Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public!

Sam has returned from his time well spent with his newest family member, so this is my last week curating the Digest. The Supreme Court decisions we have all been waiting for are now here–some victories and some major losses. We also highlight two reports of deplorable conditions in Guantanamo Bay and a Los Angeles jail. And finally the “Cop City” news continues as a district attorney removed herself from the case.

As always, these stories and more are in the links below. Thanks for being such a wonderful audience!

Happy reading,

Brittany

Editor’s Choice

• In Canada, “Google[] said on Thursday that it will block all links to Canadian news articles for people using its search engine and other services in the country in response to a new law that would compel tech companies to pay publishers for content.”

• In Washington, D.C., “The U.S. Supreme Court found that Harvard and the University of North Carolina’s admissions policy violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The decision reverses decades of precedent upheld over the years by narrow court majorities that included Republican-appointed justices. It could end the ability of colleges and universities — public and private — to do what most say they still need to do: consider race as one of many factors in deciding which of the qualified applicants is to be admitted.”

  • In opposition, “Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson lashed out at the Supreme Court’s majority opinion on affirmative action in college admissions, with a dissent asserting that it will not bring a quicker end to racism. ‘The best that can be said of the majority’s perspective is that it proceeds (ostrich-like) from the hope that preventing consideration of race will end racism. But if that is its motivation, the majority proceeds in vain,’ Jackson wrote.”

    • Likewise, Time reports “the immediate impact will undoubtedly be less diverse student bodies. We will see our marginalized AAPI students, especially from some Pacific Islander and Southeast Asian communities, struggle even more educationally than they do already.”

  • In response to this ruling, “Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) released statements Thursday saying they will comply after the Supreme Court struck down their race-based admissions processes, severely limiting affirmative action in university admissions.”

  • On a similar subject, “[a] federal civil-rights complaint has been filed against the State University of New York’s Buffalo School of Law by an anti-racism group. The complaint alleges that the law school’s summer program, which gives preference to “students of color” over white students, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.”

Supreme Court Ethics Concerns

• Amidst all of the controversial news released recently, “The Supreme Court just agreed to hear a case next term that could preempt Congress and the Biden administration from instituting a federal wealth tax — another potentially lucrative gift for conservative justices’ billionaire benefactors and the super rich. A think tank affiliated with some of those benefactors recently pressed the court to accept the case and outlaw such taxes.”

Student Loans & Student Debt

• In Washington DC, “the Supreme Court…released its official opinion [about the legality of student loan forgiveness:]…[a]s of June 30 2023, the promise of $10,000 to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness promised per eligible borrower is dead. Like it or not, but blanket loan forgiveness is not going to happen — at least not in the way it was promised and definitely not right now…With student loan debt forgiveness off the table, the majority of borrowers with federal student loans need to begin making plans to pick up with payments where they left off.”

• Also in Washington, D.C., “[t]he Education Department in recent weeks finalized a three-month grace period for missed payments once student loans come due in October and directed loan services to be ‘prepared’ to extend that flexibility for subsequent 90-day periods, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Once interest accrual resumes on Sept. 1, under the department’s current plans, it would continue to pile up even if borrowers miss payments.”

Eye on AI

• Across the world, “a slow drip of fund-raising emails and promotional images composed by A.I. for political campaigns has turned into a steady stream of campaign materials created by the technology, rewriting the political playbook for democratic elections around the world. Increasingly, political consultants, election researchers and lawmakers say setting up new guardrails, such as legislation reining in synthetically generated ads, should be an urgent priority. Existing defenses, such as social media rules and services that claim to detect A.I. content, have failed to do much to slow the tide.”

• In Bloomberg Law, Prof. Schultz of Hamline University speculated that “[a]s ChatGPT and and other forms of artificial intelligence take on more humanlike qualities, we need to ask two questions. When and how could ChatGPT be indicted for a crime? And at what point would pulling the plug on ChatGPT be murder? When does an entity powered by AI acquire constitutional status as a person with rights?”

  • Relatedly, Sam recommends readers reconsider an argument this Digest carried on March 24th this year, that “[a] degraded view of humanity results when one assumes that there is no essential distinction between humans and advanced AI programs…And all the consequences of treating humans as machines will result from that attitude.”

First Amendment Issues

• In Florida, “[a] federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked a new Florida law targeting drag shows that was championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.”

• In Washington, D.C., “The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the U.S. Postal Service in its attempts to require any employee to work on Sundays, even when it conflicted with their religious observances.”

Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

• In the United States, “Colorado can’t force a Christian web designer to create gay wedding websites under the First Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled[]— a sweeping defeat of Colorado’s public accommodations laws that sought to ban discrimination against customers based on sexual orientation.”

  • In dissent, “Justice Sonia Sotomayor [wrote,] ‘[t]oday is a sad day in American constitutional law and in the lives of LGBT people. The Supreme Court of the United States declares that a particular kind of business, though open to the public, has a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class. The Court does so for the first time in its history[.]’”

  • Relatedly, after interviewing one of the men named in the plaintiff’s court filings, The New Republic revealed that “it looks like Smith [(the plaintiff)] and her attorneys have, perhaps unwittingly, invented a gay couple in need of a wedding website in a case in which they argue that same-sex marriages are ‘false.’”

  • Also relatedly, “[t]he Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a registered nonprofit behind the ongoing 303 Creative supreme court case which could chip away at LGBTQ+ rights, saw its revenue surge by more than $25m between 2020 and 2021[.]…It has handed over hundreds of thousands of dollars of that newfound wealth to fringe organizations which have sought to diminish the rights of trans students in schools and the right for trans people to participate in sports, an investigation by the watchdog group Accountable.US has found.”

• Also in the United States, “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a North Carolina public charter school's defense of its blocked requirement that girls wear skirts – a student uniform policy that its founder explained is aimed at treating women like ‘fragile vessels.’ Turning away an appeal by Charter Day School Inc, the justices left in place a lower court's decision that the dress code discriminated against students based on gender in violation the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment promise of equal protection under the law.”

• Also also in the United States, “[w]hen North Dakota restricted what bathrooms transgender students can use in public schools and universities this year, the school district in the state's largest city promised to ignore the new rules. A Republican legislator then called for confiscating its state funding, but the law doesn't include that possibility. The defiance in Fargo shows that it's not exactly clear how bathroom laws will play out in local communities after being enacted in at least 10 states with Republican-controlled legislatures.”

• In Florida, “The Walt Disney Co. has fired a shot across the bow of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's campaign against the House of Mouse with a significant victory in a ‘Don't Say Gay’ law investor lawsuit.”

• In Georgia, “[o]n Saturday, Georgia’s new law banning gender-affirming surgeries and hormone replacement therapies for those under 18 takes effect. Part of a nationwide effort by conservatives to restrict transgender athletes, gender-affirming care and drag shows, Senate Bill 140 is perhaps the most high-profile of the state’s new laws.”

• In Kansas, “Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a request in federal court asking a judge to end a requirement for Kansas to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates.”

  • Contrastingly, “[t]he Democratic governor in Kansas declared Thursday that the state will keep allowing transgender residents to alter their driver's licenses and birth certificates, despite a new law aimed at preventing it.”

  • Relatedly, “[f]our times as many Kansans changed their gender on birth certificates and driver's licenses this year ahead of a new state law that prevents residents from identifying themselves differently than the sex assigned them at birth.”

• In Texas, “[t]he Texas Supreme Court will review a case involving a Waco justice of the peace’s refusal to perform same-sex weddings.”

• Also in Texas, “The Religious Freedom Restoration Act entitles a Texas company to an exemption from a federal mandate that bars discrimination against LGBTQ employees, a federal appeals court has ruled.”

Reproductive Rights

• In Arizona, “Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed an executive order on Friday that effectively stops county attorney generals in the state from prosecuting abortion cases.”

