PSJD Public Interest News Digest – February 12, 2021
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Hello, interested public! I hope you’re all weathering the new year and our continuing shared challenges. The news continues to be jam-packed, but as other aspects of my work become somewhat more manageable I hope to help you sort through it again. This is a long edition, covering material related to the new administration in Washington, the ongoing pandemic and its effects on the legal system and on our social safety net more broadly, and continued reverberations from racial justice protests and challenges to the legitimacy of the recent national election. The most noteworthy story may be a recent survey indicating broad bipartisan appeal (among the populace, not necessarily politicians) for a right to counsel in eviction proceedings.
Take care of one another,
Sam
Transition of Power
- In Washington DC, “[i]n a last-minute attempt to assuage outgoing President Donald Trump’s privacy concerns, the Justice Department last month issued a legal opinion creating a situation where, upon taking office, President Joe Biden would not be able to access certain electronic records from the previous administration—even if those records are on the president’s computer hardware. The six-page memo—penned by the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) Deputy Assistant Attorney General Devin DeBacker[]— states that under the Presidential Records Act (PRA) the U.S. Archivist, not the incoming president, assumes responsibility for the ‘custody, control, and preservation of’ all records of the previous administration…Neil Eggleston, the former White House counsel to President Barack Obama during the Trump transition period, told Business Insider he was concerned that Trump’s legal team may try and use the memo to ‘claim an overly broad exclusion from the right of the Biden administration to access documents critical for the continuity of government.’”
- Also in Washington DC, “[a] high-profile Native American activist who formerly led the National Congress of American Indians and top environmental justice leaders and experts have joined the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, signaling President Joe Biden’s continued commitment to environmental and climate justice. The 14 new EPA appointees announced Tuesday do not require Senate confirmation, and many hail from backgrounds that touch civil rights work.”
- Also also Washington DC, “[a recent judicial] recommendation this month by [Colorado’s] two Democratic U.S. senators has drawn pushback from liberals [who] say the endorsement flouts President Joe Biden’s pledge to staff the federal bench with more civil rights lawyers and public defenders, and fewer corporate attorneys and prosecutors.”
Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Issues
- In Houston TX, “President Joe Biden’s administration has deported hundreds of immigrants in its early days despite his campaign pledge to stop removing most people in the U.S. illegally at the beginning of his term. A federal judge last week ordered the Biden administration not to enforce a 100-day moratorium on deportations, but the ruling did not require the government to schedule them. In recent days, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported immigrants to at least three countries: 15 people to Jamaica on Thursday and 269 people to Guatemala and Honduras[.]”
- In Washington DC, “President Biden signed three new immigration-related executive orders Tuesday evening, including one to create a task force dedicated to reuniting migrant families that were separated at the southern border under the Trump administration.”
- Also in Washington DC, “The Biden administration is opening an overflow facility for unaccompanied migrant children apprehended at the US-Mexico border, the federal agency tasked with the children’s care told CNN in a statement. The Health and Human Services Department will reopen a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, that can accommodate about 700 children and can be expanded if necessary.”
- Also also in Washington DC, “[a]dvocacy groups and immigration attorneys have cheered [the administration’s] early steps [at immigration reform], but warn that Biden’s overall success could be limited if he’s unable to tackle another problem that has been growing for years: the ever-growing case backlog in federal immigration courts. Without addressing the backlog, they say, Biden’s mission of achieving a fair and equitable immigration system won’t be complete.”
Pandemic in the Legal System
- In the United States, “[t]op judges from Nevada, Texas, Michigan and California detailed how the pandemic has forced them to make courts more accessible and service-oriented.”
- In Los Angeles CA, “[d]espite massive restrictions on businesses and restaurants for fear of spreading COVID, Los Angeles Superior Court is still holding some in-person sessions for evictions and traffic trials. Just last month, three LA County Superior Court staff members died of the virus. Hundreds of court employees and several judges have tested positive, putting scores of other court attendees at potential risk of infection.”
- In Baltimore MD, “[d]espite state orders limiting courtroom operations, Baltimore County courts are still scheduling hundreds of in-person hearings for low-level, nonviolent offenses each week, and the Maryland Defenders Union says it’s putting county attorneys, judicial staff and the public at risk.”
