PSJD Public Interest News Digest – December 14, 2018
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Hello there, interested public! Things continue to be busy here at NALP. Looking forward to checking in with you all more in the New Year. In the meantime, here’s some news:
Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Issues
- Professors Robertson (Case Western) and Manta (Hofstra) published an article alleging that the manner in which the Trump administration is working to de-naturalize citizens with criminal histories “carr[ies] a disturbingly high risk of mistakenly taking away citizenship from someone who committed neither crime nor fraud.”
- In California, the 9th Circuit conducted an en banc hearing of a case concerning whether the Fifth Amendment’s right-to-counsel guarantee extends to children facing deportation.
- Pro Bono attorneys from Hogan Lovells, in partnership with the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition (DC) and the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (TX), filed a challenge to the Trump administration’s attempts to keep asylum seekers from entering the United States.
Legal Technology
- In Chicago, IL, the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) launched two new websites: www.a2j.org and www.a2jauthor.org. The sites are designed to allow anyone to create and host A2J Guided Interviews that help self-represented litigants complete legal forms or work through legal decisions.
- A survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Your Lawyers Online suggested that 69% of Americans would be willing to use online legal services if it would save them money.
Student Loans
- In Michigan, Eastern Michigan University has launched a program that aims to re-enroll former undergraduates who were unable to continue due to financial challenges by forgiving student debt when students perform community service.
Public Benefits
- In Massachusetts, the state is studying a series of changes to court rules and procedures after Northeast Legal Services revealed that district courts in the Salem area had been routinely “sign[ing] off on settlement agreements and judgments that force many low-income debtors to make payments of of public assistance, Social Security, or workers’ compensation payments.”
Pro Bono
- In Michigan, the State Bar launched its “A Lawyer Helps” Pro Bono Honor Roll, recognizing Michigan attorneys who provide 30 or more hours of pro bono legal services in a calendar year.
Access to Justice – Civil
- Martha Bergmark, a former LSC President, argued in the pages of USA Today that the new Congress should increase funding for the Legal Services Corporation and make other structural reforms to help narrow the justice gap.
- In West Virginia, West Virginia University College of Law became the home of the state’s Access to Justice Commission. According to WVU, “[o]nly two commissions in the country are administered by law schools.”
- In Cleveland, OH, Cleveland Legal Aid launched a fundraising campaign which aims to raise $10-$15 million over the next four years, 80% of which will go toward new programming at the organization.
Access to Justice – Criminal
- In Montana, the Office of the State Public Defender
Criminal Justice Reform
- In King County, Washington, the County Prosecutor, Sheriff, Deputy Policy Chief, and a representative of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center announced plans to “work with Legislators to expand the statue of limitations for sex assault crimes.”
- In Solano County, CA, a longtime deputy public defender was appointed to a vacant seat on the County Superior Court bench.
Judicial Appointments
- “Vice President Mike Pence cast a tiebreaker vote in the Senate on Tuesday to confirm a federal appeals court nominee who received a “not qualified” rating from the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary… a second confirmed nominee to the appeals court, Leonard Steven Grasz, [also] received [a] not qualified rating[].”
Music Bonus!
Brass Against the Machine, “Cult of Personality” (Living Colour Cover)