Environmental Crisis

• In Canada, “Saskatchewan has released regulations aimed at curbing industrial emissions after the federal government agreed to remove the province from the federal output-based pricing system (OBPS).”

• Also in Canada, “[a]nimal rights group Animal Justice is celebrating the passage of Bill S-5, the Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act. The new law includes measures to phase out painful toxicity tests on animals.”

• In Washington State, “[a] group of environmentalists is working to enact ’Rights of Nature’ laws for Washington rivers across the state.”

Immigration & Refugee Issues

• In the United States, “[a] federal law that bans ‘encouraging or inducing’ illegal immigration does not violate the First Amendment when it is properly interpreted, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 7-2 decision Friday.”

• In Massachusetts, “[s]tarting next week, thousands of Massachusetts immigrants can legally apply for a driver’s license, regardless of their immigration status, under a new state law.”

Voting Rights

• In the United States, “[t]he Supreme Court struck down a legal theory…that would have given state legislators widespread power to determine election rules, shutting down GOP efforts to use the doctrine as a way to overhaul election rules and impose partisan maps and voting laws.”

  • But, as Prof. Hasen of UCLA Law noted, “the Court held that the independent state legislature theory gives the U.S. Supreme Court (and perhaps other federal courts) the ability to second guess determinations of a state court interpreting a state statute in a federal election…This was what the Chief Justice Rehnquist concurrence in Bush v. Gore said that the Florida Supreme Court did in interpreting Florida law…This gives the U.S. Supreme Court the ultimate say over the meaning of state law in the midst of an election dispute.”

• In Virginia, “[s]everal advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging a Virginia law that automatically stripped the right to vote from more than 300,000 convicted felons is an illegal vestige of historical efforts to keep Black residents from casting ballots.”

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• In California, “[d]espite its mission to improve the living and working conditions for animals, former employees say management at ALDF [(Animal Legal Defense Fund)] engaged in union-busting tactics while perpetuating a transphobic, racist, and retaliatory work culture that undermined the organization’s mission and pandered to conservative donors.”

• In Washington, D.C., “The Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday announced the launch of the Federal Intern Experience Program, an effort to standardize and improve internship programs across the federal government and better attract young people to careers in the civil service.”

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• In Los Angeles, CA, “[p]rompted by the release of information about thousands of Los Angeles police officers that activists posted to a public online database, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto is trying to convince California lawmakers to weaken the state's public records law. While Feldstein Soto describes her proposal as a minor tweak to the California Public Records Act, civil rights advocates say it would severely diminish the power of the bedrock state law that allows access to information held by local governments and state agencies.”

• In Minnesota, “[a] Minneapolis man claims in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Wednesday that authorities wrongfully jailed and charged him based on faulty facial recognition technology.”

• In Nevada, “[a] Las Vegas non-profit claims there will be ‘disastrous' consequences after Governor Lombardo vetoed Senate Bill 335. The bill would have given tenants a 60-day grace period, allowing their rental assistance application to be processed before they face eviction. It was meant to extend protections for people facing evictions after COVID-era state protections expired on June 5. Now that SB 335 is vetoed, the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada fears thousands could become homeless.”

• In Texas, “…unprecedented legislation, which was signed by Governor Greg Abbott, prohibits cities from enforcing or creating regulations that are stronger than the state’s in broad policy areas including labor, finance, agriculture, occupations, property and natural resources.”

Access to Justice – Criminal

• In Manhattan Beach, CA, “[c]ontinually frustrated by L.A. District Attorney George Gascon's unwillingness to prosecute most state misdemeanor cases, the Manhattan Beach City Council has agreed to look into other ways to pursue those crimes.”

• In Atlanta, GA, following up on previous coverage of the “Cop City” protests, “Dekalb County’s top prosecutor announced Friday that she is stepping away from every case involving Atlanta’s Public Safety Training Center….Her statement Friday said in she will ‘withdraw her office from the prosecution of all current cases related to the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.’”

  • Relatedly, The Marshall Project reports that “[o]pponents of the proposed police training facility have launched a petition for a vote — and some face charges as domestic terrorists.”

• In Chicago, IL, “[w]hile in town for a speech Wednesday, President Biden announced that he’s nominating April Perry as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. If confirmed, she would be the district’s first woman in the position.”

• In New Jersey, “[t]he Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee released legislation sponsored by Senator Nellie Pou that would bring major reforms concerning public defender representation in New Jersey. One bill would eliminate fees, liens and warrants issued for Public Defender services, while the other would direct the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) to provide representation at parole revocation hearings.”

Prosecutorial and Public Defense Office Hiring Crises

• In Iowa, “Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is hiring three new attorneys for the Statewide Prosecutions Section in the Iowa Department of Justice.”

• In Mississippi, “[p]ublic defenders in Hinds County are leaving their jobs in high numbers over pay. According to the Hinds County Public Defender, her office is nearly in a crisis with the loss of attorneys.”

Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform

• In Los Angeles, CA, “[a] few dozen graphic videos from the past six years were saved to a thumb drive picked out of the trash by one inmate, and secreted out of [an LA] jail by another. Together, the videos paint a picture of a jail system awash in far more violence and disarray than previously revealed to the public.”

• In Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, “[a] United Nations investigator who was given unfettered access to the detention center at the U.S. naval station in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, reports prisoners face ‘ongoing cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment’ and says the infamous site should be shuttered.”

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public!

We continue to await some major Supreme Court decisions, but one harrowing opinion was issued on Thursday. Justice Thomas’s majority opinion in Jones v. Hendrix prohibits many inmates from challenging their convictions in court. Balancing this loss with more positive news this week, a pro bono attorney successfully settled a case on behalf of transgender inmates in Minnesota, and Nusrat Chowdhury was confirmed as the first muslim female federal judge.

As always, these stories and more are in the links below.

Happy reading,

Brittany

Supreme Court Ethics Concerns

• On Wednesday, “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito…faced calls to recuse himself from two high-profile cases that will soon decide the fate of President Joe Biden's student debt cancellation plan after a ProPublica report revealed the judge's ties to Paul Singer, a billionaire with financial connections to right-wing groups backing efforts to block relief for tens of millions of borrowers.”

Student Loans & Student Debt

• In the United States, “[o]ver the past decade, women have been outpacing their male counterparts when it comes to obtaining a college degree. And while it’s an impressive trend to see, the costs of obtaining higher education affect women more than men. According to the American Association of University Women, female graduates now hold two-thirds of the outstanding student loan debt in the United States.”

• Also in the United States, “[a] new CreditDonkey analysis comparing all 50 U.S. states found the top 10 with the highest student debt per borrower. Those top states, in order, are Maryland, Georgia, Delaware, Virginia, New York, Florida, Oregon, Illinois, California, and Alabama. Data from Pew Research Center adds another layer to this picture. At least eight of these states rank highly among those with the largest Black populations. Combined with the reality that Black students hold more student loan debt than any other racial or ethnic group, with a median of $30,000 owed.”

• In Missouri, “[n]ewly released emails obtained by the Student Borrower Protection Center reveal employees at [Mohela,] a student loan service provider in Missouri expressed confusion over the state’s attorney general placing the provider at the center of a lawsuit filed to block the Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.”

• In Washington, D.C., “House Republicans were not able to convince the two-thirds majority they needed to overturn President Biden’s veto of a resolution that would have shot down his proposal to cancel up to $20,000 of a borrower’s student debt.”

Eye on AI

• In the United States, “[i]n a survey of 9,305 U.S. professionals, 80% opposed a ban or restriction on ChatGPT at their workplace, but 20% said there should be some type of ban or access restriction.”

• In New York, “[a] U.S. judge on Thursday imposed sanctions on two New York lawyers who submitted a legal brief that included six fictitious case citations generated by an artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT.”

Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

• In Florida, following up on previous coverage, “Florida's bans on Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming health care amount to ‘invidious discrimination’ and were politically motivated, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.”