- In Prince William County, “attorneys at the Prince William public defender office began raising concerns about the treatment of clients being held at the [Prince William-Manassas Adult Detention Center], including complaints from inmates about the lack of hygiene during the outbreak and the use of solitary confinement to slow the spread of the virus.”
- In New York NY, “[p]ublic defender groups from across New York City have followed through on their threat to sue Gov. Cuomo in order to force the state to vaccinate inmates.”
- In Washington DC, “[t]he U.S. Department of Homeland Security says Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection will not conduct immigration arrests at or near COVID-19 vaccine distribution sites.”
State-Sponsored Violence
- In Washington DC, Human Rights Watch issued official recommendations to key Congressional representatives concerning the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, arguing that “research by Human Rights Watch and others has shown that police violence is inextricably linked to deep and persisting racial inequities and economic class divisions, perpetuated and exacerbated by laws and policies that prioritize policing and criminalization as the primary state response to a range of societal problems. When introduced, supporters claimed the JPA was “bold,” and “comprehensive,”–something that would “change the culture of law enforcement.” But for legislation to be meaningful and effective, it needs to address these societal conditions at their root not simply by modifying the law enforcement responses to them.”
Violence Against Protesters
- In Milwaukee WI, “[a] judge [] eclined a prosecutor’s’ request to have Kyle Rittenhouse arrested until he posts another $200,000 bail and reveals where he’s living. He did order Rittenhouse’s attorney to disclose his client’s address, under seal, to the court and the sheriff’s office, but not to the District Attorney’s Office. The prosecutors say Rittenhouse,18, charged with fatally shooting two protesters and wounding a third during violent protests in August, has been in violation of his bail conditions because he never updated the address he had listed on jail records.”
- In Buffalo NY, “[a] grand jury dismissed the case against two Buffalo, NY, police officers who were charged last year after video showed an elderly protester being shoved to the ground during a demonstration. Officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski had been charged with felony second-degree assault.”
Free & Fair Elections
- The New York Times reported that, “[i]n the latest volley in the battle over disinformation in the presidential election, Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corporation has been sued by an obscure tech company that has accused his cable networks of defamation and contributing to the fervor that led to the siege of the Capitol.”
Student Loans & Student Debt
- In the New York Daily News, Rep. Mondaire Jones argued that “President Biden must use his authority to cancel $50,000 in student debt for every person with federal loans. Today.”
- In Washington DC, “Senate Republicans have unveiled a new stimulus proposal to counter the plan offered by President Bident and congressional Democrats. And student loan borrowers are left out, again.”
- Also in Washington DC, Rep. “Ilhan Omar has suggested a new tax on stock trades that could be used to pay off student debt.”
- Also also in Washington DC, after Senators Warren and Schumer called on President Biden to unilaterally cancel student debt, Forbes opined on how “this approach raises several concerns about the possibility of Congress–which Democrats control–passing student loan cancellation.”
- Also again also in Washington DC, “Navient, a student loan company, [was] ordered to repay $22 million to the government.”
- Again also also again in Washington DC, “Democratic Senators unveiled a sweeping bankruptcy bill [] that would dramatically reform the United States bankruptcy system, and make it easier for struggling Americans to discharge student loans and medical debt through bankruptcy.”
- CNBC discussed “what you can expect [from tax season] as a student loan borrower amid the pandemic’s ongoing relief.”
Non-Profit & Gov’t Management & Hiring
- In New York NY, “Deborah Archer, daughter of Jamaican immigrants, was last weekend elected the new president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), becoming the first person of African-American ancestry to head the 101-year-old organisation. A civil rights attorney who is a professor at New York University Law School, Archer will oversee the 60-member board and deal with operational, organisational, as well as fundraising issues.”
- In Queens NY, “[t]wo employees of the indigent defense organization Queens Defenders were fired on Monday, less than two months after staff announced a union drive with overwhelming support. Both employees, social worker Betsy Vasquez and attorney Anna Avalone, are outspoken supporters of the ongoing union drive at Queens Defenders. Pro-union employees and a union organizer said that the firings were illegal retaliation against the staffers for supporting the union…The Queens Defenders Union announced its drive for recognition as a chapter of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA) in December, claiming the support of 90 percent of eligible employees and multiple Queens elected officials.”
