March 24, 2023 at 3:28 pm
· Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hello, interested public! Doorstop of a digest for you this week, with major news on a variety of fronts. In student debt, state lawmakers are exploring more local options as federal student loan relief looks as though it may founder. The public defender crisis continued in many places with New York City’s public defender services issued warnings they may collapse without better funding, while defenders in Alberta worried newly-allotted government funds may not be used to increase their compensation (the subject of job action last year). In Oregon, defenders brought a suit asking to be withdrawn from some cases—and for charges against people unable to obtain court-appointed counsel to be dismissed. In legal aid news, the US Department of Justice issued its 2022 White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable report and the Right to Counsel in Eviction movement made further progress in Kansas City, Boulder, and the State of Utah.
As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Take care of one another,
Sam
Editor’s Choice(s)
Dueling Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence
Student Loans & Student Debt
Immigration & Refugee Issues
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
In New York NY, “[n]onprofits serving the Big Apple say they can't pay their bills because the money from city grants is just too late…[for example,] the Center for Community Alternatives [is] one of thousands on nonprofits that rely on city funding and are being hamstrung by a city bureaucracy so filled with red tape that it can take as long as a year to get paid. ”
In Washington DC, “The Georgetown University Law Center has announced the first three court projects selected for its inaugural Judicial Innovation Fellowship, which will embed technologists and software designers in state, local and tribal courts to develop tech-based solutions to improve access to the judicial system…Three fellows, with backgrounds as technologists, designers, data scientists or product managers, will be selected to join the Georgetown University Law Center in September to work on projects from Tennessee, Kansas and Utah. ”
In Washington DC, a recent survey from the MissionSquare Research Institute found that “[j]ust over half of respondents (51%) report being very or extremely satisfied with their current employer. ”
In a Chronicle of Philanthrophy survey of nearly 700 fundraisers, “30 percent of respondents were somewhat or very dissatisfied with their organization’s diversity. In open-ended comments, respondents complained it was difficult to find ‘a diverse candidate pool’ and said that Black fundraisers hired after George Floyd’s death often ‘found themselves within hostile cultures.’ One person went so far as to say there is a ‘white supremacy culture in fundraising.’ ”
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
In Washington DC, “Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and White House Counsel Stuart Delery jointly issued the 2022 White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (Roundtable) Report. The report, entitled ‘Access to Justice through Simplification: A Roadmap for People-Centered Simplification of Federal Government Forms, Processes, and Language,’ highlights agency accomplishments and commitments in furtherance of the Roundtable’s mission to ‘increase the availability of meaningful access to justice for individuals and families, regardless of wealth or status.’ ”
In Multnomah County OR, “voters will have a choice to make this May on a proposed new tax that would provide free legal representation for tenants facing eviction. ”
On “Common Law,” a podcast of the University of Virginia School of Law, Prof. Elizabeth A. Rowe argued that “[because f]acial recognition technology is so powerful and rife with the potential to be misused that regulators should treat faces like trade secrets…[a classification that] would offer consumers the kind of defense they will need in response to a significant threat to privacy[.] ”
In Boulder CO, “[t]he City of Boulder has released the Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Services (EPRAS) program annual report which highlights successes and challenges from the program’s second year. ”
In Kansas City KS, “[the city’s] right to counsel program, which provides free legal representation to tenants facing eviction…prevented evictions for hundreds of tenants [in less than a year]. Now, the program is poised to get more funding from Kansas City officials for the upcoming fiscal year — $1.6 million, up from $750,000. Legal organizations involved in the program say more money will give it needed stability. ”
In Utah, “[the State] Supreme Court has announced an innovative project that aims to provide free legal advice to people facing housing issues in the state. According to the press release, the Utah Supreme Court’s Office of Legal Services Innovation, along with Innovation 4 Justice, is launching the Housing Stability Legal Advocate Pilot Program that will train nonlawyers working within community-based organizations or nonprofits to become legal advocates who may bridge the gap in access to legal aid for vulnerable populations. ”
