PSJD Public Interest News Digest – April 3, 2020

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress

Hello there, interested public! Once again, the news is overwhelming. I’ve done my best to catalogue it for you all below. One big announcement: as major stories roll out everywhere concerning eviction moratoria, changes to court procedures, changes to policing and carceral policies, and government hiring freezes, we’ve collected resources that are working to centralize information on these stories as they develop in the PSJD resource center. This section of the resource center also includes links to student-driven pro bono projects that have sprung up in response to the pandemic.

As for the digest itself, you will still find some of the most prominent stories on these topics, but please refer to the PSJD resource page for materials that focus on them exclusively and that attempt to be comprehensive.

Major news this week includes reporting that analyzes the impact of last week’s $2.2 trillion CARES Act on student loan debt payments (and employer-driven student loan benefits). Also, you’ll find lawsuits challenging the ongoing detention of incarcerated individuals, whether as pretrial detainees, convicts, or detainees in ICE facilities. Additionally, there’s a new section looking at the growing pro bono response to the pandemic–and particularly at the areas into which lawyers are productively channelling their energies to address the crisis.

These stories and more are in the links below. As with last week, in each section news that is not related to the current crisis appears at the section’s end, separated from Coronavirus content with a horizontal line (—).

Stay well,

Sam

Editor’s Choice

Remote Court Practice & Lawmaking

Pro Bono Response

Student Loans & Student Debt

Non-Profit & Gov’t Management & Hiring

  • In Washington DC, “the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled the department [of Veterans Affairs] could not retroactively apply the 2017 VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, nor could it declare its punishments ineligible for review. The decision strikes major blows to VA’s authorities to enforce the law it, Trump and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had trumpeted as a fundamental step to ease the disciplinary process for misbehaving and poorly performing employees.
  • Immigration, Refugee & Citizenship Issues

    Access to Justice – Criminal & Decarceration

  • In Wyoming, the state Supreme Court reversed a contempt order levied against State Public Defender Diane Lozano “after she decided her office could no longer provide representation for defendants in misdemeanor cases due to a heavy caseload and an ongoing understaffing crisis.
  • Access to Justice – Civil & Economic