• In Minnesota, “Robins Kaplan partner Sharon Roberg-Perez, whose pro bono work includes representing incarcerated transgender individuals, this month helped reach a historic settlement making one such individual the first to be transferred to a Minnesota facility matching their gender identity.”

• In Utah, the ACLU reports, “[l]ast Friday, the United States District Court for the District of Utah granted Southern Utah Drag Stars’ (Drag Stars) request for a preliminary injunction to allow them to host a family-friendly drag performance on June 30, 2023….The city’s refusal to grant a permit was a part of a years-long effort to target drag performances and LGBTQ+ events in violation of the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and various provisions of the Utah Constitution.”

Reproductive Rights

• In Florida, “[t]he Florida Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reinstate a Florida prosecutor who was removed by Gov. Ron DeSantis after making comments opposing prosecutions for abortions or gender-affirming health care. The state’s highest court ruled that Andrew Warren had waited too long to file a petition.”

• In Iowa, “[a] bill passed by the Iowa Legislature in 2018 that would ban abortions at the point a fetal heartbeat is detected cannot be enforced as a result of an evenly divided Iowa Supreme Court’s failure to lift an injunction put in place by a state district judge four years ago.”

• In New York, “[t]he New York State Legislature passed a bill Tuesday to protect abortion providers against litigation from states where the practice is banned.”

• Also in New York, “[a] U.S. appeals court on Wednesday upheld a New York county's law barring anti-abortion activists from approaching people outside abortion clinics, teeing up potential review by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

• In Wyoming, “[a]bortion pills will remain legal in Wyoming for now, after a judge ruled Thursday that the state’s first-in-the-nation law to ban them won’t take effect July 1 as planned while a lawsuit proceeds.”

Environmental Crisis

• In Los Angeles County, CA, “Genesis Cruz first raised the alarm about flying metal scraps and nauseating fumes at her high school campus four years ago, but no one listened. On Wednesday, June 21, her cries were finally answered as Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon announced charges against Atlas Iron & Metal Co. for the illegal dumping of hazardous waste at Jordan High School in Watts.”

• In Georgia, “[t]he Georgia Public Service Commission has unanimously agreed to reverse a plan to allow biomass plants to burn tires for electricity after SELC urged the state utility regulators to reconsider the decision. ”

• In Washington, D.C., “[n]early $1 billion from the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act will go toward climate-friendly upgrades for federal buildings, the Biden administration said on Tuesday.”

Immigration & Refugee Issues

• In Canada, “Canada has launched two new streams in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP), which brings in refugees and other displaced people through economic immigration rather than refugee resettlement.”

• Also in Canada, “[t]he recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada to uphold the Safe Third Country Agreement has sparked doubt about the possibility of providing meaningful remedies to asylum seekers who are sent back to the United States.”

• In Boston, MA, “Biden officials promised Boston's special immigration program would be fast, but fair. Advocates say it fails at both.”

• In North Carolina, “[a] study finds North Carolina ranks last nationwide for having legal representation in immigration cases.”

• In New York, “New York City is planning to open an application center in the coming weeks to help migrants formally apply for asylum — a necessary step in securing permits to work legally in the U.S.”

• Also in New York, “[a]n increasing number of children who entered the U.S. without their parents are turning up in court, and pro bono groups say there aren’t enough resources to represent them on the court’s timeline.”

Employment Rights

• In Florida, “Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1310 into law…, bringing changes to state employment requirements, allowing work experience to serve as an alternative qualification in lieu of postsecondary education requirements.”

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• In Washington, D.C., “President Biden’s plan to provide civilian federal employees with an average 5.2% pay raise in 2024 appears safe for now, as a key House panel advanced spending legislation that does not address federal employee compensation. But Democrats and federal employee groups blasted the GOP-led appropriations package, which cuts spending on financial agencies and government administration by 58% compared with fiscal 2023 levels and includes policy riders restricting telework at federal agencies and targeting transgender federal workers and their family members.”

• Also in Washington, D.C., “[w]hile a deal negotiated between President Biden and House Republicans has delayed the immediate threat of the government breaching its borrowing limit and defaulting on its debts, a union representing federal employees is moving forward with its lawsuit seeking to permanently remove the possibility of missed paychecks due to a default.”

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• In Arkansas, “The Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation is pleased to announce that it has donated two kiosks to the Arkansas County Circuit Court. These kiosks will help court users in Arkansas County more easily navigate the court system. Arkansans can use the kiosks to access court records, print exhibits, find court forms and fact sheets, and apply for legal aid.”

• In Oakland, CA, “[o]n Tuesday, the City Council is expected to approve an ordinance expanding the City Attorney’s powers, enabling the office to enforce all of Oakland’s municipal laws.”

• In Colorado, “[t]he Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday released its official guidance for when trial judges should permit litigants, victims, witnesses and attorneys to attend proceedings virtually.”

• In New York, “[t]he New York Civil Liberties Union, with pro bono counsel from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, filed a lawsuit against the City of Yonkers and the Yonkers Police Department for unlawfully denying the NYCLU’s request for records related to police misconduct.”

• Also in New York, “Nusrat Chowdhury, a civil rights lawyer, was confirmed by the Senate last week as the first Muslim female federal judge in U.S. history.”

• In South Dakota, “[t]he growth of the Sioux Falls metro area, adding nearly 50,000 residents to Minnehaha and over 40,000 to Lincoln since 2000, has led to a rising caseload — with Houwman expecting the circuit to top 60,000 cases this year. The state Supreme Court added a new magistrate judge to the circuit Friday — making it the first new magistrate judge position added to the circuit in nearly 20 years.”

• In Utah, “[m]ore people are facing eviction now than in the past five years, according to data provided by the Utah Rental Housing Association. Landlords across the state filed more than 2,600 eviction cases in the first four months of 2023. That’s up 40% from the same time period in 2022 and higher than pre-pandemic eviction levels going back to at least 2017.”

• In Wyoming, “[a] range of expanded legal services offered by Legal Aid of Wyoming intended to help renters weather the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic will now be available through September.”

Access to Justice – Criminal

• In Colorado, “[c]hildhood sexual abuse victims in Colorado will no longer be able to file lawsuits over abuse that happened decades ago, as the state Supreme Court struck down a law Tuesday that gave victims a three-year window to sue over abuses as far back as the 1960s. The court cited the state Constitution’s ban on legislation that retroactively applies to conduct prior to its passage.”

• In Massachusetts, “[a] Black Muslim man's conviction was vacated Thursday by the state's Supreme Judicial Court after justices concluded his court-appointed attorney's public display of ‘vitriolic hatred of and bigotry against’ Blacks and Muslims represented a clear conflict of interest and violated the man's constitutional rights.”

• In New Jersey, “[l]awmakers seek to end public defender fees charged at the state level in New Jersey while also voiding liens imposed on clients who cannot afford to pay their public defender’s fees.”

• In New York, “[w]ith the deadline for the city’s budget fast approaching, over half of the City Council is calling on the mayor to up funding for public defenders who contract with the city and provide free legal services to New Yorkers.”

• In Oregon, “[t]he Oregon Legislature passed a pair of bills Tuesday and Wednesday that will devote more than $90 million to restructuring the state’s public defense system and creating financial incentives for existing public defenders to stay.”

• In Pennsylvania, “Black Philadelphians continue to be overrepresented in arrests and criminal charges compared to the broader population. That’s one of the key findings in the District Attorney’s Racial Injustice Report issued Monday. Despite increased focus on that disparity in recent years, the DA’s report finds the gap in treatment for Black residents has worsened as a result of federal, state, and local laws and policies.”

• In Tom Green County, TX, “[t]he two elected District Attorneys in Tom Green County appeared before the Tom Green County Commissioners Court Tuesday just two weeks before budget hearings begin to plea for a huge increase in salaries for their assistant attorneys because of a 'crisis' created by higher salaries paid by the State of Texas to attorneys in the new Concho Valley Public Defenders Office across the street.”