In New York NY, “[n]onprofit organizations providing legal services to low income New Yorkers rallied [] at City Hall to call on the mayor to increase funding in the fiscal year 2024 budget. ”
Access to Justice – Criminal
In Colorado, Kiyomi Bolick of the Colorado State Public Defenders’ Service argued that “I no longer expect our greatest victories to be won inside of a courtroom. Rather, the future of public defense lies in unionized collective action, and the leverage it will afford us to demand true systemic change. ”
In Washington DC, “Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., introduced legislation [] to create a new source of grant funding to hire public defenders and raise their pay to try to level the playing field with prosecutor salaries. ”
In Kansas, “Heather Cessna, executive director of the Kansas State Board of Indigents’ Defense Services, said the [public defender] shortage is a disaster that is years in the making. ”
In Iowa, “[f]ederal officials visited Des Moines [] to announce new plans to improve access to affordable legal services for Iowans, while also cautioning that the state may be requiring indigent defendants to pay more than they can afford for their state-appointed lawyers. ”
In Victoria County TX, “County Judge Ben Zeller said a new regional public defender office could be a solution [to challenges residents face getting access to a public defender]. ”
In Pennsylvania, the Editorial Board of the Lewistown Sentinel argued that “[b]y allocating state funding for indigent defense for the first time in Pennsylvania, Mr. Shapiro has taken a commendable step toward making the Gideon decision a reality in the commonwealth. ”
In Alberta, “the [provincial] government will be spending tens of millions of dollars to increase assistance offered through legal aid and offer more timely justice services. ”
In New York NY, “[t]he Bronx Defenders is one of five public defender services demanding more funding from the city in this year’s budget, including a combined $125 million ask that would increase salaries for public defenders, meet the needs of New York’s ultra-strict discovery laws and combat attrition in those offices, that they say, is contributing to court delays in their respective boroughs. ”
In Marion County OR, “attorneys in Marion County filed a recent motion that many hope will quickly make its way to the state supreme court. It asks for public defenders to be withdrawn from certain cases, for a stop to appointing lawyers to some new cases and a dismissal of remaining charges for anyone left without court-appointed counsel. ”
In Brazos County TX, “the Brazos County Public Defender Office is open for business. ”
In Miami FL, “[the US Department of Justice] announced that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and [the DOJ] Access to Justice program are conducting a comprehensive review of access to counsel in BOP’s pretrial facilities. ”
In Oakland County CA, “Paulette Loftin…has been appointed Oakland County’s first chief public defender. ”
Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform
In Chicago IL, “a new study from Professor Siegler’s Federal Justice Clinic…studied the decisions of federal judges presiding over the cases of people accused of a crime who are awaiting trial and presumed innocent. Their research shows that federal judges regularly violate the very bail laws that they are sworn to uphold, locking people in jail who should be released. ” (Study available here .)
In New York, “[p]ointing to ‘disproportionate rates of policing and prosecution experienced in communities of color,’ New York state’s Appellate Division [] announced it has pared back its bar-admission question on applicants’ law enforcement encounters as a way to promote better equity and diversity in the bar. ”
In Washington DC, “President Biden on Friday called on Congress to increase the enforcement authorities of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, saying the federal regulators should be more empowered to punish those involved in cases such as the recent Silicon Valley Bank collapse. ”
Also in Washington DC, “Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Tim Walberg (R-MI) reintroduced a bill [] that would significantly overhaul the federal government’s civil forfeiture laws. ”
Again also in Washington DC, “President Joe Biden [] nominated…a former public defender and a longtime federal prosecutor [] to the federal bench in Maryland following his pledge to appoint judges with diverse backgrounds and experiences. ”
In Seattle WA, “[t]he Seattle Attorney’s Office reported it had prevented more than 750 police referrals in Ann Davison’s first year as city attorney, an 11% reduction in the annual average of incoming cases from the Seattle Police Department (SPD). ”
In Ottawa, “Federal Justice Minister, David Lametti, said he will tighten access to bail in Canada. This comes in response to concerns about the potential release of dangerous offenders who may pose a risk to the public. ”
(Retractions)
In last week’s digest, I linked to an article about problems with funding at the Georgia Public Defender’s Council. Although it was posted recently, that article was a reprint of a new story from another publication from several years ago. I apologize for this error. Thanks to the reader who called this issue to my attention!
