Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public! Major news stories this week include the upcoming student debt arguments before the US Supreme Court, a new website focused on internship opportunities with the federal government, and continuing efforts to improve staffing and morale for line attorneys in public defense and legal aid, as governments debate increasing salaries and expanding hiring and attorneys engage in collective efforts to insist on better pay and working conditions.

Take care of one another,

Sam

Editor’s Choice

• In the United States, “2022 was a record year for the number of people who died at the hands of law enforcement, whether shot, beaten, restrained, or tasered. That’s according to a non-profit research group called Mapping Police Violence, which tracks these deadly incidents.”

• In Washington DC, “[t]he Office of Personnel Management on Thursday launched a new portal as part of USAJOBS for students interested in applying for internships at federal agencies, billed as a “one-stop shop” for those interested in exploring a career in government.”

Environmental Justice

• In Washington DC, “the Biden-Harris Administration announced the availability of $550 million from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to expedite investments through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking (EJ TCGM) program.”

Immigration & Refugee Issues

• In Washington DC, “[t]he American Civil Liberties Union urged the U.S. Supreme Court to leave intact a Ninth Circuit ruling that partly cleared a California man of encouraging unlawful immigration, saying [] that the law the lower court struck down was too broad[.]”

• In New York NY, City & State published an article exploring the difficulties that migrants seeking asylum in New York City are having in their efforts to find lawyers to represent them.

Student Loans & Student Debt

• In Washington DC, “[a]dvocates are planning to camp out at the Supreme Court the night before the student debt arguments. One leader of the event told Insider it's important "the justices look into the eyes of borrowers" as they hear the cases.”

  • Other sources claim that “[m]ore than a dozen organizations, including the NAACP, Student Debt Crisis Center and the National Education Association, are co-sponsoring [the] rally[.]”

• Also in Washington DC, “[t]he Education Department released new data [] providing the most detailed breakdown to date on how many student-loan borrowers would benefit from President Joe Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers…[A]ccording to a Politico analysis, 98% of the applications came from zip codes where per capita incomes were under $75,000, and more than half of the applications came from areas with per capita incomes under $35,000[; ] it's reasonable to say that Biden's relief would work as intended, targeting it to the lowest earners.”

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• In Washington DC, “[t]he White House appears set to give Login-dot-gov, a digital identity service run by the General Services Administration, a leading role in providing access to public benefits programs, according to a draft executive order obtained by FCW.”

• In the Washington Post, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Max Stier (of the Partnership for Public Service) argued that “[f]ederal leaders should pay more attention to hiring young people to sustain the workforce, and some managers have a tendency to hire for experience instead of building the talent bench.”

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• In Canada, “[t]rans people face a disproportionate number of legal problems and are less likely than cis people to formally act on them, said a new Canadian Bar Association report.” (Full report, CBA Access to Justice for Trans People, available here.)

• In Maine, according to a recent presentation by the Director of Admissions at Maine Law, “[the] huge [rural] demand for attorneys…goes beyond criminal law issue [and] also impacts family law, disability cases, property debates, and other issues including legal counsel for entrepreneurs and small business owners.”

• In New York NY, “[l]ast fall, THE CITY reported that fewer than 10% of tenants in eviction cases were getting assigned a lawyer, despite the law guaranteeing one for all low-income people.”

• Also in New York NY, “[l]awyers, paralegals, and administrative staff working with the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), the non-profit organization that provides free legal assistance to all New York City residents, took part in a two-day strike action [that one participant called ‘]our first ever strike[.]’”

• In Florida, “[t]he Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation is hard at work creating a statewide database of guardian and guardianship case information as prescribed by the Florida Legislature last year. The database came at the recommendation of the Guardianship Improvement Task Force to create greater transparency in the guardianship process.”

• In Alberta, a past president of the Alberta Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and a past chair of the CBA National Family Law Section argued that “Alberta should be the next province to constitute a [Unified Family Court]…particularly as Alberta was supposed to have implemented a Unified Family Court in 2020 after the federal government had committed to funding 17 judicial positions in the province.”