• In Washington, D.C., “[t]he Supreme Court just ruled that at least some federal prisoners who are completely innocent must serve out their entire sentence, with no meaningful way to challenge their unlawful conviction.”

• In Clark County, WA, “Clark County’s indigent defense system may be in line for an overhaul. The county council reviewed options for continuing to contract out indigent defense services or bringing them in house during a work session Wednesday.”

Public Safety

• In Washington, D.C., “U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) led 78 Members of Congress…in reintroducing the bicameral Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act, legislation to ensure that victims of gun violence have their day in court and that negligent gun companies and gun sellers are not shielded from liability when they disregard public safety. The bill would repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), passed by Congress in 2005, which gives the gun industry a unique and unjustifiable legal liability shield that protects gun manufacturers from lawsuits.”

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public!

This is our shortest news week in a while, but still some big topics were covered. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Native American families in adoption proceedings. And the US Department of Education announced that student loan repayment will resume in October.

As always, these stories and more are in the links below.

Happy reading,

Brittany

Editor’s Choice

• In Washington, D.C., “[t]he Supreme Court on Thursday preserved the system that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings of Native children, rejecting a broad attack from Republican-led states and white families who argued it is based on race.”

First Amendment Concerns

• In Illinois, “Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law Monday a bill that he says will make Illinois the first state in the nation to outlaw book bans. Illinois public libraries that restrict or ban materials because of “partisan or doctrinal” disapproval will be ineligible for state funding as of Jan. 1, 2024, when the new law goes into effect.”

• In Texas, “Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed two bills into law designed to reform public higher education institutions in Texas. One bans them from implementing DEI policies and another revises the tenure structure.”

Student Loans & Student Debt

• In Washington, D.C., “‘Student loan interest will resume starting on September 1, 2023, and payments will be due starting in October,’ an Education Department spokesperson confirmed in a statement to POLITICO.”

• Also in Washington D.C., “U.S. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, Wednesday introduced the Streamlining Accountability and Value in Education (SAVE) for Students Act, which would simplify the student loan repayment process for borrowers, increase accountability on behalf of the federal government, ensure new federal student loans are paying for degrees that actually produce higher incomes for graduates, and save taxpayers nearly $50 billion[.]”

  • Likewise, “The Federal Assistance to Initiate Repayment (FAIR) Act, led by Republicans from the House Education and Workforce Committee, would provide ‘targeted’ student loan relief for borrowers who ‘already paid back more than they originally owed taxpayers in principal and interest,’ streamline several existing income-driven repayment plans into one system and give defaulted borrowers another chance to rehabilitate their loans.”

Voting Rights

• In the United States, “[a]t least 11 states have enacted 13 restrictive voting laws this year, according to a new analysis from the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s law school.”

• In Connecticut, “Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law Monday a bill to protect historically disenfranchised communities from discrimination at the ballot box, including key protections once considered a stronghold of the 1965 Voting Rights Act before it was gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority.”

Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

• In Kentucky, “[a] disagreement over the meaning of ‘or’ in a controversial anti-trans law has ignited the latest conflict between a prominent Republican lawmaker and the Kentucky Department of Education.”

• In New York, “Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced that it has appointed the first openly transgender male judge in U.S. history.”

Reproductive Rights

• In Indiana, “House Enrolled Act 1608, signed into law by Indiana’s Republican Governor Eric Holcomb in May, contains a set of rules that bar classroom instruction of human sexuality prior to the fourth grade. The ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit Friday, claiming that the law is too broadly written.”

• In Massachusetts, “[c]ivil rights and reproductive care advocates are joining forces on a campaign urging lawmakers to prohibit the sale of cellphone location data, warning that the practice could expose people seeking care in abortion clinics to harassment and, in some states, prosecution.”

• In Princeton, NJ, “[l]egal scholar Dr. Saskia Stucki announced her withdrawal from the University’s Fung Global Fellowship last month, citing sex discrimination as the cause of her departure. Stucki, who discovered she was pregnant shortly after her acceptance into the postdoctoral program, has made several allegations against the University surrounding the process of negotiating terms of her parental leave and subsequent childcare.”

Environmental Crisis

• In Canada, “[c]hanges to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act enshrining the right to a healthy environment have passed into law….It also adds a sentence to the act guaranteeing that every Canadian has the right to a healthy environment and makes it a duty of the government to protect that right.”

• In the United States, “[t]he Environmental Protection Agency published a new draft rule that the groups said would extend federal oversight to much of the coal ash disposed at both operating and retired power plants.”

• In Texas, “Govenor Abbott recently signed the Clear Air Bill into law that was filed by State Representative Brooks Landgraf. This all comes after the EPA tried to restrict state oil and gas production, and title the Permian Basin as a non-attainment area. Now, under House Bill 4885, Landgraf said that it'll help leverage emerging technologies to make sure the air in Texas is clean without bring harm to Texas industries.”

• Also in Texas, “[t]he TCEQ has proposed changes to concrete batch plant permits including lowering production limits, reducing dust coming from plants and setting minimum distance requirements from nearby communities.”

Immigration & Refugee Issues

• In Los Angeles, CA, “[a]fter a brief discussion, the Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved a motion seeking to expand the use of funds to cover additional legal services through RepresentLA, a $4 million program aimed at providing free legal services for the city’s immigrant community.”

Employment Rights

• In California, “[t]he California Senate has passed a bill banning employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s past use of marijuana.”

• In Kern County, CA, “[a] former deputy district attorney has filed a claim against the Kern County District Attorney's Office, saying she suffered ‘continued retaliation, discrimination, and harassment’ due to ‘her religion, race, and disability.’”

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• In Washington, D.C., “[a] group of more than 150 House conservatives on Wednesday unveiled their plan to balance the federal budget in seven years, with many of their ideas falling on the backs of federal workers, either via cuts to pay and benefits or the weakening of civil service and union protections.”

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• In British Columbia, Canada, “Indigenous Peoples will have access to better legal supports and healing opportunities with the opening of a new Indigenous Justice Centre in Chilliwack and $10 million in funding to support First Nations’ community-based justice programs.”

• In Quebec Province, Canada, “Quebec anglophones will lose jobs and access to English services, with their constitutional rights left to the whims of the provincial government under proposed new federal language legislation, a Senate committee has heard.”

• In San Francisco, CA, “[d]elays in criminal cases due to COVID-19 have been upheld by California courts, rejecting defendants’ claims of violations of their right to a speedy trial. But now a state appeals court says San Francisco courts can be sued by taxpayers and the city’s public defender for allegedly refusing to make enough courtrooms available for criminal cases during the pandemic.”

• In Delaware, “lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that would give tenants the right to representation during eviction proceedings.”

• In Minnesota, “[s]o much sweeping legislation passed during the 2023 session of the Minnesota Legislature that descriptions that would normally seem like exaggerations are now common – and likely accurate.”

• In Missoula, MT, “Mayor Jordan Hess announced a State of Emergency for houselessness and sheltering in Missoula. It's a decision that will allow the city to allocate emergency funds towards re-opening the Johnson Street Shelter.”

• In Jersey City, NJ, “[t]he city council voted unanimously Wednesday night in adopting a right-to-counsel program, in which the city will provide free legal representation for tenants facing evictions, and a 1.5-2.5% fee on new developments that would fund its budget.”

• In Washington State, “Washington Supreme Court justices asked Thursday how far-reaching local civil rights violations needed to be before the state attorney general could get involved, as they considered the state's claims that a small city police force had a practice of illegally evicting residents.”

Access to Justice – Criminal

• In Toronto, Canada, “[i]n February, the Ontario government announced plans to merge Toronto’s six criminal courts into a new 17-storey courthouse near University and Dundas. Meanwhile, the Toronto Regional Bail Centre (TRBC) at 2201 Finch Avenue West is handling all the bail hearings that used to be divided between the six old courthouses—and it isn’t going well.”