Permalink
March 3, 2023 at 2:56 pm
· Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hello, interested public! Major news this week revolved around DC, where the Supreme Court weighed the arguments against student loan relief and granted certiorari in a case challenging the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while the Biden Administration adopted immigration policies that legal experts compared to Trump’s “transit ban”. On a more local level, governments continue to focus on funding for prosecutors and public defenders, including in Maine, private attorneys are stepping up to represent indigent clients after lawmakers nearly doubled their hourly rate–but advocates insist more reforms are needed, in New York, Governor Hochul’s Budget proposed tens of millions of new spending dollars for prosecutors while rejecting a request from public defender organizations for parity funding, and in Houston TX, where reporting revealed that a former prosecutor has collected over $1 million last year representing indigent defendants on a contract basis.
As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Take care of one another,
Sam
Editor’s Choice
Student Loans & Student Debt
Immigration & Refugee Issues
Environmental Justice
Gender & Reproductive Rights
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
Access to Justice – Criminal
In New York, “[t]he governor proposed an outsized boost worth tens of millions for prosecutors — drawing comparisons to New York’s history of public defense neglect. ”
In Miami FL, “the U.S. Department of Justice launched a nationwide tour in Miami to recognize the 60th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling, Gideon v. Wainwright, guaranteeing a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a lawyer and a fair trial….As part of the initiative, the Justice Department also launched a 100-day review of its efforts to ensure ‘timely access to counsel’ in Bureau of Prison facilities, which has been a source of complaints by defense lawyers seeking to meet with their clients detained before trial, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. ”
In Maine, “[m]ore private attorneys have stepped up to represent indigent clients since Maine lawmakers voted [] to nearly double the hourly pay they will receive over the next four months. ”
In Ionia County MI, “[w]ith a state mandate to increase salaries for Ionia County Public Defender’s Office attorneys, the county’s Board of Commissioners is also increasing pay for the Prosecutor’s Office. ”
In the United States, “[a]s tech firms build ever more sophisticated means of surveilling people and their devices – technology that law enforcement is eager to take advantage of – the legal community is scrambling to keep up. Public defenders are often the most overworked and underpaid lawyers in the criminal justice system, with little time and few resources to research the new technology now being used against their clients. This, in turn, creates an uneven playing field that disadvantages the most vulnerable people: those who can’t afford private attorneys. ”
Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform
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February 24, 2023 at 3:49 pm
· Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hello, interested public! Major news stories this week include the upcoming student debt arguments before the US Supreme Court, a new website focused on internship opportunities with the federal government, and continuing efforts to improve staffing and morale for line attorneys in public defense and legal aid, as governments debate increasing salaries and expanding hiring and attorneys engage in collective efforts to insist on better pay and working conditions.
Take care of one another,
Sam
Editor’s Choice
Environmental Justice
Immigration & Refugee Issues
Student Loans & Student Debt
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
In Canada, “[t]rans people face a disproportionate number of legal problems and are less likely than cis people to formally act on them, said a new Canadian Bar Association report. ” (Full report, CBA Access to Justice for Trans People, available here .)