  • Relatedly, the Alberta Family Lawyers Association “[held] a ‘Day of Action’[, with m]any lawyers across Alberta [] not [] scheduling matters in Court on the Day of Action, and many [] closing their doors and not conducting business on that day, in order to draw attention to Alberta’s Family Justice Crisis.”

Access to Justice – Criminal

• In Georgia, “[a] shortage of public defenders [] is leaving attorneys overburdened and those accused of crimes waiting for a proper defense — and that wait can last for months.”

• In Alaska, “Gov. Mike Dunleavy [] said he is proposing an additional $8.3 million over two years to help address caseload and staffing concerns for the state Public Defender Agency and Office of Public Advocacy.”

• In Montana, “[l]awmakers in charge of outlining state spending for public safety [] declined to fully fund a request for more public defenders.”

• In Maine, “[t]he Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services voted on Wednesday to raise their pay from $80 to $150 dollars an hour, effective March 1st.”

• In Minnesota, the Star Tribune published a response “to a Jan. 27 commentary by Minnesota Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea,” stating that “[p]ublic defenders were encouraged that our plea for pay parity and caseload controls was heard.”

• In Louisville KY, “[t]he Louisville Public Defenders Union is demanding better contracts. The held a forum[], asking the public to join them as they wrote letters to their board hoping to negotiate a new contract.”

  • Relatedly, “[a]n attorney with the public defender’s youth division says she’s being retaliated against because of her involvement with a union.”

• In Ionia County MI, “[the county] Board of Commissioners [approved h]iring a fourth public defense attorney [but tabled]providing a salary increase for the current public defense attorneys.”

• In Grundy County IL, “[a]fter several months of being short staffed, the Grundy County Public Defenders Office is nearly back to normal staffing levels.”

• In Florida, “HB 71, the measure offering greater protection to defense counsel and enhancing the penalties for anyone who attacks any court-appointed counsel or defense counsel acting in their capacity, has cleared its second committee hurdle.”

Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform

• In Toronto ON, “[s]tudents and staff at the University of Toronto law school are launching a new database this week documenting dozens of cases of wrongful convictions in Canada hoping to draw more attention to the problem.”

• In New Orleans LA, “[t]he New Orleans District Attorney is ordering an extensive internal review after a prosecutor in his office refused charges on more than a dozen carnival arrests. In a statement to WDSU, the DA's office wrote in part: ‘The Assistant DA’s strategic decision to refuse these misdemeanors in exchange for forfeiture of the weapons at first appearance was improper and does not represent our office policy or procedure.’”

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public! The dominant story in the United States continues to be the ongoing shortage of state and local government workers, including a variety of stories about the difficulties various jurisdictions are having staffing local government attorney positions. As always, these stories and others are in the links below.

Take care of one another,

Sam

Editor’s Choice

• In East Palestine OH, “[n]early two weeks after a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in rural Ohio, questions still linger about the lasting effects of the incident and the speed at which residents were returned to their homes…Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Republican Governor Mike DeWine said he learned that the train cars were marked as non-hazardous, and thus officials weren’t notified that the train would be crossing through the state. The governor called on Congress to look into the regulations that would allow a train carrying multiple cars with hazardous substances to be labeled non-hazardous.”

Student Loans & Student Debt

• In the United States, “[m]ore than half of people with student loans say their future financial stability hinges on erasing that debt, even as a Biden administration program that promised to forgive up to $20,000 remains in legal limbo.”

• In Washington DC, “Republican lawmakers are once again trying to put millions of student-loan borrowers back into repayment…GOP Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Thune reintroduced the Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act, which would end the ongoing student-loan payment pause and block President Joe Biden from canceling student debt broadly in connection with a national emergency.”

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• In New York, “[the] State Legislature has approved chapter amendments to New York State’s pay transparency law, which is slated to take effect on September 17, 2023. The most notable revision would provide that the law applies to remote positions physically performed outside of New York that report to a New York supervisor, office, or work site. The bill is currently before Governor Hochul, and if signed, would become part of the law taking effect in September.”