• In San Francisco, CA, “[t]he public defender's office in San Francisco has organized a series of sit-ins to protest the backlog in the court system that they say violates the constitution by excessively detaining people without a trial.”

• In Maine, “[s]tate advisers to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights plan to apply more pressure to Maine leaders to overhaul the state’s indigent public defense system with a report that finds the system may disproportionately affect people in federally protected groups.”

• In Texas, “Victoria County is getting some financial help with providing criminal defense to those who cannot afford it. The $71,230 awarded to the county is not for the funding of the proposed public defender office.”

Public Defender Office Hiring Crisis

• In Pueblo County, CO, “[t]he 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Pueblo County says it is working with 40% less prosecuting staff due to hiring shortages since 2020….District Attorney Chostner is hopeful for a light at the end of the tunnel with a new two-month summer internship program started by his office this year….Chostner said the goal is to give interns real-world experience while they help attorneys manage heavy caseloads.”

• In St. Louis County, MO, “[i]n all, newly-appointed Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore has hired 10 new prosecutors. Four of them are on loan from neighboring prosecuting attorney’s offices, according to Gore’s spokeswoman Kathyrn Jamboretz. The recruitment momentum may continue, should St. Louis alderwoman Cara Spencer see a bill she is sponsoring make it to the mayor's desk. The bill would boost salaries for assistant circuit attorneys and has an emergency clause, which means it would take effect immediately if approved.”

• In Las Cruces, NM, “[t]he City of Las Cruces Council approved a $700,000 contract to a law firm Monday to supplement the services of the City Attorney's Office.”

• In Pennsylvania, “Crawford County has approved hiring two part-time assistant public defenders, but vacancies remain.”

Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform

• In Hennepin County, MN, “[p]rompted by a string of auto thefts involving juveniles in the Twin Cities, prosecutors, local law enforcement and child protection are coming together with the goal of eradicating youth crime before it happens.”

• In New York, “[d]emonstrators on Tuesday protested outside a federal court in Manhattan, where an emergency hearing was held to look into how Rikers Island is being operated.”

Public Safety

• In New Jersey, “[t]he state Attorney General’s office is five months behind a statutory deadline in determining the ‘technological viability’ of microstamping in guns, with results expected to come sometime this summer.”

• In Wisconsin, “Democratic lawmakers reintroduced a group of bills aimed at strengthening Wisconsin's gun laws, despite rejected efforts in the past. The three bills reintroduced would implement universal background checks for firearms, extreme risk protection orders (also known as red flag laws) and a sales tax exemption for safe gun storage.”

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public!

As predicted, President Biden has vetoed Congress’s attempt to undermine the student debt forgiveness plan. Dissension around the CUNY commencement speech has led to multiple calls for action against the speaker and CUNY Law School. Despite the recent negative coverage of Atlanta’s “Cop City,” the training facility’s funding has been reapproved.

As always, these stories and more are in the links below.

Happy reading,

Brittany

Editor’s Choice

• In Washington, D.C., “the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upheld in Allen v. Milligan a lower court ruling that Alabama must create a second majority Black congressional district in compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.”

Supreme Court Ethics Concerns

• As annual financial disclosures were due, “Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, under scrutiny following revelations that he did not disclose luxury trips paid for by a billionaire Dallas businessman, has received an extension to file his mandatory annual financial disclosure[.]” Justice Samuel Alito was also granted an extension.

First Amendment Concerns

• In New York, NY, continuing last week’s coverage, “[o]n Wednesday, The Lawfare Project urged the Character and Fitness Committees of the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division to reject any future application by Fatimah Mousa Mohammed — a recent graduate of the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law — to practice law in the state.”

  • Relatedly, “Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NY) on Monday called on the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to investigate City University of New York (CUNY) Law School to determine whether a student commencement speech alleging that Jewish money manipulates school policy on Israel violated the Civil Rights Act.”

  • The news coverage about Mohammed’s anti-Zionist commencement speech has sparked increased scrutiny against CUNY’s position on Israel:

    • The Jewish Journal reports, “[t]wo legal groups sent a joint letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) urging the agency to investigate and potentially revoke the City University of New York’s (CUNY) School of Law’s tax-exempt status over the law school’s faculty unanimously passing a resolution supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement last year.”

      • Relatedly, the Daily Caller reports, “[t]he City University of New York School of Law (CUNY Law) was hit with a complaint Tuesday after a Jewish advocacy group wrote a letter to the American Bar Association (ABA) about an anti-Israel policy adopted by faculty in 2022.”

    • The National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation reports, “Six City University of New York (CUNY) professors have taken their federal civil rights lawsuit against Professional Staff Congress (PSC) union officials to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The professors, Avraham Goldstein, Michael Goldstein, Frimette Kass-Shraibman, Mitchell Langbert, Jeffrey Lax, and Maria Pagano, charge PSC union bosses with violating the First Amendment by forcing them to accept the union’s monopoly control and ‘representation’ – ‘representation’ the professors not only oppose, but find extremely offensive and in contradiction to their personal beliefs.”

• In Oklahoma, “Oklahoma’s approval of the nation’s first Catholic charter school lays the groundwork for a seismic boost in government aid to religion, but seems certain to lead to a legal challenge likely to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

• In Tennessee, “[a] federal judge has ruled that Tennessee’s law restricting drag performances is unconstitutional after a Memphis organization challenged the law, according to court documents.”

Student Loans & Student Debt

• As predicted in last week’s news, “President Joe Biden on Wednesday swiftly vetoed Republican-led legislation that would have repealed his plan to cancel up to $20,000 of student debt for tens of millions of Americans.”

Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

• In the United States, “[t]roops with LGBTQ+ family members have been forced to move to new bases because of harassment at school, a Department of the Air Force official said.”

• In Florida, “[a] federal judge temporarily blocked parts of a Florida law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, a move LGBTQ+ advocates are hailing as a ‘much-needed win.’”

  • Relatedly, “[d]ebate surrounding Florida’s new restrictions on gender-affirming care focused largely on transgender children. But a new law that Republican presidential candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month also made it difficult – even impossible – for many transgender adults to get treatment.”

• In Maryland, “Gov. Wes Moore issued an executive order this week declaring that state agencies shall ‘take whatever action is necessary and coordinate to protect’ people or entities involved with providing gender-affirming care from legal punishments by other states. The order also prohibits sharing medical records of transgender individuals for potential investigations.”

• In Michigan, “[a] Michigan Supreme Court proposal that would require use of lawyers’ and parties’ preferred pronouns is dividing judges, with sides weighing competing interests in civility and judicial discretion to manage courtrooms.”

• In Tennessee, “[a] federal lawsuit brought to court by two transgender women alleges that Tennessee and its insurance committee are discriminatory because they denied the plaintiffs coverage for gender-affirming surgery.”

• In Texas, “Governor Greg Abbott signed into law on Friday a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in the state.”

Reproductive Rights

• In the United States, “…an analysis from the non-profit Center for Political Accountability (CPA) shows several major corporations donated large sums to a Republican political organization which in turn funded groups working to elect anti-abortion state legislators.”

• In Georgia, the state supreme court “declared that the Georgia Lactation Consultant Practice Act ‘violates Plaintiffs’ due process rights under the Georgia Constitution to practice [their] chosen profession.’ The decision clears the way for lactation consultants to provide care to Georgians without having to obtain a costly and burdensome license from the state first.”

• In Indiana, “Whole Woman’s Health Alliance has closed its South Bend clinic for good amid ‘politically driven and medically unnecessary abortion restrictions,’ the nonprofit announced late Monday night.”

Environmental Crisis

• In Colorado, “Governor Jared Polis signed Colorado’s Protecting Communities From Air Pollution Act (HB23-1294) into law today. While community and conservation groups recently celebrated the passage of a scaled-back version of the bill, they used today’s signing to call for stronger action from the interim legislative committee and a separate rulemaking on cumulative impacts that were both required through the legislation.”