In Maine, according to a recent presentation by the Director of Admissions at Maine Law, “[the] huge [rural] demand for attorneys…goes beyond criminal law issue [and] also impacts family law, disability cases, property debates, and other issues including legal counsel for entrepreneurs and small business owners. ”
In New York NY, “[l]ast fall, THE CITY reported that fewer than 10% of tenants in eviction cases were getting assigned a lawyer, despite the law guaranteeing one for all low-income people. ”
Also in New York NY, “[l]awyers, paralegals, and administrative staff working with the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), the non-profit organization that provides free legal assistance to all New York City residents, took part in a two-day strike action [that one participant called ‘]our first ever strike[.]’ ”
In Florida, “[t]he Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation is hard at work creating a statewide database of guardian and guardianship case information as prescribed by the Florida Legislature last year. The database came at the recommendation of the Guardianship Improvement Task Force to create greater transparency in the guardianship process. ”
In Alberta, a past president of the Alberta Branch of the Canadian Bar Association and a past chair of the CBA National Family Law Section argued that “Alberta should be the next province to constitute a [Unified Family Court]…particularly as Alberta was supposed to have implemented a Unified Family Court in 2020 after the federal government had committed to funding 17 judicial positions in the province. ”
Access to Justice – Criminal
In Georgia, “[a] shortage of public defenders [] is leaving attorneys overburdened and those accused of crimes waiting for a proper defense — and that wait can last for months. ”
In Alaska, “Gov. Mike Dunleavy [] said he is proposing an additional $8.3 million over two years to help address caseload and staffing concerns for the state Public Defender Agency and Office of Public Advocacy. ”
In Montana, “[l]awmakers in charge of outlining state spending for public safety [] declined to fully fund a request for more public defenders. ”
In Maine, “[t]he Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services voted on Wednesday to raise their pay from $80 to $150 dollars an hour, effective March 1st. ”
In Minnesota, the Star Tribune published a response “to a Jan. 27 commentary by Minnesota Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea,” stating that “[p]ublic defenders were encouraged that our plea for pay parity and caseload controls was heard. ”
In Louisville KY, “[t]he Louisville Public Defenders Union is demanding better contracts. The held a forum[], asking the public to join them as they wrote letters to their board hoping to negotiate a new contract. ”
In Ionia County MI, “[the county] Board of Commissioners [approved h]iring a fourth public defense attorney [but tabled]providing a salary increase for the current public defense attorneys. ”
In Grundy County IL, “[a]fter several months of being short staffed, the Grundy County Public Defenders Office is nearly back to normal staffing levels. ”
In Florida, “HB 71, the measure offering greater protection to defense counsel and enhancing the penalties for anyone who attacks any court-appointed counsel or defense counsel acting in their capacity, has cleared its second committee hurdle. ”
Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform
Permalink
February 17, 2023 at 4:17 pm
· Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hello, interested public! The dominant story in the United States continues to be the ongoing shortage of state and local government workers, including a variety of stories about the difficulties various jurisdictions are having staffing local government attorney positions. As always, these stories and others are in the links below.
Take care of one another,
Sam
Editor’s Choice
Student Loans & Student Debt
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
In New York, “[the] State Legislature has approved chapter amendments to New York State’s pay transparency law, which is slated to take effect on September 17, 2023. The most notable revision would provide that the law applies to remote positions physically performed outside of New York that report to a New York supervisor, office, or work site. The bill is currently before Governor Hochul, and if signed, would become part of the law taking effect in September. ”
In Texas, “Gov. Greg Abbott’s office is warning state agency and public university leaders this week that the use of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — policies that support groups who have been historically underrepresented or discriminated against — is illegal in hiring. ”
In the United States, “[i]t’s widely known that state and local governments are struggling to recruit and retain workers…But as the number of layoff announcements in the private sector increase and a record number of Americans withdraw funds from their 401(k)s as a result of financial distress, the public sector may be uniquely positioned to reverse its worker shortage with a highly attractive benefit that gives it an edge over the private sector: a pension. ”
Legal Technology
