PSJD Public Interest News Digest – May 17, 2019
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Hello there, interested public! Student loans remain news, with the head of the CFPB formally accusing the Department of Education of impeding its ability to oversee loan servicers and the American Federation of Teachers endorsing Senator Warren’s student debt relief plan. Additionally, multiple sources reported on students and young people’s declining interest in government jobs, especially at the federal level. And a district attorney in Utah has announced he will not enforce the state’s new abortion restrictions while they are challenged in the courts.
See you around,
Sam
Immigration, Refugee, & Citizenship Issues
- In Washington DC, “a federal judge…denied the government’s motion to dismiss [a] case [that] challenges the State Department’s discriminatory policy, which conditions the recognition of birthright citizenship on a biological link to a married U.S. citizen parent.“
- Also in Washington DC, “[a] federal judge ruled [] that a court case accusing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of blocking migrants’ right to counsel at a facility in Louisiana and two facilities in Georgia can proceed as one case in Washington D.C., where DHS is headquartered.“
- In Brooklyn NY, “[a]n unconfirmed report of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest inside Brooklyn Criminal Court sparked confusion and set defense lawyers and immigrants’ rights advocates on high alert Friday afternoon — but the arrest may have been executed by the NYPD, according to the Office of Court Administration.“
Student Loans & Student Debt
- In Washington DC, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau disclosed in a letter to Democratic senators that “the Education Department is impeding access to information that regulators need to oversee the nation’s largest student loan servicing companies.“
- Also in Washington DC, “Sen. Ron Wyden…introduced a bill [under which] companies would be able to make matching contributions to the retirement plans of employees who are making student loan payments.“
- Also also in Washington DC, presidential candidate Julian Castro “released an education policy proposal calling for free tuition at public colleges and trade schools, expanding the size and use of Pell Grants, and changing income-based student loan repayment.“
- Again also in Washington DC, “Sen. Mark R. Warner…reintroduced three pieces of legislation aimed at providing urgent relief to borrowers amid the ongoing student debt crisis.“
- Again again also in Washington DC, “[t]he White House is filling in the blanks on its promise to return astronauts to the lunar surface by 2024, requesting another $1.6 billion in funding…by repurposing unused funding earmarked for Pell grants, the government financial aid program for low-income college students.“
- In an op-ed in USA Today, “[t]he president of the American Federation of Teachers, endorsed presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s student loan forgiveness plan in a Thursday op-ed.“
- Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance “is introducing a new student loan repayment and management program for the workplace as part of a broader financial wellness initiative.“
- Business Insider provided a variety of statistical arguments making a case that “[s]tudent debt is preventing the US from having a normal housing market.“
- In Wisconsin, “the Republican majority on the Joint Committee on Finance…failed to approve [Gov. Evers’] proposals to start the process of helping state borrowers to refinance their loans…and increasing funding for financial aid for eligible students.“
- In Rhode Island, “the Senate Finance Committee heard testimony on the proposed Student Loan Borrowers Bill of Rights, which is now part of Governor Gina Raimondo’s budget plan.“
- In New York, the Governor, Senate Majority Leader, and Assembly Speaker “announced that the FY 2020 Enacted Budget includes legislation that will provide sweeping new protection for student loan borrowers.”
- In California, the State Senate is considering a bill that “would give students up to a $1,000 tax credit for yearly interest paid on their student loans.“
Reproductive Rights
Non-Profit Management & Hiring
- The Hill reported that “a surprising number of [graduates] receiving masters degrees in public policy are no longer pursuing government jobs — especially at the federal level. Shutdowns, pay uncertainty and government bashing are among the reasons these graduates give for avoiding such careers.“
- Meanwhile, FedSmith reported that “[t]he most recent (September 2018) data in OPM’s Fedscope shows the number of permanent government employees under age 30 is less than 127,000. The number age 60 and older is 274,000. Those number are the result of an aging federal workforce and the government’s apparent inability to attract and hire young people[.]“
- In Cambridge MA, “[t]he Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers released a statement…condemning Harvard College administrators’ decision not to renew Winthrop Faculty Deans Ronald S. Sullivan, Jr. and Stephanie R. Robinson. …Since Sullivan first announced his decision to join [Harvey] Weinstein’s legal team — which he left Friday — students have called for the College to remove him from his faculty dean position through rallies, sit-ins, and open letters.“
Legal Technology
- In New York NY, “an investigation by the Georgetown Center on Privacy and Technology into police use of facial recognition across the country” charged that “[t]he New York Police Department abused its facial recognition system by editing suspects’ photos — and by uploading celebrity lookalikes — in an effort to identify people wanted for crimes.“
- In Washington DC, “WhatsApp said…that a security breach on its messaging app had signs of coming from government using surveillance technology developed by a private company, and it may have targeted human rights groups.“
- In San Francisco CA, “the birthplace of facial-recognition tech…became the first [city] in the country to vote to ban its use by law-enforcement.“
- Meanwhile, the New York Times profiled Brian Hofer, the author of the San Francisco ordinance who “has drafted 26 privacy laws for cities and counties in California [over the past five years].“
- In Chicago IL, the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing published a new database of Chicago eviction records that “shows that between 2010 and 2017, on average, 79.8 percent of landlords in eviction court had a lawyer, while only 11.2 percent of tenants did…but when tenants have legal representation their changes of staying housed increase substantially[.]”
- In Austin TX, Spectrum News profiled “[t]he startup Justice For Me[, which] helps connect clients to attorneys across Austin and San Antonio, without having to pay large, up-front fees.“
Access to Justice – Civil
- In Richmond VA, “tenants who are in court for housing-related issues now have an attorney dedicated to helping them resolve their cases.“
- In Los Angeles CA, “[t]he city’s budget and finance committee last week asked the chief legislative analyst to identify $2 million to help launch a right-to-counsel initiative.“
- In Louisville KY, Law360 reported that a major takeaway from the ABA’s Equal Justice Conference was “the need to think outside the box and meet people where their needs are, especially in the rural communities that make up 20% of the U.S. population and just 2% of the U.S. population of lawyers.“
Access to Justice – Criminal
- In Missouri, “Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt [] filed a motion to intervene [in a] case challenging Missouri’s indigent public defense system” after “[t]he American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and the Missouri State Public Defender reached an agreement[.] …Schmitt said in a statement that requiring public defenders to refuse cases if they exceed a 40-hour work week violates Missouri law.“
- In Lima OH, “[t]he Lima chapter of the NCAAP will file an official complaint with the Ohio Public Defenders’ Office alleging the current public defender system in Lima and Allen County is so broken and inefficient that it operates in violation of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution.“
- In British Columbia, “[t]he Legal Services Society has launched a new province-wide criminal law service to help people who wouldn’t qualify for legal aid.“
Criminal Justice Reform
- In Bexar County TX, “District Attorney Joe Gonzales says he hopes to start a cite-and-release program this summer that would allow police to issue tickets for certain misdemeanor offenses, such as marijuana possession, instead of conducting arrests.“
- In Dallas County TX, “District Attorney John Creuzot is backing a bill that requires police officers to turn over all evidence and information that could prove someone’s innocence.“