• In Titusville, FL, “[t]he fight between a group of Titusville activists and city government over the right to clean water continues, even after a judge this past week sided with voters who overwhelmingly approved the clean water referendum.”

• In Montana, “[t]wo Kalispell siblings cite changes to skiing and hunting seasons as reasons for joining the coalition of Montana youth suing several state agencies over failure to secure their ‘right to a clean and healthful environment.’”

• In San Antonio, TX, “[t]he City of San Antonio plans to utilize $1 million it is receiving from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to expand the reach and impact of the city’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, staff told council members Wednesday.”

• In Washington, D.C., “[t]he U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge to a court-ordered prohibition on offshore fracking in federal waters off the California coast.”

Immigration & Refugee Issues

• In Canada, the government “has partnered with a non-profit to seek out LGBTQ people fleeing violence all over the world and refer them to Canada as government-assisted refugees.”

• In Colorado, a “bill, which was signed by [Gov.] Polis on Tuesday, prevents state and local governments from entering or renewing agreements to detain people at immigration detention facilities owned or managed by private entities.”

• In Florida, following up on previous coverage, “Republican state Representatives urged a group of Hispanic religious leaders to counsel their flocks not to abandon their jobs in Florida — even if they are not in the country legally. …The lawmakers said the new law is meant ‘more as a political bill, not policy.’ And it’s meant to keep undocumented migrants from coming to Florida — not to affect those who are already here.”

• In New York, NY, “[n]ew data shows that asylum seekers and newly arrived immigrants in the city are struggling with both basic needs as well as accessing critical services, like legal representation and health care.”

  • Relatedly, ABC7 reports that “‘95% of respondents intend to seek asylum, but less than 10% have been able to find a lawyer to support them,’ said Daniel Altschuler of Make the Road New York.”

  • Also related, “New York City will now begin housing migrants in houses of worship — its latest attempt to manage the more than 72,000 people who’ve flowed into the city since last spring.”

• In Texas, “[a] Texas county judge has asserted that illegal immigrants are allowed to receive universal basic income (UBI) based on a recent proposal….”

• Also in Texas, “[a]n internal investigation conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection found that contracted personnel working at a federal border station in South Texas failed to contact doctors while an 8-year-old was having a medical emergency in May, according to a statement Thursday from the federal agency.”

• Also also in Texas, “[a] Texas district attorney is reviewing the recommendation to pursue criminal charges against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration for its role in flying Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last year.”

Disability Rights

• In California, “[t]he city of Fresno is considering imposing stricter limitations on where the homeless can set up camp — arguing that the measures are necessary to promote public safety and comply with federal disability rights laws. But disability rights advocates, homeless advocates and unhoused residents say the proposed rule would criminalize homelessness. They say if the city is concerned about disability rights, it could take more substantive measures to improve access for disabled Fresno residents.”

Employment Rights

• In the United States, “[i]n an 8-1 decision…, the Supreme Court ruled that an employer’s tort claims alleging that a union intentionally destroyed a company’s property during a labor dispute were not preempted by the National Labor Relations Act[.]”

• In Colorado, “[o]n June 7, 2023, Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill (SB) 23-172 into law, radically transforming Colorado’s employment discrimination legal landscape by expanding the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA).”

• In Texas, “Governor Greg Abbott recently signed the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act (Texas CROWN Act), which will go into effect on September 1, 2023. The Texas CROWN Act prohibits employers, labor unions, and employment agencies from discriminating against Texas employees because of hairstyles associated with race. The new law covers race-based hair discrimination in employment, schools, and housing.”

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• In Washington, D.C., “[l]egislation to give Congress more control over major federal agency rules is expected to be voted on the House floor this week. The REINS Act, sponsored by Florida Republican Rep. Kat Cammack, would require Congressional approval for proposed federal agency rules with an economic impact of $100 million or more.”

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• In the United States, “U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) today introduced the Judicial Efficiency Improvement Act of 2023, a bill that would split the massively overburdened Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and create a new Twelfth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.”

• In Colorado, “Gov. Jared Polis signed several bills into law this week protecting foster care youth, some of the most vulnerable to homelessness after aging out of the foster care system.”

• In St. Petersburg, FL, “[a]n agreement is being negotiated with Community Law Program, which would provide pro-bono legal representation and information for those residents facing eviction.”

• In Massachusetts, “[a]fter years of unsuccessful attempts to give cities and towns the option to tax home sales to support local affordable housing, advocates this session are putting forward a new version of the bill with more flexibility for municipalities to choose a plan that works for their community.”

• In Michigan, “[s]tarting on Monday, the 36th District Court resumed in-person hearings for Detroiters facing evictions.”

• In Minnesota, “A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case involving Hennepin County’s seizure and sale of a 94-year-old woman’s condo could unleash a torrent of lawsuits from homeowners whose property was seized under Minnesota’s forfeiture law, which the high court has ruled unconstitutional. Several attorneys in Minnesota are seeking to file a class action suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on behalf of homeowners who say their property was unfairly seized, just like Geraldine Tyler, the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case.”

• In Ohio, “[t]he city of Akron has the highest number of evictions per year in Ohio. Many advocates have said they hope to see this number come down and have pointed to cities like Cleveland.”

• In Tennessee, “[t]he Tennessee Supreme Court today adopted Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 55 – Use of Technology for Court Proceedings. The rule allows the use of teleconferencing, video conferencing, and other technology to conduct court proceedings remotely at the discretion of the trial or appellate court.”

Access to Justice – Criminal

• In Edmonton, Canada, “[a] new kind of court in Edmonton, the Edmonton Indigenous Court, is taking steps to meet recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and help address the over-representation of Indigenous people in the justice system.”

• In California, “…in Santa Clara County, when indigent defendants met with an attorney in jail soon after their arrest, their situation changed dramatically for the better. That was the conclusion of a study by California Policy Lab, a nonprofit research group affiliated with UCLA and UC Berkeley. Researchers found that indigent defendants in a pilot program were 75% less likely to be convicted if they met with a public defender within 48 hours of their arrest, and 75% more likely to be released before trial.”

• In Florida, “[b]attering a defense attorney or public defender will soon be a felony — the same as it is now for attacks on prosecutors and judges — due to a new law going into effect next month.”

• In Michigan, “[s]urvivors of sexual abuse could get more time to take action under a series of bills proposed by a bipartisan group of state lawmakers.”

• In North Carolina, “[n]early half of North Carolina’s counties are ‘legal deserts,’ or places where there is less than one attorney for 1,000 residents, says N.C. Indigent Defense Services Executive Director Mary Pollard.”

• In New York, NY, “Manhattan’s top prosecutor on Tuesday disavowed over 300 convictions tied to police officers who were themselves found guilty of crimes, the latest in over 1,000 dismissals citywide of cases connected to officers who were charged or convicted.”

• In El Paso, TX, “[h]igh-profile cases that were once in limbo have been filed into El Paso’s court system as the district attorney’s office continues to reduce the backlog of criminal cases.”

• In Harrisonburg, VA, “Harrisonburg is one of the most populous areas in the state still without a Public Defender’s Office. Our community is relying solely on a shrinking pool of court appointed attorneys to meet the needs of indigent defendants.”

Public Defender Office Hiring Crisis

• In Oregon, state “lawmakers have presented and advanced Senate Bill 337, a step towards a solution for the shortage of public defenders all across the state.”

• In Washington, D.C., “U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) on May 31 offered a bipartisan bill that would address the nation’s current shortage of public defenders by creating a $250 million grant program to help fund public defense and limit workloads for full-time public defenders.”

• In Wisconsin, “[t]he Office of the State of Public Defender for the state of Wisconsin says the salary increase for public defenders passed by the Joint Finance Committee in May will help address the shortage. But now, time and recruiting will play important roles in solving the issue.”

Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform

• In Atlanta, GA, following up on our previous coverage, “Atlanta City Council on Tuesday approved funding for the construction of a proposed police and firefighter training center, rejecting the pleas of hundreds of activists who packed City Hall and spoke for hours in fierce opposition to the project they decry as ‘Cop City.’”

• In Seattle, WA, “[i]n a 5-4 vote Tuesday, the Seattle City Council rejected a bill that would have given the city attorney the authority to prosecute drug possession and public drug use cases, following nearly three hours of public comment.”

Public Safety

• In New York, “New York will try to make it a crime to print a gun at home. Lawmakers are responding to a surge in gun crimes committed with untraceable firearms, known as ghost guns, increasingly being created using a 3D printer.”

• In Oregon, “[a]s a trial over Oregon’s Measure 114 got underway on Monday, a federal judge heard testimony from the measure’s challengers and their experts on why the[y] believe the state’s recent ban on high-capacity magazines should not be enforced.”

• In Washington State, “[a] federal judge Tuesday denied an attempt to halt Washington's new ban on the sale of AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles.”

Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives

Hello, interested public!

Happy Pride Month! Unfortunately, there’s not much in the way of positive news for the LGBTQ+ community, but the fight for equal rights will continue. Regarding the federal government’s debt ceiling talks and student debt crisis, the Senate has chosen to back the House’s bill undermining Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan, but Biden may yet exercise his veto power (fingers crossed!). Also, lots of news surrounding First Amendment issues, particularly involving the CUNY commencement speech that has garnered national and international attention.

As always, these stories and more are in the links below.

Happy reading,

Brittany

Editor’s Choice

• In Washington, D.C., “[t]he Supreme Court is nearing the end of another term with a number of high-profile decisions yet to be released. From student loans to LGBTQ+ protections to affirmative action and voting rights – the justices are set to weigh in on a number of issues that influence American life.”

First Amendment Concerns

• In California, “[a]s a growing number of colleges around the country have stopped using diversity statements, a lawsuit filed against the University of California system in May appears to be the first to directly challenge their legality.”

• In Michigan, “[a] Republican-backed bill introduced in the Michigan House Thursday would require school districts to ensure history and civics classes include instruction on what the proposal described as ‘the Christian foundations of the United States.’”

• In New York City, NY, “It is not often that Republicans and Democrats in the United States find common ground, but this week, officials from both major parties pursued a shared cause – bashing a New York law school graduate for a speech criticising Israel….The New York Post tabloid newspaper put [commencement speaker Fatima] Mohammed on its front page on Tuesday. But many Palestinian rights advocates appeared bewildered by the accusations, stressing that Mohammed said nothing hateful or bigoted. Advocates say the vilification of Mohammed fits into a broader pattern of publicly attacking Israel’s critics in an effort to deter further criticism of the country’s policies.”

  • The New York Times’ reports “Ms. Mohammed’s remarks went largely unnoticed until The New York Post put her on the cover, more than two weeks after the May 12 graduation, with the headline, ‘Stark Raving Grad.’…CUNY’s handling of all this has been confounding from the outset and suggests the ways in which public universities dependent on the generosity of political overlords remain particularly vulnerable to the complications around campus free-speech debates.”

  • As a result of public outcry, “Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., will introduce legislation Thursday to prohibit universities that ‘authorize antisemitic events on campus’ from participating in student loan and grant programs.”

Eye on AI & Other Legal Technology

• In New York, “[a] New York lawyer is facing potential sanctions over an error-riddled brief he drafted with help from ChatGPT.”

  • Relatedly, in Texas, “[a] US federal judge has categorically told lawyers that he will not allow any AI-generated content in his court.”

Student Loans & Student Debt

• In Washington, D.C., “A Republican-led effort to overturn President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan narrowly cleared a key procedural hurdle in the Senate on Wednesday as several moderate Democrats broke with the White House and backed the measure. On a 51-46 vote, the Senate advanced legislation that would repeal Biden’s debt cancellation program and nullify the pause on monthly payments and interest….But the White House has promised that Biden would veto the bill if Congress were to pass it.”

Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

• In the United States, “[a]ccording to a tracker provided by the ACLU, this June is blemished by more than 490 anti-LGBTQ+ bills threatening everything from basic health care to bathroom use and available books. This month, the risk of harm and humiliation is looming large.”

• In Iowa, “Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a sweeping anti-LGBTQ education bill Friday, dramatically restricting what students are allowed to learn in schools across the state.”

• In Lexington, KY, “AVOL Kentucky is offering a free clinic with pro-bono lawyers to assist in legal name changes. The clinic is meant to help members of the transgender and nonconforming communities in what is normally a complex, expensive, and taxing process.”

• In Texas, “Gov. Greg Abbott is poised to sign a bill that would ban trans athletes from playing in college sports on the team that aligns with their gender identity….”

• In Washington, D.C., “[l]eaders in Congress are forcefully condemning a sweeping new anti-gay law in Uganda, calling on the Biden administration to reconsider assistance to the East African nation….The law has provoked public backlash from officials, including from President Biden, who responded by threatening sanctions against those involved with carrying out related human rights abuses. He also said he instructed his National Security Council ‘to evaluate the implications of this law on all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda.’”

Reproductive Rights

• In Colorado, “…First Liberty Institute and the law firm Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Wendy Faustin, a pro-life advocate and sidewalk counselor, in the United States District Court of Colorado, claiming that state and local restrictions on engaging in speech outside of abortion centers violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

• In Missouri, “Missourians of any age can obtain free emergency contraceptives, commonly known as ‘Plan B,’ through the Missouri Family Health Council’s ‘Free EC’ initiative.”

• In Oklahoma, “[t]he Oklahoma Supreme Court has declared two state laws restricting abortion to be unconstitutional, citing an earlier ruling in which the court declared abortion is a right granted by the Oklahoma Constitution despite the fact that the state constitution contains no language directly or implicitly addressing abortion.”

• In South Carolina, “[a] judge put South Carolina's new law banning most abortions around six weeks of pregnancy on hold Friday until the state Supreme Court can review the measure, giving providers a temporary reprieve in a region that has enacted strict limits on the procedure.”

• In Utah, “[s]tarting next year, Salt Lake City could begin reimbursing its employees who travel out of state for abortions and other forms of medical care.”

• In Washington, D.C., the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has its “first workshop to explore in-vitro gametogenesis, or IVG, which involves custom-making human eggs and sperm in the laboratory from any cell in a person's body.”

Environmental Crisis

• In Oregon, “[a] federal judge ruled on Thursday that a lawsuit brought by young Oregon-based climate activists can proceed to trial years after they first filed the lawsuit in an attempt to hold the nation’s leadership accountable for its role in climate change.”

• In Washington, D.C., “[t]he deal announced by President Biden and House Republican leaders this weekend would legislate the approval of a controversial West Virginia natural gas pipeline and shorten environmental reviews under one of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws.”

Immigration & Refugee Issues

• In Canada, “Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), the federal ministry responsible for the labour market, revamped its list of median hourly wages used by employers when hiring foreign nationals under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).”

• In the United States, “[m]ore than a quarter of young immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program lack health insurance and face burdens preventing them from accessing care, according to new data first shared with NBC News.”

• In New York, “[u]ndocumented New Yorkers who serve in the military and their families could receive state support to become naturalized citizens if the Legislature adopts a proposed law before the end of session.”

• In New York City, NY, “[o]nly a small number of the more than 70,000 migrants who have come to New York City since last spring have formally applied for asylum, a top official in Mayor Eric Adams’ administration said Wednesday. Anne Williams-Isom, Adams’ deputy mayor for health and human services, did not provide an exact tally of asylum applicants, but suggested many who haven’t applied are likely reluctant to fill out the forms out of fear and confusion over the process.”

• In Suffolk, NY, “Suffolk lawmakers have approved a measure to retain an attorney to explore legal options regarding the possibility of asylum seekers and migrants being sent to the county, according to reports.”

