PSJD News Digest – March 8, 2024
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Hello, interested public! We’re back with another week of news from the world of public service law. Major stories this week from Hawaii, where the entire staff of a domestic violence nonprofit simultaneously quit, and Washington, where the DOJ has informed the immigration judges’ union it can no longer issue public statements without prior agency approval. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Sam
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
-
American Bar Association issues new ethics guidance for public lawyers (Canadian Lawyer Magazine; 3 Mar 2024)
-
Surveys reveal key challenges for law firms and government lawyers in Canada (CBA National; 6 Mar 2024)
-
White House Pushes Pay Equity for Federal Employees and Contractors (ClearanceJobs; 8 Mar 2024)
-
Justice Department beefs up focus on artificial intelligence enforcement, warns of harsher sentences (Associated Press; 7 Mar 2024)
-
DOJ issues 'gag order' on immigration judges (Government Executive; 5 Mar 2024)
-
Lowering Barriers to Entry to Public Service (There’s a reason fewer than 1% of lawyers in the U.S. are focusing on public-interest law) [opinion] (Wall St. Journal; 5 Mar 2024)
-
NY Legal Services Org Votes To Unionize With Supermajority (Law360; 6 Mar 2024)
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
-
Gov. Hochul's Budget Plan Risks Legal Aid: $234M Shift Sparks Outcry (BNN; 6 Mar 2024)
-
[IL] Access to Justice Commission Seeks Comment on New Form Sets (ISBA; 7 Mar 2024)
-
Nonprofits in rural Oregon worry that victims of domestic abuse, human trafficking will lose vital legal resources (KGW8; 4 Mar 2024)
-
'Access To Justice Means Language Justice,' DOJ Official Says (Law360; 4 Mar 2024)
-
[Cambridge MA] City Council Seeks to Increase Legal Representation for Tenants (Harvard Crimson; 4 Mar 2024)
-
Efforts to expand access to free legal services for people facing eviction in Nashville (WKRN; 4 Mar 2024)
-
Many Detroiters facing eviction have the right to free legal help. That doesn’t mean they know it (Outlier Media; 5 Mar 2024)
-
Illinois Legal Aid Milestone: Boosting Justice in Domestic Violence and Housing Cases (BBN; 5 Mar 2024)
-
Entire attorney staff at key [HI] domestic violence nonprofit leave, citing internal conflict (Hawaii News Now; 4 Mar 2024)
-
NYC Council Immigration Committee demands Adams spend more on migrant legal services, education (NY Daily News; 5 Mar 2024)
-
Ottawa boosts legal support for racialized newcomers in New Brunswick (Canadian Lawyer; 5 Mar 2024)
-
Illinois embraces virtual court appearances offering greater access to justice (News Channel 20; 7 Mar 2024)
-
Advocates to Push for NY Office Setting up Lawyers with Tenants Facing Evictions (Law.com; 7 Mar 2024)
Access to Justice – Criminal
-
Police take aim at Ulster [NY] Public Defender’s office (Mid-Hudson News; 4 Mar 2024)
-
Senate Dems urge judiciary to fully fund federal public defense services (Courthouse News; 5 Mar 2024)
-
Funding to increase access to justice for racialized inmates in Nova Scotia (DOJ Canada; 6 Mar 2024)
Prosecutorial and Public Defense Office Hiring Crises
-
Prosecutors are critical to public safety. Florida lawmakers should pay them more [opinion] (Miami Herald; 2 Mar 2024)
-
New York public defenders, DAs push for more student loan repayment help (Spectrum Local News; 1 Mar 2024)
-
WA to train public defenders, prosecutors for rural, underserved areas (The Seattle Times; 6 Mar 2024)
-
[AL] House committee approves bills increasing pay for attorneys representing indigent clients (Alabama Reflector; 6 Mar 2024)
Criminal Justice Reform & Counter-Reform
-
Revolutionizing Justice: Delaware County’s Advocates Boost Diversion Program Success Rates (BNN; 4 Mar 2024)
-
Public Defenders Running for Judge Want to Reduce Mass Incarceration in Los Angeles (The Appeal; 4 Mar 2024)
-
How LA's District Attorney Went From Criminal Justice Reform Warrior to Endangered Incumbent (KQED; 4 Mar 2024)
-
Organizers of recall against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price turn in signatures (The Mercury News; 4 Mar 2024)
-
Georgia House GOP advances prosecutor oversight bill as Dems complain of political score-settling (Georgia Recorder; 5 Mar 2024)
-
Will [LA] state public defender overhaul affect Caddo Parish Public Defender's Office? (Shreveport Times; 6 Mar 2024)