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
In Harris County TX, “growing eviction dockets mean many cases are decided in less than 90 seconds[.] ”
In Los Angeles CA, “[a]group of city council members proposed a program establishing a right to counsel for tenants in Los Angeles [] as part of a continued effort to expand renter protections. ”
In Albany NY, “[t]he Right to Counsel Coalition launched its 2023 legislative platform during a rally at the Albany State Capitol. ”
In Minnesota, “[a] group of housing advocates is urging state leaders to give out $85 million in federal housing aid as soon as possible amid record numbers of eviction filings across the state…Minnesota Housing officials said they're working on getting the funds out. Officials are developing a proposal of how to use the money based on public input, which was gathered through a December survey. ”
In Florida, “[w]hen the Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office teamed up with members of the Appellate Practice Section in 2017 to launch Defending Best Interests (DBI), an initiative in which pro bono attorneys write answer briefs defending the child’s best interests in termination of parental rights appeals, neither entity imagined how many children would be assisted. As of February, pro bono appellate attorneys have represented more than 1,000 dependent children on appeal, helping remove barriers to their permanency in safe and loving homes. ”
Access to Justice – Criminal
In Queens NY, “[a]s contract negotiations between the Legal Aid Society and the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys become increasingly tense, public defense attorneys across the city went on a lunchtime work stoppage[.] ”
In Alaska, “Gov. Mike Dunleavy [] said he is proposing an additional $8.3 million over two years to help address caseload and staffing concerns for the state Public Defender Agency and Office of Public Advocacy. ”
In Missouri, “a judge ruled [that] Missouri’s practice of placing poor criminal defendants on a waiting list for a state-appointed attorney is unconstitutional[.] ”
In Pender County NC, “[a new public defender office] is expected to be up and running by May of this year. ”
In Florida, “[t]he Florida Public Defender Association has proposed a new amendment to an existing Florida Bar rule, allowing court appearances for law school graduates up to a year before their bar admission. The proposal, put forth by the organization’s president, Carlos Martinez, aims to address the shortage of public defenders in the state and improve access to justice. ”
In Ontario, “[t]he Ontario government, the Ontario Court of Justice, Indigenous leaders, and community partners have opened the Kenora Justice Centre. The centre aims to extend community-led support to criminal offenders through health care, education, housing, and other social-service providers. Specialized teams that include Indigenous-led organizations and mental health and addictions counsellors will deliver wrap-around programs addressing the root causes of crimes while supporting healing and growth for at-risk youth and young adults. ”
In Cochise County AZ, “County Public Defender Eugene Marquez is calling it quits, his departure leaving the office that represents mostly indigent defendants rudderless. ”
In Lake County CA, “the Board of Supervisors discussed a report commissioned by the county on indigent defense services and considered a plan to make sure that the constitutional rights of criminal defendants in the local courts are being protected. ”
Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform
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February 3, 2023 at 4:52 pm
· Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hello, interested public!
Another blockbuster news week, coming to you just under the wire (east coast time). Beyond this week’s focus, Amazon announced the end of their AmazonSmile program, leaving many nonprofits looking for additional sources of revenue. The ABA, the National Center for State Courts, and the RAND Corporation teased the results of their forthcoming study of new national public defender workload standards. Oh, and the Biden Administration’s decision to end the public health emergency in March may compromise its ability to offer student loan forgiveness. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Take care of one another,
Sam
Editor’s Focus
On January 29th, 2023, “[t]he Memphis Police Department announced Saturday that it was disbanding the specialized unit whose officers stopped and beat [Tyre] Nichols on Jan. 7. Nichols died in the hospital three days later. ”
On January 26th, 2023, Memphis Mayor Jim Strictland delivered a speech praising the city’s Scorpion unit: “At the end of last year, Chief Davis created the Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods Unit (SCORPION). This unit addresses violent crimes such as homicides, aggravated assaults, robberies, and carjackings that occur throughout the city. The teams will also address motor vehicle thefts, theft from motor vehicles, and other felony offenses…Since its inception last October through January 23, 2022, the Scorpion Unit has had a total of 566 arrests—390 of them felony arrests. They have seized over $103,000 in cash, 270 vehicles, and 253 weapons. ”