• In Texas, “Gov. Greg Abbott’s office is warning state agency and public university leaders this week that the use of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — policies that support groups who have been historically underrepresented or discriminated against — is illegal in hiring.”

• In the United States, “[i]t’s widely known that state and local governments are struggling to recruit and retain workers…But as the number of layoff announcements in the private sector increase and a record number of Americans withdraw funds from their 401(k)s as a result of financial distress, the public sector may be uniquely positioned to reverse its worker shortage with a highly attractive benefit that gives it an edge over the private sector: a pension.”

Legal Technology

• In the United States, the recent “State of the Courts Report 2023” revealed that “[v]irtual hearings are here to stay, with over 80% of courts today conducting hearings through virtual platforms. 40% say the majority of court hearings are now conducted virtually. 74% say virtual hearings will stay the same or increase in the future.”

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• In Harris County TX, “growing eviction dockets mean many cases are decided in less than 90 seconds[.]”

• In Los Angeles CA, “[a]group of city council members proposed a program establishing a right to counsel for tenants in Los Angeles [] as part of a continued effort to expand renter protections.”

• In Albany NY, “[t]he Right to Counsel Coalition launched its 2023 legislative platform during a rally at the Albany State Capitol.”

• In Minnesota, “[a] group of housing advocates is urging state leaders to give out $85 million in federal housing aid as soon as possible amid record numbers of eviction filings across the state…Minnesota Housing officials said they're working on getting the funds out. Officials are developing a proposal of how to use the money based on public input, which was gathered through a December survey.”

• In Florida, “[w]hen the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office teamed up with members of the Appellate Practice Section in 2017 to launch Defending Best Interests (DBI), an initiative in which pro bono attorneys write answer briefs defending the child’s best interests in termination of parental rights appeals, neither entity imagined how many children would be assisted. As of February, pro bono appellate attorneys have represented more than 1,000 dependent children on appeal, helping remove barriers to their permanency in safe and loving homes.”

Access to Justice – Criminal

• In Queens NY, “[a]s contract negotiations between the Legal Aid Society and the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys become increasingly tense, public defense attorneys across the city went on a lunchtime work stoppage[.]”

• In Alaska, “Gov. Mike Dunleavy [] said he is proposing an additional $8.3 million over two years to help address caseload and staffing concerns for the state Public Defender Agency and Office of Public Advocacy.”

• In Missouri, “a judge ruled [that] Missouri’s practice of placing poor criminal defendants on a waiting list for a state-appointed attorney is unconstitutional[.]”

• In Pender County NC, “[a new public defender office] is expected to be up and running by May of this year.”

• In Florida, “[t]he Florida Public Defender Association has proposed a new amendment to an existing Florida Bar rule, allowing court appearances for law school graduates up to a year before their bar admission. The proposal, put forth by the organization’s president, Carlos Martinez, aims to address the shortage of public defenders in the state and improve access to justice.”

• In Ontario, “[t]he Ontario government, the Ontario Court of Justice, Indigenous leaders, and community partners have opened the Kenora Justice Centre. The centre aims to extend community-led support to criminal offenders through health care, education, housing, and other social-service providers. Specialized teams that include Indigenous-led organizations and mental health and addictions counsellors will deliver wrap-around programs addressing the root causes of crimes while supporting healing and growth for at-risk youth and young adults.”

• In Cochise County AZ, “County Public Defender Eugene Marquez is calling it quits, his departure leaving the office that represents mostly indigent defendants rudderless.”

• In Lake County CA, “the Board of Supervisors discussed a report commissioned by the county on indigent defense services and considered a plan to make sure that the constitutional rights of criminal defendants in the local courts are being protected.”

Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform

• In Ft. Lauderdale FL, “[a]n elected Florida prosecutor who says he was suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis for political gain — and because he is a Democrat — is asking the state Supreme Court to reinstate him, citing a federal judge's ruling that DeSantis violated state law and his First Amendment rights.”

