,000 borrowers had their private student loans cancelled, they were more likely than similar borrowers to move, change jobs or return to school [and t]hey also saw their incomes increase by $4,000 over a three-year period on average[.] In addition, these borrowers were less likely to rely on other forms of credit–reducing their indebtedness by 26%[.]“
- BenefitNews.com reported that “while many industry insiders point to the growing appeal of student loan benefits, just 4% of employers currently offer a student debt repayment program, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.“
- The Washington Post reported that “[o]ne in 15 borrowers has considered suicide because of their school loans, according to a survey of 829 people conducted last month by Student Loan Planner, a debt advisory group.“
- In Washington DC, “[f]ederal lawmakers…introduced a bill that would give student loan borrowers the power to leave that debt behind when they file for bankruptcy protection.” “The bill, co-sponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; and U.S. Reps. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and John Katko, R-N.Y., was introduced amid growing concern over more than $1.5 trillion in outstanding student loan debt held by some 44 million Americans and 3,000 payment defaults a day in 2016.“
- Also in Washington DC, “[Sen.] Marco Rubio wants to ‘eliminate interest for federal student loans’ through the Leveraging Opportunities for Americans Now (LOAN) Act[.]” (See the full bill.)
- Also also in Washington DC, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago shared his thoughts on the risks inherent in the student debt market for people looking to finance an education.
- In Maine, “a [] lawmaker is proposing a $250 million bond to…allow Maine residents to apply to have up to $10,000 of their unpaid student loans forgiven.“
- In Atlantic IA, “[presidential candidate] O’Rourke drew a round of applause…when he called for letting Americans refinance their student loans ‘at much lower rates.’“
- A Politico/Morning Consult poll found that “56% of registered voters…support the Massachusetts senator [Warren]’s proposal to wipe out $640 billion in outstanding education loans by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Just 27% of voters said they opposed the plan.“
Environmental Law
Nonprofit/Gov’t Management & Hiring
- In Florida, “[m]inimum pay for all Florida assistant public defenders and assistant state attorneys will rise to $50,000, up from $39,084, starting Oct. 1.“
- In Bradenton FL, Gulfcoast Legal Services‘ Executive Director criticized the city’s “decision to not fund the nonprofit with Community Development Block Grant Funding this year[.]“
- In Washington DC, “Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California is introducing legislation, including a $250 million grant program, to ease the burden on public defenders around the country…[T]he proposal would create a grant program that would establish workload limits for full-time public defenders, create pay parity between public defenders and prosecutors within five years and collect annual data on public defender workloads. The legislation also would authorize $5 million for government organizations and nonprofits to provide training for public defenders.“
- NonProfit Quarterly reported on a new report from the Council on American-Islamic Relations charging that “American philanthropic organizations, including mainstream foundations, have funneled tens of millions of tax-free dollars to anti-Muslim groups influencing public opinion and government policy all the way up to the White House.“
Access to Justice – Civil
- In Ontario, “[a] group of about 150 people descended on the provincial government building in Toronto [in protest of provincial cuts to legal aid]…with around 20 going inside and disrupting the day’s session. The demonstration, which featured many lawyers in their robes, waistcoats and tabs and doctors wearing lab coats and stethoscopes, also included paralegals, immigration consultants and various health care providers.“
- In British Columbia, “[a]ccording to documents obtained under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, in 2018 the B.C. government collected more than $230 million in taxes from all British Columbians who sought legal services. [But] ‘The provincial government only saw fit to provide $75 million of that to the Legal Services Society to Fund Legal Aid’, said [criminal lawyer Michael] Mulligan.”
- In Philadelphia PA, “[a] bill proposed in City Council would provide tenants with income below 200% of the poverty line with free legal assistance when fighting evictions, lease terminations and similar issues in Landlord Tenant Court.“
- In Bronx NY, local news chronicled the efforts of housing groups to “spread [the] word on the city’s already established Right to Counsel law, which advocates say tenants may still be unaware of even as it’s helped many stay inside their home.“
Access to Justice – Criminal
- In Travis County TX, “in a surprising change of course, the county has reached an agreement to create a public defender’s office[.]“
- Meanwhile, in Hays County TX, “[h]ostile debate on the timing of an application meant to secure grant money for a proposed public defender’s office…led to the item’s death on the [] County Commissioners Court dais.“
- In Cheboygan County MI, “[t]he…County Board of Commissioner [sic] has approved the Cheboygan County Indigent Defense Compliance Plan and grant application to be submitted to the State of Michigan.“
- In New Orleans, “[Orleans Public Defenders] is cutting services and halting hiring over a projected $1.1 million revenue shortfall[.]” “Chief District Defender Derwyn Bunton said he is reacting to a projected $400,000 shortfall in money from court fines and fees and a $700,000 cut from the state Public Defender Board for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Bunton said in an interview that he expects the revenue bleeding to continue in the next fiscal year[.]“
- In Missouri, “[t]he…public defender’s office will be able to re-open its juvenile advocacy units in St. Louis County and Jackson County [with a] $913,786 appropriation [which will allow t]he units to hire attorneys who specialize in juvenile issues…A House-Senate conference committee approved the spending Tuesday, but the line-item must still clear the full House and Senate later this week. Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, also could veto the spending, like he did last year[.]“
Criminal Justice Reform
- In Philadelphia PA, District Attorney Kranser said “the city is ‘very close’ to enacting a first-of-its-kind policy in the U.S. that would reduce charges–as well as associated consequences–for people caught possessing small amounts of drugs, leading them away from jail cells and a criminal record.“
- In King County WA, “police departments…are pointing the finger at the King County Prosecutor’s Office for policies that they say let felons slip through the cracks.“