In 2006 and 2007, “[a]s she rose through the ranks of the Atlanta Police Department, Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis spent nearly 18 months overseeing a hyper-aggressive street crime unit, named Red Dog, that was ultimately disbanded following a public backlash and a series of lawsuits. Now, in the wake of Tyre Nichols’ death, Davis faces questions over why she would launch a similar team in Memphis, Tennessee — called the Scorpion unit — shortly after she arrived to lead the city’s police force in 2021. ‘If anyone in Memphis had checked with anyone from the world of police oversight in Atlanta, they would have learned that creating a Red Dog-like squad using Red Dog-like tactics was inevitably going to result in police misconduct and violence,’ said Dan Grossman, an Atlanta lawyer who filed several successful lawsuits on behalf of victims alleging they were roughed up by Red Dog officers. ”
Meanwhile, “[w]hen news broke [] that the Memphis Police Department’s Scorpion Unit was disbanded, Amber Sherman, a community organizer in the city who has helped lead the demonstrations for Tyre Nichols, seemed unimpressed: ‘Yep. Now they need to answer all the demands.’…[Local organizers a]re calling for widespread reforms in the Memphis police: dissolving similar task forces in the city, ending the use of unmarked cars and plainclothes officers, and banning traffic stops without probable cause…’It’s not just the Scorpion Unit. We’ve had these task forces for years,’ Sherman continue[d]. ‘I’m born and raised here, in my 20s, and this has always been a practice.’ ”
Student Loans & Student Debt
In Washington DC, “[t]he official COVID-19 national emergency is coming to an end, leaving some Americans to wonder what that means for economic policies that changed during the pandemic…As the national emergencies come to an end, it’s not exactly clear how the move will affect Americans with federal student loans…[S]ome worry that Biden’s declaration will complicate the legal case Nebraska v. Biden, which uses the COVID-19 national emergency as the rationale for implementing the $10,000 to $20,000 in debt relief per eligible borrower. ”
Also in Washington DC, “[m]ore than 60% of the 26 million people who applied for relief have had their loans sent to servicers for discharge, the U.S. Department of Education said. But forgiveness is not guaranteed. The Department of Education faced lawsuits from six states and two individuals who argued it was unlawful. ”
In California, “[t]he California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) recently issued a Notice of Modification to Proposed Regulations and published the newly modified proposed regulations to amend its student loan servicing regulations. Among other things, the modified regulations would expand the definition of ‘income share agreement,’ impose additional rules related to responding to a borrower’s qualified written request, and expand the requirements for the DFPI’s Aggregate Student Loan Servicing Report. ”
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
In Alberta, “[a]ctive lawyers [] will soon have the chance to express their opinion on the provincial law society’s rule on mandating continuing professional development (CPD) requirements such as its mandatory course for Indigenous cultural competency training. In response to a petition signed by 51 lawyers in the province — one of which was later found to be inactive — the Law Society of Alberta (LSA) has called a special meeting to vote on a resolution Feb. 6 to repeal its rule 67.4[.] ”
In Arkansas, “[a]n Arkansas Senate committee [] advanced a bill that its sponsor Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, said is aimed at effectively ending affirmative action in state and local government. ”
In the United States, “[n]onprofit cultural institutions, advocacy groups, and social-service organizations have all had employees unionize…Even as the economy cools and fears of recession grow, both union organizers and consultants who advise nonprofit leaders on the issue say nonprofit staff are continuing to unionize at the same fast pace. ”
Also in the United States, “[a] group of 28 foundation leaders on Monday called on their peers to make a long-lasting commitment to support Black-led racial-justice organizations following the police killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. ”
Again also in the United States, “[a] national program that supported nonprofits is shutting down, leaving…nonprofits searching for new ways to replace the funding. Amazon launched AmazonSmile in 2013, contributing 0.5% of everypurchase made by participating customers to the charity of their choosing…The e-commerce giant announced earlier this month its plans to shut down the donation program by Feb. 20. ”
In Washington DC, “[the US House of Representatives] voted 221-206 mostly along party lines [] to pass legislation requiring federal agencies to revert to their pre-pandemic telework policies, although the measure is likely to meet stiff resistance in the Democratically controlled Senate[.] ”