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public! Another metaphorical doorstop of a digest for you, I’m afraid, as jurisdictions across the country face a staffing shortage for public interest attorneys and opposition to the Biden administration’s student debt relief plans continues to stack up. Of particular interest, NY Gov. Hochul’s proposed budget included no new funding for public defense or legal aid, even as legal aid attorneys in New York City engaged in a walk-off, and new policies in Arkansas limiting federal hiring hampered public defender office’s ability to fill vacancies. As always, these stories–and many more–are in the links below.

Take care of one another,

Sam

Editor’s Choice

• In Georgia, “[t]he state bar’s Rules Committee has proposed amending Georgia Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8 (e) regarding conflicts of interests surrounding prohibited transactions. The rule outlines the exceptions under which an attorney is permitted to provide financial assistance to a client in connection with pending or contemplated litigation. The proposed amendments would add a provision about the pro bono representation of indigent clients and a prohibition against subsidizing lawsuits or administrative proceedings brought on behalf of clients.”

Student Loans & Student Debt

• In Washington DC, “Protect Democracy — a group with Democratic and Republican leaders cofounded by lawyers under former President Barack Obama…which said it's "dedicated to defeating the authoritarian threat, building more resilient democratic institutions, and protecting our freedom and liberal democracy" on its website, wrote in [an amicus] brief that…the route Biden proposed to give millions of [student loan borrowers] relief is an overuse of emergency powers.”

• Also in Washington DC, “Biden's administration has announced a new student loan repayment plan. This plan is aimed at providing relief to millions of Americans struggling with student debt. The program, which is revealed as the administration ramps up the IDR Account Adjustment, would allow borrowers to cap their monthly loan payments at 5% of their income and forgive any remaining debt after 10 or 20 years of payments. The Biden administration estimates that the new plan would provide relief to as many as eight million borrowers.”

• Again also in Washington DC, “[t]he Biden Administration is attempting to make it easier for borrowers who were misled by their colleges to apply for student loan forgiveness. The new website will provide clear instructions for people who want to apply for debt forgiveness under a program called Borrower Defense to repayment.”

• In Providence RI, researchers at Brown University examined how “[although s]tudent debt in the United States is a heavily racialized issue…at the highest levels of power, where decisions about student loan policy are made, race is barely discussed at all.” (the research paper is available here)

• Prism Reports discussed how “managing student loan debt is uniquely burdensome for borrowers whom the carceral system has caught. Debt relief for incarcerated borrowers who took on loans before their sentence is not readily available [and] the needs and concerns of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated borrowers continue to be overlooked by relief efforts.”

Reproductive Rights

• In Washington DC, “[a] federal judge [suggested] that there may be a constitutional right to abortion baked into the 13th Amendment – an area that went unexplored by the Supreme Court in its momentous decision last year overturning Roe v. Wade.”

Immigration & Refugee Issues

• In New York NY, “federal immigration courts were not built to withstand the deluge of backed up cases due to the pandemic let alone take on new cases in a timely manner. With more than 40,000 asylum seekers arriving in New York City since the spring of 2022, most on buses sent from Texas, the city’s resources are stretched. All immigrants trying to meet their legal requirements encounter a system that has 180,000 cases already pending — and that was before the busing started last spring.”

  • Relatedly, “[NYC] Mayor Adams is now stating New York City’s “right to shelter” policy is not applicable to the tens of thousands of migrants who have flooded into the city.”

• In Chicago IL, “[a]n immigration law clinic at Northwestern University has received a $5 million gift to expand its services.”

Environmental Justice

• In London UK, “[a] High Court Claim…was brought against Shell’s 11 directors [alleging] the firm has failed to adopt a climate transition strategy in line with the Paris Agreement. The lawsuit, brought by climate non-profit ClientEarth, has received the backing of a group of investors, including pension funds in the UK, Sweden, and Denmark[.]”

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• In the United States, “[a] retirement tsunami has not hit the federal government, but competition for new talent is intensifying.”

• In Texas, “Gov. Greg Abbott's office informed state agencies and public universities Saturday that they cannot consider diversity, equity, and inclusion metrics when hiring employees.”