• In Tennessee, “[a]s part of an 18-state coalition, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is suing the Biden administration over its proposed new ‘Circumvention of Lawful Pathways’ rule.”

Employment Rights

• In the United States, “[t]he National Labor Relations Board has joined the Biden administration’s efforts to curtail employers’ practice of having workers sign noncompete agreements.”

  • Relatedly, law firm Fisher Phillips advises, “Employers should review their non-compete agreements now that the NLRB General Counsel announced that many of them violate federal labor law – regardless of whether you have a unionized workforce.”

• Also in the United States, “[t]he U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt another setback to organized labor by making it easier for employers to sue over strikes that cause property destruction in a ruling siding with a concrete business in Washington state that sued the union representing its truck drivers after a work stoppage.”

• In Chicago, IL, “[t]he City of Chicago recently updated its existing ‘Ban the Box’ Ordinance to further limit an employer’s ability to consider conviction records of both new and current employees.”

• In Iowa, “Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law Friday to loosen some of the state’s child labor laws.”

• In Nevada, “[f]ederal investigators have found the operator of six Nevada Sonic Drive-In locations illegally allowed 14- and 15-year-old teenagers to work more hours and at times not permitted by federal child labor regulations and assigned them to operate manual deep fryers, a task considered a hazardous occupation.”

Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring

• In North Carolina, the state’s “government personnel laws would prohibit job applicants from being forced to opine about politics and culture to get hired and forbid employee trainers from promoting certain concepts in Republican legislation [are] getting close to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk.”

• In Washington, D.C., “[t]he Senate late Thursday evening passed a bill to ensure the government continues to pay its bills on time, sending to President Biden’s desk a measure that will freeze spending at most federal agencies next fiscal year but remove the threat of delayed paychecks for employees.”

Access to Justice – Civil & Economic

• In Arizona and Utah, “[a] new legal service model that aims to keep more low-income families in their homes has received approval from the Arizona and Utah supreme courts — which have waived restrictions on the unauthorized practice of law.”

• In Idaho, “[s]ix of the eight top attorneys assigned to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare have quit or been fired by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador since March.”

• In Chicago, IL, “[a] program to help Chicagoans avoid evictions during the pandemic is in limbo after the city ended its contract with the nonprofit providing emergency rental assistance.”

• In Indiana, “[t]hanks to a partnership between the Foundation and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, Legal Help Kiosks are aimed at providing Hoosiers free and low-cost legal services with access to legal databases, documents, and assistance.”

• In Louisiana, the “attorney general filed a sweeping lawsuit last week that advances a conservative argument to undo hard-won legal protections against systemic racism, seeking to reverse yet another crowning achievement of the 1960s civil rights movement.”

• In New York City, New York, “Bronx and Brooklyn tenants rallied outside of housing courts in their respective boroughs on Wednesday to call on Mayor Eric Adams to fully fund the right to counsel in the 2024 fiscal year budget.”

• In Norristown, PA, “[a]bout 20 homeless encampments in Norristown will be cleared in the coming weeks, with no plans to store people’s confiscated property, according to advocates for individuals living homeless in the borough.”

• In Rio Grande Valley, TX, “residents can access a free legal services kiosk at the Harlingen, Texas library[.]”

• In Vermont, “[a]…judge won’t block the eviction of about 800 homeless people from a pandemic-era motel housing program on Thursday despite pleas from advocates that the move was both confusing to those involved and inhumane.”

Access to Justice – Criminal

• In Marin County, CA, “[a] civil grand jury in Marin County has released a scathing report regarding a substantial backlog of criminal cases in the county, placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of the District Attorney's Office.”

• In Massachusetts, “[s]tate legislators are looking to make changes to a Massachusetts law that keeps secret all police records of domestic and sexual violence, after a WBUR investigation revealed the statute designed to protect victims has instead shielded alleged abusers. The privacy law makes it harder for survivors to access their own police incident reports and other records — documents they need in order to file restraining orders or fight for custody of their children.”

• In Michigan, “[a] bipartisan group of Michigan House members have introduced a 20-bill package to add more oversight, resources and opportunities for juveniles to proceed through the justice system, regardless of their financial standing.”

Prosecutor & Public Defender Office Hiring Crises

• In Del Norte County, CA, “[t]he Board of Supervisors appears poised to open an office for a fully staffed public defender. Supervisors directed administration to develop an office of the county public defender, establishing a classification for the county public defender as part of the recommended 2023/24 budget using a managed assigned counsel (MAC) structure.”

• In Sedgwick County, KS, “…the Sedgwick County public defender’s office recently shut down temporarily due to short staffing….[County District Attorney Marc] Bennett said the offices have shut down in the past to allow the attorneys to catch up on their caseloads. This time, the attorneys won’t take on new cases for at least a month.”

• In Carson City, NV, “[t]he Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution establishes the right to a speedy and public trial and legal defense. Thursday, the Carson City Board of Supervisors will consider a new Office of Public Defender to ensure that right for indigent defendants.”

Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform

• In Arizona, “[s]ome convictions for marijuana sales are eligible for expungement under Proposition 207, which legalized the drug for adult use, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.”

• In Atlanta, GA, following up on our previous coverage, “[p]olice on Wednesday arrested three Atlanta organizers who have been aiding protesters against the city’s proposed police and fire training center, striking at the structure that supports the fight against what opponents derisively call ‘Cop City.’…Charged with money laundering and charity fraud are Marlon Scott Kautz, 39, of Atlanta; Savannah D. Patterson, 30, of Savannah; and Adele MacLean, 42, of Atlanta.”

• In Indiana, “[t]he ACLU is challenging a new bail law that they claim creates unlawful restrictions on nonprofit organizations who assist criminal defendants with paying cash bail.”

• In Baltimore, MD, “Baltimore’s top prosecutor announced Thursday a new program that allows police to issue citations for minor crimes such as loitering, drug possession and public urination — a significant shift from the more progressive policies of his predecessor, who declined to prosecute such cases.”

• In Minnesota, “[f]rom studying psychedelics to legalizing drug paraphernalia and residue, Minnesota's new drug policies reach far beyond marijuana. The state is enacting changes this year aimed at reducing overdoses and infections, including legalization measures that advocates called nation-leading.”

  • Relatedly, “[j]ust one day after Minnesota legalized the recreational use of marijuana, an agency that regulates the use of firearms warned that any current user of marijuana is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.”

• In New York City, NY, “[t]he city Department of Correction has abruptly stopped notifying the media when an incarcerated person dies and will no longer do so in the future.”

• In Seattle, WA, “…City Attorney Ann Davison announced last week that she would end the city’s participation in the criminal justice alternative called Community Court due to questions about its cost and effectiveness. Instead, the office said they will use pre-filing diversion services[.]”

Public Safety

• In California, “[t]he state Senate has approved legislation by Sen. Catherine Blakespear of Encinitas that would require all semiautomatic pistols sold in California to use microstamping technology beginning in July 2027.”

• In Los Angeles, CA, “…City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto announced a $5 million settlement Tuesday in a lawsuit against Nevada-based Polymer80, permanently prohibiting the company from selling its ‘ghost gun’ kits in the state without first conducting background checks of buyers and serializing its products.”

• In Georgia, “[t]he [state] Supreme Court issued an opinion Wednesday affirming the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by five university professors against the state's campus carry law.”

• In Portland, OR, “[e]ight months after giving the go-ahead for a gunshot detection pilot project, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced Thursday that the city won’t pursue installing the technology.”

• In Fort Worth, TX, “With 345 gun violence-related calls already counted in 2023, the city of Fort Worth and Fort Worth’s police department are considering adding gunshot detection technology in conjunction with smart streetlights and already existing Flock cameras to help lower crime rates in areas scheduled for revitalization….There are concerns about the technology’s potential mass surveillance capabilities and placing them in communities where trust in law enforcement is already low.”