In Georgia, “[t]he Georgia Court of Appeals [] said it didn’t have jurisdiction to review a governmental immunity question in a former public defender staffer’s wrongful firing suit, questioning whether it even had jurisdiction to issue a 2002 ruling on the issue that has since become the standard in the Peach State. ”
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
Access to Justice – Criminal
In Waco TX, the Waco Tribune-Herald wrote about an “upcoming ‘watershed’ moment in public defense”: “Longtime civil rights lawyer Stephen Hanlon[‘s] law firm, Lawyer Hanlon, partnered with the American Bar Association, the National Center for State Courts and the public policy research RAND Corporation to develop new national public defender workload standards expected in February…The standards will be the first in the nation to prove with reliable data the extent to which public defenders are overworked, Hanlon said. They will be based on public defender workload studies in 17 states. Two of those studies revealed Oregon and New Mexico have about a third of the public defenders needed to provide adequate representation to everyone accused of crimes. ”
In Helena MT, the Independent Record published an expose of power dynamics that affect public defenders’ ability to zealously represent their clients: “[j]udges or elected officials in many counties nationwide have full oversight over public defense, a structure that can lead to “subtle pressure” on public defenders to avoid using many county resources or making motions that agitate a judge. Attorneys rarely are removed or dismissed in retaliation, though fear of that can weaken the defense…That power structure in California, Texas, Arizona and Idaho prevents attorney access to necessary resources, including investigators and expert witnesses…[One attorney] felt ‘disincentivized’ because judges have the power to not assign cases to court-appointed attorneys, though in 20 years Texas Panhandle judges never took away her cases. The structure created ‘subtle pressure’ to avoid questioning judges or filing motions that would ‘offend’ judges, she said[:] ‘If they chose to black ball you, they could[.]’ ”
In Maine, “[m]embers of Maine's judiciary committee voted unanimously to give the Maine commission on indigent legal services an additional $6 million. This comes as a reaction to what officials are calling a public defense crisis. ”
Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform
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January 27, 2023 at 12:25 pm
· Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hello, interested public!
It’s a blockbuster of a news week, kicking off with a series of stories covering ChatGPT and the discussion of AI-generated answers in a legal context. Other major news includes guidance from the DOJ concerning discharging student debt in bankruptcy and a wide-ranging series of stories discussing recruitment and retention problems for local government attorneys. Connecting the dots on this subject, the Marshall Project reported on a decline in local government jobs over the period of the pandemic (see “Non-Profit & Gov’t Management”), while local examples of this nationwide trend can be found throughout the “Access to Justice” sections (both Civil & Criminal).
Take care of one another,
Sam
Editor’s Focus: AI-Driven Legal Services
In California, DoNotPay’s planned experiment with an AI-lawyer (covered in previous editions of this digest) “has been scrapped after ‘State bar prosecutors’ threatened the man behind the company that created the chatbot with prison time [presumably for unauthorized practice of law]. Joshua Browder, CEO of DoNotPay, on Wednesday tweeted that his company ‘is postponing our court case and sticking to consumer rights.’ ”
At the University of Minnesota Law School, “[a]n artificial intelligence tool called ChatGPT averaged a C-plus on exams[], according to four law professors who gave it a try… Its essays ‘were typically clear and well-crafted—perhaps even suspiciously so compared to real students writing a time-limited exam,’ the study said. And ChatGPT ‘displayed a strong grasp of basic legal rules.’ But when the essay answers were incorrect, ‘they were dramatically incorrect, often garnering the worst scores in the class,’ the study said. ChatGPT ‘struggled to identify relevant issues and often only superficially applied rules to facts as compared to real law students.’ ”
At the Suffolk University Law School’s Legal Innovation & Technology Lab, Prof. David Colarusso commented that “[f]olks keep joking their jobs are safe because #ChatGPT makes stuff up, but it's just a matter of time before folks address that. Case in point, I built a bot using GPT3 (the #LLM powering ChatGPT) that sources its answers from trusted texts. Here it is in "conversation" with my school's Clinical Information Packet: [] I have to work pretty hard to trip it up. We should be worrying about the centralization of power/scaling of bias that comes with monopoly. ”
In this editor’s opinion, a key hurdle people looking to deploy these tools in a legal context must clear is data privacy. Towards AI ran an informative article last Spring discussing the way OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT) has been responding to requests from companies that text they use to train their tools not be retained by OpenAI for other purposes .