• In Florida, “the Supreme Court has eliminated a requirement that new judges attend a separate, daylong training on fairness and diversity.”

Legal Technology

• In the United States, “[t]o better understand the current state of technology within the courts and to help identify opportunities to make courts more efficient and accessible, Thomson Reuters recently commissioned a 2023 Court Trends & Technology Survey.”

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• In Albany NY, “[t]here is a lot in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget that the Legal Aid Society is disappointed with, including what it calls the budget’s failure to propose any new money for public defenders and legal service organizations.”

  • Relatedly, “[h]undreds of attorneys and professionals at the Legal Aid Society walked off the job for an hour…to pressure their management to raise wages and reduce caseloads in order to stem the flow of attrition in the organization.”

• In St. Louis MO, “[r]enters [] could soon have the right to counsel during eviction proceedings, under a bill filed last month by Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia. Board Bill 180, now in committee, also would require landlords to disclose information to tenants about their rights to legal representation. The measure would offer free legal representation for St. Louis renters and create a coordinator position to run the program.”

• In Richmond VA, “[a]dvocates and stakeholders have solutions for the Virginia Employment Commission to get through its backlog of unemployment appeal cases…The agency’s issues stem from underfunding, short staffing, and lacking technology, according to a 2021 report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. Pat Levy-Lavelle, senior intake attorney at the Legal Aid Justice Center, said one way to fix the issue is hiring more staff for first-level appeals.”

• In Nashville TN, “Legal Aid Society and Conexión Américas’ Eviction Right to Counsel [] [held] an open house…to inform the community about a pilot program aimed at providing outreach, education and legal aid to low-income renters at risk of eviction in Davidson County.”

• In Detroit MI, “the City of Detroit’s inaugural executive director of its Office of Eviction Defense has completed her first month on the job. The office was created to satisfy a requirement of Detroit’s Right to Counsel (RTC) ordinance, passed by city council last May.”

  • Relatedly, “[a]ttorneys under [Detroit’s] delayed city eviction-defense program [are] likely to be in place starting March 1.”

• In Akron OH, “[t]he city [] is pursuing $5.3 million in federal money to provide rental assistance and free legal counsel for struggling renters and to increase affordable housing options.”

• In Cleveland OH, “[t]he medical-legal partnership between University Hospitals and The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland will be sustained for at least another five years following a key donation[.]”

• Also in Cleveland, “[t]he Abortion Fund of Ohio (AFO) today launched the Legal Access Program to provide free and confidential legal advice and case management, connect people with pro-bono counsel and help minors who want to seek abortions without parental permission, among other comprehensive offerings.”

Access to Justice – Criminal

• In Albany NY, “[t]here is a lot in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget that the Legal Aid Society is disappointed with, including what it calls the budget’s failure to propose any new money for public defenders and legal service organizations.”

• In Maine, “[l]ongtime indigent defense attorney Seth Levy said he resigned weeks after becoming the state’s first lead public defender because he wasn’t given the authority he was promised. ‘As soon as the job started…I was told that I was not to be engaged in policy discussions, I wasn’t allowed to meet with people without permission. … Everything was managed and controlled. I was given directives. It was vastly different than what I understood the job was going to be.’”

  • Relatedly, “[m]embers of a legislative committee have voted unanimously to give an additional $6 million to the state agency that provides attorneys to low-income criminal defendants.”

• In Anchorage AK, “Alaska’s shortage of public defenders, which is already delaying criminal cases in rural Alaska, will likely grow worse because of a new law, budget documents indicate. The shortage, first reported in depth by the Anchorage Daily News on Thursday, has already caused public defenders to begin refusing cases in Nome and Bethel.”

  • Relatedly, “[a] state agency that represents Alaskans who cannot afford their own attorneys intends this month to stop taking clients facing serious felony charges in parts of southwest and western Alaska due to staffing shortages.”

