PSJD Public Interest News Digest – May 11, 2018
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives 
Hello there, interested public! The big news for this week once again grew out of our recent conference, as the conversation we were having during the Public Service Luncheon about diversity and legal technology became a talking point in the ABA Journal. And folks working on proposals for NALP’s 2019 Conference may want to check out the Center for Court Innovation podcast below (see Criminal Justice Reform), where a longtime public defender discusses the power of prosecutors to change the system.
See you around,
Sam
Legal Technology
- The ABA Journal discussed the implications of a new report calling attention to the lack of diversity among the founders of legal technology firms.
- The New York Times published a primer on the European Union’s new “General Data Protection Regulation”–a new legal regime that is attempting to force companies to be more transparent about what data they collect, and to offer consumer more say in how their information is used.
Access to Justice – Civil
- In Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court is accepting applications for volunteer, at-large appointments to the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission.
Access to Justice – Criminal
- In Alberta, negotiations continued between the provincial government, Legal Aid Alberta, and the Law Society of Alberta over funding for legal aid.
- In Montana, the Public Defender’s Office reported that the agency’s total caseload has decreased by 5 percent since last year, crediting the reduction to indigent defense reforms the Montana legislature introduced in 2017.
- In Michigan, the Lansing State Journal profiled the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission.
Criminal Justice Reform
- The Center for Court Innovation interviewed a public defender about how reform-minded prosecutors have the power to reshape the justice system.