- In Miami FL, a federal judge ruled that “[a] former Broward County [] assistant public defender can pursue her lawsuit alleging she was fired for advocating for social justice issues during an unsuccessful campaign to unseat her boss.”
- In Canada, “[a] research team [from McMaster University] has spoken with leaders from front-line non-profit organizations, and their funding partners…to better understand how the pandemic is affecting organizations across Canada.”
- In the United States, Prof. Donald Moynihan of Georgetown University discussed his research into “how federal managers use performance data over time,” research which suggests that “[t]he current system GPRAMA had worked where GPRA and PART had failed: pushing managers to use performance data to make decisions.”
- In Washington DC, “[a] bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers is once again pushing to remove mandatory payments toward the health benefits for future U.S. Postal Service retirees, aiming to eliminate a controversial requirement upon which the cash-strapped mailing agency has defaulted for years.”
- Also in Washington DC, “[a] newly formed non-profit says it is reimagining philanthropy by supporting people, organizations, businesses and non-profits making a difference in communities of color in Virginia, Maryland and DC.”
Expanding Legal Practice
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
- In the United States, “[a]ccording to a new poll from Data for Progress and The Lab, a policy vertical of The Appeal, voters overwhelmingly want a fairer process in eviction cases…64% of voters—including 78% of Democrats, 61% of independents, and 51% of Republicans—believe Congress should pass a measure to fund legal services to prevent evictions. 68% of voters—including 75% of Democrats, 71% of independents, and 58% of Republicans—support a right to counsel in eviction proceedings, similar to the right that exists for criminal cases.”
- Relatedly, in Nebraska, “[a] new bill in the Nebraska Legislature introduced by Sen. John Cavanaugh, District 9 of Omaha, would provide every tenant across the state with the right to an attorney when they walk into the courtroom.”
- Relatedly, in Florida, “a handful of bills filed at the State Capitol seek to keep people in their homes. Every day in Florida, 180 new eviction notices are being filed.”
- Relatedly, in Maryland, “[a]s the Maryland General Assembly session gets into full swing, many lawmakers are pushing bills meant to protect tenants.”
- In Los Angeles CA, “[t]he Social Justice Legal Foundation (www.socialjusticelaw.org) launched today with a $10 million pledge of support from Hueston Hennigan LLP…The Foundation – funded and created by the partners of Hueston Hennigan LLP – will collaborate with Columbia, Northwestern, Stanford, UCLA and Yale law schools to identify pressing legal issues and to mentor and develop a new generation of trial lawyers in the public sector…To address evolving societal crises, the Foundation will rotate its primary areas of attention every two years from among the following initial areas: economic justice, housing/homeless discrimination, LGBTQ+ rights, immigrant justice, Native American discrimination, voting rights and criminal justice reform. The Foundation’s cases and focus areas will be informed by its executive leadership, academic partners, other social justice organizations and fellows.”
- In Wisconsin, as of February 5th the Wisconsin State Bar is organizing “Wisconsin-licensed lawyers [to] offer free consultations, by Zoom or by phone, of up to one hour to small businesses. Businesses can get an additional session at no charge if the issue is not adequately resolved.”
- In Providence RI, “[t]he American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island is suing the attorney general’s office, challenging a $225 fee charged to a law student for records regarding plea deals that could have immigration consequences. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of Roger Williams University School of Law student Lindsay Koso, who is doing research for a law review article on state immigration law. One law requires the attorney general to give the legislature an annual report listing cases in which plea agreements were vacated because judges failed to tell criminal defendants that a plea could have adverse immigration consequences…[T]he lawsuit calls that charge “per se unreasonable” because the public shouldn’t have to pay for reports that an agency is required to submit publicly. And the lawsuit says the $225 fee is so large that it would deter Koso or other members of the public from pursuing the records.”
- In New Hampshire, “[a] new study has exposed serious financial woes and gaps in legal help for New Hampshire’s neediest residents, including victims of domestic violence – justice and safety challenges that have become more pressing with the pandemic.”
- In Pennsylvania, “[u]nder a new law, people experiencing homelessness will now have the ability to receive a free identification card from PennDOT.”