• In Santa Cruz CA, “[t]he UC Santa Cruz Legal Studies Program, in partnership with the Santa Cruz County Office of the Public Defender, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and the National Association for Public Defense, will host its first-ever National Public Defense Summit on February 24-25 at the Stevenson Event Center. ”

• In Missouri, “[the state’s] public defender system is woefully understaffed, according to Mary Fox, Director of the State Public Defender Office. She told a House budget subcommittee last week that some Missouri counties don’t have ANY public defenders:”

• In Colorado, “[after an independent study concluded that a] full 98% of positions at regional offices within the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender are underpaid compared to similar jobs in the public sector,…[t]he public defender’s office is considering raising salaries between 2% and 28% for various positions within the agency, with an average increase of 15%, or about $10,800 a year, according to a preliminary report prepared by legislative staff for the Joint Budget Committee.”

• In McLennan County TX, “[l]ocal officials in the judicial system, including court appointed attorneys, said defendants with court appointed representation can get a thorough and vigorous defense. Local NAACP leaders said the system should be studied thoroughly to determine whether a public defender office or some type of nonprofit defense for the indigent should be implemented.”

• In Arkansas, “[a] limit on state hiring enacted by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders last month has kept public defenders across Arkansas from filling vacancies, straining attorneys already managing caseloads above national standards.”

• In Oregon, “[a]s Oregon faces a homeless and public defender shortage crisis, the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is calling for action and "real" solutions.”

• In St. Paul MN, “[m]illions of extra dollars are working their way through the Minnesota Legislature to both beef up the ability of Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office to prosecute violent crime and the state’s public defender system to relieve the staffing shortages that nearly led to a strike last year.”

• In South Dakota, “[a] new task force aims to better support attorneys defending residents in legal trouble[.]”

• In Suffolk County NY, “a group of Filipino nurses is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to enforce the Thirteenth Amendment, which famously abolished slavery and involuntary servitude. Simply for quitting abusive working conditions and seeking legal counsel, the nurses were indicted and threatened with jail time by prosecutors in Suffolk County, New York. A state court later ruled that the prosecutions violated the nurses’ rights under the Thirteenth Amendment.”

• In Washington DC, “[t]he National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) is excited to announce a multi-year grant from Walmart Foundation to support the Black Public Defender Association (BPDA), a section of NLADA. The $500,000 grant through the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity will allow BPDA to advance racial equity by expanding its national network of Black public defenders and increasing its community engagement efforts.”

Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform

• In Tallahassee FL, “[currently] Florida law provides greater punishment — felony charges — for violent acts against law enforcement and correctional officers, prosecutors and judges. Those added punitive deterrents do not extend to defense attorneys, public defenders, their assistants, regional conflict counselors and their assistants…A bill (HB 71) that cleared the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee by a near-unanimous vote [] would close that loophole.”

• In Memphis TN, “despite quick action from the authorities [in response to Tyre Nichols’ extra-judicial homicide] experts say the response to Nichols' beating is still more the exception than the rule, and that it's too early to tell whether the case represents a permanent shift in how alleged police misconduct is investigated. ’It's still fewer than 2% of the cases where officers killed someone that result in an officer facing charges criminally,’ said Philip Stinson, a professor at Bowling Green State University who maintains a widely cited database on police officers accused of crime.”

• In Denver CO, “Colorado’s second-highest court…reversed a man’s convictions after finding a Denver judge forced him to choose between postponing his jury trial if he wanted a lawyer or continuing to trial as scheduled, but with no attorney.”

• In Butte County MT, “[a] public defense attorney for Bonneville County will be joining the bench in Butte County this March.”

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public!

Another blockbuster news week, coming to you just under the wire (east coast time). Beyond this week’s focus, Amazon announced the end of their AmazonSmile program, leaving many nonprofits looking for additional sources of revenue. The ABA, the National Center for State Courts, and the RAND Corporation teased the results of their forthcoming study of new national public defender workload standards. Oh, and the Biden Administration’s decision to end the public health emergency in March may compromise its ability to offer student loan forgiveness. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.

Take care of one another,

Sam

Editor’s Focus

• On January 29th, 2023, “[t]he Memphis Police Department announced Saturday that it was disbanding the specialized unit whose officers stopped and beat [Tyre] Nichols on Jan. 7. Nichols died in the hospital three days later.”

