PSJD Public Interest News Digest – January 31, 2020
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Hello there, interested public!
In another down-to-the-wire week, stories on Immigration and Civil Access to Justice dominated. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
See you around,
Sam
Immigration, Refugee & Citizenship Issues
- In Washington DC, “[t]he Trump administration is pushing ahead with a project that could lead to the government collecting DNA from hundreds of thousands of detained immigrants, some as young as 14 years old, alarming civil rights advocates. Once fully underway, the DNA program could become the largest U.S. law enforcement effort to systemically collect genetic material from people not accused of a crime.”
- In Washington DC, “[t]he U.S. Supreme Court ruled [] hat the Trump Administration can go ahead with its new public charge rule aimed at preventing low-income, legal immigrants from obtaining green cards.”
- The Wall Street Journal reported that “[p]eople seeking asylum in the U.S. are less likely to have legal representation under a Trump administration policy that sends them to await court hearings in Mexican border cities, recently released research shows.”
- In Houston TX, Houston Public Media reported that “[s]ince President [] Trump[‘s] administration has repeatedly tightened the rules[] and narrowed who qualifies for asylum[, i]mmigration attorneys are turning away from the ‘gold standard’–asylum–and putting more effort into the two major legal alternatives: withholding of removal and the U.N.’s Convention Against Torture.”
- In Derby CT, “[a] judicial marshal accused of assisting a Connecticut resident in avoiding apprehensive [sic] by immigration officials was fired.”
- In Boston MA, “Judge Richard Stearns dismissed the case of an Iranian student who…US Customs and Border Protection deported [] despite an emergency stay issued by US District Court Judge Allison Burroughs[.] …Stearns said in court that he didn’t think the government would “listen” to him, and that he did not jurisdiction over the issue because Abadi had been deported, calling the case ‘moot.’”
Student Loans & Student Debt
- In Madison WI, “Governor Tony Evers [] signed an executive order to create a task force on student debt.”
- In Washington DC, “Sen. Elizabeth Warren, in a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, urged the federal government to collect $22.3 million that it’s owed by one of the biggest student loan servicers in the country.”
- Also in Washington DC, the Department of Education “revealed [] that it will simplify the process for borrowers to apply for an expansion of the troubled Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.”
Legal Technology
- In Mountain View CA, “Google has announced it will charge law enforcement and other government agencies for access to user data to “offset the costs” of compiling responses to information requests.”
- In Iowa, “[t]he state court system is offering a new lawyer-free service for couples seeking a divorce. Judicial Branch Public Information Associate Marissa Gaal said the interactive service is only for people looking for a divorce who don’t have children.”
- The ABA Journal published a piece on legal hackathons.
- In Utah, “Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Matthew Durrant called on lawmakers to spend more than a million dollars to upgrade the judiciary’s tech.”
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
- In Washington DC, “[t]he Trump administration is attempting to decertify the National Association of Immigrant Judges (NAIJ), the union that since 1971 has represented federal immigration judges. The attack on the union appears to be in response to its vocal opposition to administration efforts to limit judges’ authority, force them to speed up hearings, silence critics of immigration policy, and cut resources for support staff.”
- In DC, “[t]he D.C. bar is joining the ranks of jurisdictions considering rule changes that would allow nonlawyers to own firms[.]”
Access to Justice – Civil
- In Canada, Former Canadian Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin began “a periodic [column] series showcasing access to justice in action across Canada” for The Lawyer’s Daily.
- In Manitoba, “[c]lients of Manitoba’s Public Interest Law Centre are questioning a proposal to stop the advocacy centre from operating within Legal Aid Manitoba [after] a government-commissioned review of legal aid was released recommending the Public Interest Law Centre no longer be part of legal aid services offered by the province.”
- In Ontario, Legal Aid Ontario “clarified its policy for imprisoned clients seeking help with family law issues[:] Incarcerated persons may apply for all the family law services offered by Legal Aid Ontario, subject to fulfilling the requirements for legal and financial eligibility.”
- In New York NY, the city council considered “two bills–Intros 1529 and 1104– [that] look to expand Right to Counsel [in eviction] not only geographically but also economically.”
- In New Mexico, “[m]ore [] residents would have access to civil legal aid services under proposals approved by the state Supreme Court [which] include efforts to attract more out-of-state law school graduates to practice in New Mexico and possible financial incentives for attorneys who practice in rural or underserved communities.”
- In Utah, “Chief Justice Matthew Durrant told state legislators during the annual State of the Judiciary Address Monday that Utah faces a “crisis” in legal services[.]”
Access to Justice – Criminal
- The Indiana Lawyer reported that “[r]ural communities’ access to justice, bail reform and ensuring voting rights for individuals with criminal convictions will be chief among several criminal justice topics set for discussion during next month’s 2020 American Bar Association Midyear Meeting.”
- In Missouri, “[a] federal judge [] has refused to approve a consent decree that would have limited state public defenders to no more than 173.3 hours worth of cases each month, a standard that is based on a 40-hour workweek.”
- In Allen County OH, “County Commissioners will continue deliberating how best to improve the state of indigent defense in 2020, with the possibility of establishing a full-time public defender’s office still under consideration.”
- In Butler County OH, “attorneys who are appointed by judges to represent indigent defendants have received their first hourly rate hike in about 16 years.”
Criminal Justice Reform
- In Albany NY, “[a] law that would have convened a special panel to evaluate complaints of misconduct levied against the state’s prosecutors was struck down [] by a state judge[], who said the measure was unconstitutional as written by the Legislature.”
- In New York NY, “[t]he NYPD’s largest police union has sued the Civilian Complaint Review Board over a ballot measure that expanded the watchdog agency — claiming the voter-approved legislation was ‘an illegal power-grab.’”