PSJD News Digest – August 30, 2024
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Hello, interested public! Some major stories this week, including most notably the Supreme Court’s rejection of a request from the Biden administration to lift a pause imposed by a lower court on their student debt relief plan. In other news, the Arkansas government has averted layoffs of its public defenders, and both public defenders and prosecutors are on strike in Sacramento California. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Take care,
Sam
Editor’s Choice
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Wanted: Lawyers to help with this year’s election (ABA Journal; 26 Aug 2024)
Student Loans & Student Debt
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Supreme Court Keeps Biden Student-Loan Relief Plan on Hold (Bloomberg News; 28 Aug 2024)
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
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[OR] Consumer Justice Nonprofit Expands Legal Services (KBND; 23 Aug 2024)
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Could This Right-to-Counsel Program for Evictions Become a Statewide Model in Virginia? (Next City; 27 Aug 2024)
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Southwestern Law School Joins with Lawyers for America to Expand Legal Training and Public Service (Southwestern Law; 28 Aug 2024)
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Colorado court's pilot program to aid self-represented prisoners launches after delay, tweaks (Colorado Politics; 28 Aug 2024)
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IU law students fill in legal staffing shortage gaps in rural Indiana counties (News at IU; 29 Aug 2024)
Access to Justice – Criminal
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Arkansas panel OKs $1.25 million to public defenders to forestall layoffs, clear case backlog (Arkansas Advocate; 23 Aug 2024)
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Sacramento Public Defenders, Prosecutors Strike – Decarcerate Group Charges Indigent May Be Getting Better Deal Now from Private Lawyers (Davis Vanguard; 27 Aug 2024)
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Youth facing municipal charges in Denver get public defenders, something other municipalities across Colorado want (CBS News; 27 Aug 2024)
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MSU College of Law opens Public Defender Clinic (Newswise; 23 Aug 2024)
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Why there’s a huge need for more public defenders in CSRA [GA] (WRDW; 26 Aug 2024)
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Oswego County [NY]’s first public defender resigns (Oswego County News Now; 27 Aug 2024)
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[Hillsdale MI] Commissioners narrowly approve public defender administrator contract (Hillsdale Daily News; 30 Aug 2024)
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[Travis] County [TX] to fully staff lawyers at bail hearings beginning Oct. 1 (Austin Monitor; 29 Aug 2024)