• On January 26th, 2023, Memphis Mayor Jim Strictland delivered a speech praising the city’s Scorpion unit: “At the end of last year, Chief Davis created the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods Unit (SCORPION). This unit addresses violent crimes such as homicides, aggravated assaults, robberies, and carjackings that occur throughout the city. The teams will also address motor vehicle thefts, theft from motor vehicles, and other felony offenses…Since its inception last October through January 23, 2022, the Scorpion Unit has had a total of 566 arrests—390 of them felony arrests. They have seized over $103,000 in cash, 270 vehicles, and 253 weapons.”

• In 2006 and 2007, “[a]s she rose through the ranks of the Atlanta Police Department, Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis spent nearly 18 months overseeing a hyper-aggressive street crime unit, named Red Dog, that was ultimately disbanded following a public backlash and a series of lawsuits. Now, in the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death, Davis faces questions over why she would launch a similar team in Memphis, Tennessee — called the Scorpion unit — shortly after she arrived to lead the city’s police force in 2021. ‘If anyone in Memphis had checked with anyone from the world of police oversight in Atlanta, they would have learned that creating a Red Dog-like squad using Red Dog-like tactics was inevitably going to result in police misconduct and violence,’ said Dan Grossman, an Atlanta lawyer who filed several successful lawsuits on behalf of victims alleging they were roughed up by Red Dog officers.”

• Meanwhile, “[w]hen news broke [] that the Memphis Police Department’s Scorpion Unit was disbanded, Amber Sherman, a community organizer in the city who has helped lead the demonstrations for Tyre Nichols, seemed unimpressed: ‘Yep. Now they need to answer all the demands.’…[Local organizers a]re calling for widespread reforms in the Memphis police: dissolving similar task forces in the city, ending the use of unmarked cars and plainclothes officers, and banning traffic stops without probable cause…’It’s not just the Scorpion Unit. We’ve had these task forces for years,’ Sherman continue[d]. ‘I’m born and raised here, in my 20s, and this has always been a practice.’”

Student Loans & Student Debt

• In Washington DC, “[t]he official COVID-19 national emergency is coming to an end, leaving some Americans to wonder what that means for economic policies that changed during the pandemic…As the national emergencies come to an end, it’s not exactly clear how the move will affect Americans with federal student loans…[S]ome worry that Biden’s declaration will complicate the legal case Nebraska v. Biden, which uses the COVID-19 national emergency as the rationale for implementing the $10,000 to $20,000 in debt relief per eligible borrower.”

• Also in Washington DC, “[m]ore than 60% of the 26 million people who applied for relief have had their loans sent to servicers for discharge, the U.S. Department of Education said. But forgiveness is not guaranteed. The Department of Education faced lawsuits from six states and two individuals who argued it was unlawful.”

• In California, “[t]he California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) recently issued a Notice of Modification to Proposed Regulations and published the newly modified proposed regulations to amend its student loan servicing regulations. Among other things, the modified regulations would expand the definition of ‘income share agreement,’ impose additional rules related to responding to a borrower’s qualified written request, and expand the requirements for the DFPI’s Aggregate Student Loan Servicing Report.”

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• In Alberta, “[a]ctive lawyers [] will soon have the chance to express their opinion on the provincial law society’s rule on mandating continuing professional development (CPD) requirements such as its mandatory course for Indigenous cultural competency training. In response to a petition signed by 51 lawyers in the province — one of which was later found to be inactive — the Law Society of Alberta (LSA) has called a special meeting to vote on a resolution Feb. 6 to repeal its rule 67.4[.]”

• In Arkansas, “[a]n Arkansas Senate committee [] advanced a bill that its sponsor Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, said is aimed at effectively ending affirmative action in state and local government.”

• In the United States, “[n]onprofit cultural institutions, advocacy groups, and social-service organizations have all had employees unionize…Even as the economy cools and fears of recession grow, both union organizers and consultants who advise nonprofit leaders on the issue say nonprofit staff are continuing to unionize at the same fast pace.”

