PSJD Public Interest News Digest – August 19, 2022
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Hello, interested public!
Hope you’re all hanging in there. High drama in the news this week for public defenders in both the United States (where the chief public defender of Minnesota is facing a vote of no confidence from union public defenders and the Chief Justice of Oregon fired the entire Public Defense Services Commission) and Canada (where criminal defense attorneys in Alberta further escalated their ongoing job action). Major reports concerning non-profit funding and government remote workplace efficiency came out, legal aid services in Indiana reported a staffing crisis, and the Florida prosecutor recently replaced by Gov. DeSantis for his stated position on abortion-related prosecutions is suing in response to his removal.
Take care of one another,
Sam
Editor’s Choices
- In Illinois, “[d]ata broker LexisNexis Risk Solutions allegedly violated Illinois law by collecting and combining extensive personal information and selling it to third parties including federal immigration authorities, according to a lawsuit filed [] by immigration advocates.”
- Relatedly, “[a]n independent, two-year investigation has now revealed that ICE collected data on hundreds of millions of Americans under a legally — and ethically — questionable surveillance system largely outside of public oversight…ICE has carried out this surveillance by turning to third parties like state Departments of Motor Vehicles, large utility companies, and private data brokers like LexisNexis Risk Solutions.”
- Moreover, “Congressional leadership is asking federal law enforcement agencies for detailed information on how they purchase Americans’ personal data through various mediums and broker services, to determine the legal legitimacy of government data collection.”
- In the United States, “a chorus of public health experts [are] voicing concerns over the federal response to monkeypox in prisons and jails…Experts say that is also likely to be the case behind bars, where thousands are crowded into tight facilities and sex is often traded for safety, and in many cases prisoners in laundry facilities must wash each other’s bedding and clothing. But the Biden administration has no plans to administer or require vaccines to prevent the spread of monkeypox behind bars, officials confirmed[.]”
Student Loans & Student Debt
- In the United States, “[a] survey of consumers with federal student loans on pause…reveals that only 14% of respondents say they can afford the payments with no issues when the forbearance period ends, according to a consumer survey by ScoreSense®, a credit score monitoring product.”
- Also in the United States, “[t]he nation’s 40 million student loan borrowers are still waiting on the Biden administration to announce whether they’ll have to resume monthly payments in September. And whether they’ll have any of their debt canceled outright…[T]his time, the administration is cutting it closer to the restart of payments than any other point in the past two and a half years.”
Non-Profit & Gov’t Management & Hiring
- In the United States, “[p]retty much the entire U.S. nonprofit sector is witnessing a move from individually-determined charitable donations to institutionally- determined philanthropic strategies. A new report from the Institute for Policy Studies shows megaphilanthropy crowding out individual donations” (report available here)
- Also in the United States, “a survey released this week that examined workforce trends during the pandemic [found that n]early half of remote and hybrid government employees report team performance has improved over the past two years.”
- Again also in the United States, “[n]onprofits across the country are still struggling to find workers and consistent funding, according to a new survey. About 40 percent of charities say that employment remains their highest priority as service demands remain elevated because of inflation and the lingering pandemic.”
- In Iowa, “[t]he state added employees for the fourth consecutive month in July, according to an Iowa Workforce Development report released Thursday. During the recent upswing, local governments have added 2,800 jobs while state government agencies have added 600 jobs. Combined, the two public sectors account for one in four new jobs added since this spring.”
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
- In Indiana, “legal aid agencies across the state are struggling to find and hire attorneys to fill full-time staff positions. Providers speculate that lower bar passage rates and high demand for lawyers across the legal profession have created a supply issue…Ironically for civil legal aid in Indiana, the shortage of lawyers is coinciding with an influx of money from a $13.1 million grant from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. Legal aid groups are using the funds, in part, to hire new attorneys who will help clients with housing needs.”
- In Chicago IL, the “North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic has been awarded a $125,000 state grant from the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation to provide free legal assistance to local residents facing eviction.”
- In Oregon, “state lawmakers allocated $6 million to community groups this year to help with what they’ve called a humanitarian crisis for workers in the state’s cannabis industry[:] recover[ing] stolen wages for cannabis farm workers[.]”
- In Wisconsin, “Legal Action of Wisconsin received a $360,000 Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant to expand its Lawyer-For-A-Day program. The program, which already exists to defend low-income residents in eviction court, will now also be offered to low-income clients facing debt collectors and debt buyers in small claims court.”
- In Alaska, “a new department in the Alaska Court System…is providing resources to the public in an effort to help the public better navigate legal matters.”
Access to Justice – Criminal
- In Alberta, “defence lawyers will not take on legal aid files pertaining to very serious criminal offences starting Sept. 1. The Criminal Defence Lawyers Association (Calgary), the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association (Edmonton), the Southern Alberta Defence Lawyers Association and the Red Deer Criminal Lawyers Association issued a release Thursday saying members will ‘begin refusing new certificates for all criminal appeals,’ and ‘refuse new legal aid files involving the most serious criminal offences – those classified as level 2.5 or level 3 offences by Legal Aid Alberta.’ Offences deemed to be level 2.5 and level 3 by Legal Aid Alberta include ‘most sexual offences, firearms- related offences, all homicides and dangerous offender proceedings.’ The groups stopped taking cases in response to what they believe is underfunding by the province.”
- In Minnesota, “State Public Defender Bill Ward faces a vote of no confidence from union public defenders, who say he has failed to advocate for the office and allowed morale to reach its lowest point in decades.”
- In Oregon, “Oregon’s chief justice fired all the members of the Public Defense Services Commission[], frustrated that hundreds of defendants charged with crimes and who cannot afford an attorney have been unable to obtain public defenders to represent them. The unprecedented action comes as Oregon’s unique public defender system has come under such strain that it is at the breaking point. Criminal defendants in Oregon who have gone without legal representation due to a shortage of public defenders filed a lawsuit in May that alleges the state is violating their constitutional right to legal counsel and a speedy trial.”
- In Indiana, the State “Supreme Court has approved a proposed schedule of minimum fees for the state’s public defenders appointed in trial and appellate cases.”
- In New York State, “Chenango County and all of upstate may have to follow New York City’s lead when it comes to a significant rate increase for public defenders. The county’s budget office has warned local officials of a possible 110 percent rate hike that would require the county to pay indigent defense fees of $158 per hour, up from the $75 per hour currently paid. If enacted, it would be the first pay raise that public defenders have seen in two decades.”
Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform
- In Hillsborough County FL, “[a] Florida prosecutor is suing Gov. Ron DeSantis for suspending him from office over his pledges to not prosecute cases related to abortion and gender-transition treatments.”
- In Los Angeles County CA, “[t]he bid to recall progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon failed to qualify for the ballot because the campaign lacked enough valid signatures.”
- In New York State, “[t]he surprise resignation of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore has set up a tense nomination battle to select her successor. Although the actual nomination will not happen until this fall, a coalition of left-wing groups has begun mobilizing to pressure Gov. Kathy Hochul to nominate a progressive pick who will reverse the Court of Appeal’s drift to the right under DiFiore.”
- In Savannah GA, “The City [] is planning to recruit a special prosecutor to handle federal offenses stemming from Savannah, a surely unprecedented move the city is making to try and address its out of control crime problem.”
- In Virginia, “Commonwealth's attorneys offices statewide are experiencing staffing shortages, but the Shenandoah County Commonwealth's Attorney Office is having a particularly hard time. The office has just two employees.”