November 7, 2022 at 5:01 pm
· Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hello, interested public! It’s been an uneven few months, but I’m going to do my best to bring the Digest back as a regular feature each week–either on Friday or (as now) the following Monday. Over the past week, news related to student loan forgiveness and the public service loan forgiveness and reform continued to fall thick and fast, while in New York New York, Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a new city program he hopes will allow the city to harness junior attorneys from law firms as city employees without city salaries.
In other news, the PSJD Public Interest Mini-Conference is just a few weeks away! If you’re a public interest employer or a school counselor involved in public interest job search issues, consider joining our conversation!
Take care of one another,
Sam
Editor’s Choice
Student Loans & Student Debt
In the United States, “[c]lose to 26 million Americans have applied for student loan forgiveness, and the Biden administration has already approved 16 million of the requests…[y]et its entire loan cancellation plan could be in jeopardy due to the legal challenges brought by Republicans, it warned. ”
In Washington DC, “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett [] again declined to block President Joe Biden's plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt, this time in a challenge brought by two Indiana borrowers, even as a lower court considers whether to lift a freeze it imposed on the program in a different case. ”
Also in Washington DC, “the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a blog post, exploring the potential impact of student loan payment reinstatement. The CFPB found that student loan borrowers are increasingly likely to struggle once their monthly student loan payments are reinstated. However, the CFPB also found that student debt cancellation may substantially reduce the number of borrowers at risk when the payment suspension ends. ”
In California, “Gov. Gavin Newsom [] called on the California Legislature to act quickly to prevent student loan borrowers from having to pay state income taxes on up to $20,000 in federal debt forgiveness. ”
In Albuquerque NM, “President Joe Biden’s appearance at Central New Mexico Community College focused on student debt relief and gave the state’s Democratic leaders a chance to boast about new education opportunities offered to students from preschool up to college. ”
In Albany NY, “[p]rivate student loan borrowers won a nationwide injunction barring Navient Corp. from trying to collect on certain loans that they believe should have been discharged in bankruptcy, but their quest for financial relief from the debt servicer is just heating up. ”
Rule of Law; Free and Fair Elections
In Washington DC, “Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said [] that if the U.S. Supreme Court sides with Arizona in a capital case over whether a death row inmate was properly denied post-conviction relief, the ruling could give states a roadmap for defying the high court's criminal law decisions. ”
In Palo Alto CA, “Stanford Law School has announced the launch of a new rule of law center, thanks to a ‘significant gift’ from former ABA President William ‘Bill’ Neukom and his wife, Sally Neukom. The Sally B. and William H. Neukom Center for the Rule of Law will support faculty and student work on issues such as impartial justice, fair and open government, and laws that protect fundamental rights. ”
In San Francisco, “[d]evastating cuts to Twitter’s workforce [] four days before the midterm elections[] are fueling anxieties among political campaigns and election offices that have counted on the social network’s staff to help them combat violent threats and viral lies. ”
In Washington DC, “[a] warning about the threat of political violence heading into the 2022 midterm elections was issued to state and local law enforcement officials by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on…the same day that Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s husband was hospitalized after a home invasion by a lone right-wing extremist seeking to harm her. This incident is the latest in an increasing stream of extremist confrontations taking place across the United States in recent years. ”
In New York NY, “[t]he Legal Aid Society, a legal advocacy group in New York City, rallied outside of the state’s Board of Elections (BOE) building demanding a more accessible voting process for incarcerated people. ”
In Chicago IL, “[t]wo ABA groups have launched initiatives with the aim of strengthening election protection and the public’s trust in the electoral process. Perfecting Democracy is seeking volunteers, while Defending Democracy seeks to educate the public. ” (emphasis added)
Environmental Concerns
Reproductive Rights
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
In the United States, “[e]viction filings have been on the rise and were above their historical averages in half of the 1,059 counties tracked by Legal Services Corp., a federally-funded legal aid group, during either August or September. The problem is expected to get worse in the coming months as federal rental assistance money runs out and people are unable to keep pace with rising rents and decades-high inflation, according to interviews with more than a dozen housing advocates, government officials and industry experts. ”
Meanwhile, in Nebraska “Legal Aid of Nebraska [is] argu[ing] that [a Nebraska law empowering judges to determine if residents should be removed from their home] goes against the constitutional right to a jury trial. And they’re taking the issue all the way to the Nebraska Supreme Court. ”
Meanwhile, in South Carolina, “[a] new referral program offers legal aid in 10 counties for individuals facing eviction. ”
Meanwhile, in Detroit MI, “Detroiters facing eviction aren't getting the help they need because the city has failed to set up its new eviction prevention office, housing advocates say. ”
In Santa Fe NM, “[l]ibraries are helping to connect New Mexicans with resources on civil legal matters through a partnership between the State Library and the Commission on Access to Justice. ”
In New York NY, Gothamist.com profiled the “tech hub” that Family Legal Care opened “to provide people navigating the court system with computers, private internet access, in-person tech support, and a telephone helpline with bilingual legal advice. ”
In Washington DC, “Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced that his office succeeded in stopping the Janet Keenan Housing Corporation, which provides affordable housing to low-income DC residents, from attempting to sell their property for private purposes in violation of District non-profit law. ”
Access to Justice – Criminal
In Washington DC, “[t]he Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs today announced awards totaling more than $136 million to reform state and local juvenile justice systems, provide youth violence prevention and intervention services, support mentoring programs and reentry services for young people and their families, meet the needs of vulnerable youth and study outcomes for justice-involved youth. ”
In Michigan, “[a] new state rule will set minimum rates for attorneys who represent indigent defendants. It complies with recommendations made by the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. Public defenders would make a minimum of $100 an hour under the rules approved by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The rate will go as high as $120 an hour depending on the seriousness of the charges. Also, costs for experts and investigators will be reimbursed under the rules. ”
In Benton County AR, “[l]awyers who sued a [county] judge over whether criminal defendants should be provided a lawyer at first appearance and bond hearings want to add more defendants. The defense claims the request is a futile attempt to avoid the case being dismissed. ”
In Louisville KY, “representatives of the public defenders union…[will bring] their employer, the Louisville-Jefferson County Public Defender Corporation…to court, accusing [them] of violating the National Labor Relations Act, the longstanding federal law that guarantees private sector employees the right to organize, strike and engage in collective bargaining. ”
In Mississippi, Mississippi Today observed that “Mississippi spends significantly less money on the public defender system than its counterpart, the district attorney’s offices,” arguing that “[t]his funding discrepancy results in a decentralized indigent defense system that fails to provide state oversight and ensure independence from the judiciary. Since the system allows judges in counties without a funded public defender’s office to have control over how attorneys are chosen and compensated, indigent defense attorneys might fear that when they push too hard, they will lose their job. ”
Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform
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