• Also in the United States, “[a] group of 28 foundation leaders on Monday called on their peers to make a long-lasting commitment to support Black-led racial-justice organizations following the police killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis.”

• Again also in the United States, “[a] national program that supported nonprofits is shutting down, leaving…nonprofits searching for new ways to replace the funding. Amazon launched AmazonSmile in 2013, contributing 0.5% of everypurchase made by participating customers to the charity of their choosing…The e-commerce giant announced earlier this month its plans to shut down the donation program by Feb. 20.”

• In Washington DC, “[the US House of Representatives] voted 221-206 mostly along party lines [] to pass legislation requiring federal agencies to revert to their pre-pandemic telework policies, although the measure is likely to meet stiff resistance in the Democratically controlled Senate[.]”

  • Meanwhile, also in Washington DC, “President Bident [] called on agencies to beef up their offerings of paid and unpaid leave for federal employees when they need to take time off for major life events.”

• In Georgia, “[t]he Georgia Court of Appeals [] said it didn’t have jurisdiction to review a governmental immunity question in a former public defender staffer’s wrongful firing suit, questioning whether it even had jurisdiction to issue a 2002 ruling on the issue that has since become the standard in the Peach State.”

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• In the Midwest, WSIU News published a comprehensive look at the eviction crisis, its collateral consequences, and potential solutions being explored by governments and nonprofits: “[w]ith the end of pandemic-era housing support like eviction moratoriums and federal rental assistance, many Midwesterners face housing insecurity…Federal and state lawmakers have proposed a variety of policy solutions to combat evictions, including new tenant protections and expanding emergency rental assistance programs.”

Access to Justice – Criminal

• In Waco TX, the Waco Tribune-Herald wrote about an “upcoming ‘watershed’ moment in public defense”: “Longtime civil rights lawyer Stephen Hanlon[‘s] law firm, Lawyer Hanlon, partnered with the American Bar Association, the National Center for State Courts and the public policy research RAND Corporation to develop new national public defender workload standards expected in February…The standards will be the first in the nation to prove with reliable data the extent to which public defenders are overworked, Hanlon said. They will be based on public defender workload studies in 17 states. Two of those studies revealed Oregon and New Mexico have about a third of the public defenders needed to provide adequate representation to everyone accused of crimes.”

  • Relatedly, the Tribune-Herald also reported on how “[s]taff shortages and decades of underfunding have created public defense systems crises across the West. Public defenders say they’re unable to serve clients effectively as they grapple with crushing caseloads, few resources, burnout, student debt and low pay.”

• In Helena MT, the Independent Record published an expose of power dynamics that affect public defenders’ ability to zealously represent their clients: “[j]udges or elected officials in many counties nationwide have full oversight over public defense, a structure that can lead to “subtle pressure” on public defenders to avoid using many county resources or making motions that agitate a judge. Attorneys rarely are removed or dismissed in retaliation, though fear of that can weaken the defense…That power structure in California, Texas, Arizona and Idaho prevents attorney access to necessary resources, including investigators and expert witnesses…[One attorney] felt ‘disincentivized’ because judges have the power to not assign cases to court-appointed attorneys, though in 20 years Texas Panhandle judges never took away her cases. The structure created ‘subtle pressure’ to avoid questioning judges or filing motions that would ‘offend’ judges, she said[:] ‘If they chose to black ball you, they could[.]’”

• In Maine, “[m]embers of Maine's judiciary committee voted unanimously to give the Maine commission on indigent legal services an additional $6 million. This comes as a reaction to what officials are calling a public defense crisis.”

Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform

• In Queens NY, “the gloves have come off in the Queens district attorney race. Challenger George Grasso is calling on Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz to rescind her endorsement from the New York State Court Officers Association (NYSCOA) and repudiate its president Dennis Quirk. The union leader was suspended from his position as a court officer in August 2021, after he published the home address and vacation home address of then-Chief Judge Janet DiFiore on social media after a dispute over COVID-19 vaccine mandates.”