Finally, Barrons notes that “ChatGPT’s sudden ubiquity is raising a difficult issue. Are works created by ChatGPT protected by copyright laws? The answer is unclear. Unfortunately, the copyright code does not expressly address works of authorship created by machines…Microsoft is making a huge investment in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Analysts believe the AI technology will soon be available in products such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, the primary authorship tools of the business world. There is a strong likelihood that ChatGPT will soon be making paragraph-sized suggestions, real-time, as we write a story, type a report, or even write a contract. This reality makes it crucial to consider the legal protections (or lack thereof) around works created with generative AI and the current construction of the U.S. Copyright Act. ”
Student Loans & Student Debt
Reproductive Rights
In New Mexico, “[the state’s] top prosecutor…asked the state Supreme Court to nullify abortion ordinances that local elected officials have passed in conservative reaches of the Democratic-led state. ”
In Oregon, “[t]he Oregon Department of Justice and various law firms in the state announced a hotline Monday that will provide advice for people seeking access to abortions…Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a statement [that] ‘[t]his is especially important because we share a border with Idaho, which has a near-total abortion ban.’ ”
In West Virginia, “[s]tarting a nationwide courtroom battle over abortion pills that will likely end up at the Supreme Court, the drugmaker GenBioPro filed suit against West Virginia’s ban on the medication, mifepristone…In the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, GenBioPro, one of two domestic makers of the drug, says that the FDA’s powers over interstate commerce, which allow sales of the drug, supersede state laws such as West Virginia’s, a legal concept known as ‘preemption.’. ”
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
In Indiana, “[t]he Indiana Supreme Court is seeking public comment on a proposed rule change that would broaden pro bono reporting requirements to include public service or charitable groups or organizations. ”
In the United States, “[a]fter three straight years of gains, foundation investments performed dismally last year, leading to a 19 percent decline in the value of their endowments, according to one estimate. The losses, which include grants and operating expenses foundations made last year, suggest foundations will have a difficult time maintaining their grant-making levels unless they dig into their endowments. ”
Also in the United States, HealthCareDive.com pointed out that “[a] plain reading of the [FTC] proposal would suggest that nonprofit organizations are exempt from the draft rule seeking to ban restrictive covenants in employment contracts. ” [Ed. The article’s author is likely referring to the text on pp. 111-112 of the draft rule, noting that “[s]ome entities that would otherwise be employers may not be subject to the Rule to the extent they are exempted from coverage under the FTC Act [including] an entity that is not ‘organized to carry on business for its own profit or that of its members.’ ”
Again also in the United States, “[a]n analysis of two years of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau data shows a steady decline in both law enforcement and local government jobs during the pandemic. ”
In Washington DC, “[t]he Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget…issued long-awaited guidance on how agencies can expand their use of internships and ensure more of those opportunities are paid. ”
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
In Toronto ON, “[a]n advertisement posted to Instagram by a Richmond Hill-based legal services firm has been drawing a lot of attention across the Greater Toronto Area at a time when inflation has bloated food prices. The ad, created by the firm We Defend You, tells potential clients “we defend anyone arrested for shoplifting food from the grocery stores for FREE!’ ”
Also in Ontario, “[t]he Aboriginal Legal Services (ALS) and Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) have entered into a new service agreement, increasing LAO’s investment in the legal aid and services ALS delivers. ”
In California, “[a] coalition of disability and civil rights advocates filed a lawsuit Thursday asking the California Supreme Court to block the rollout of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s far-reaching new plan to address severe mental illness by compelling treatment for thousands of people. ”
In Philadelphia PA, “[o]n Feb. 1, the city is expanding its Right to Counsel initiative, which started last February as a pilot program for tenants living in zip codes 19139 and 19121 in West and North Philadelphia…Now, tenants in the 19134 and 19144 zip codes, which includes small sections of West Mount Airy and East Falls, can access lawyers for free. ”
In Martinsville & Henry Counties VA, “Virginia Legal Aid Society Inc. has received a three-year funding amount of $428,230 from The Harvest Foundation to expand its eviction reduction programming[.] ”
In South Carolina, “[f]ollowing the success of the [Charleston Housing Court Pilot Project] in the Charleston area, [the Supreme Court of South Carolina] authorize[d] the expansion of the [program] to all counties in South Carolina[.] ”
In Washington DC, “The White House is preparing to roll out new measures as soon as this month to protect tenants in the wake of post-pandemic price spikes, according to housing advocates and industry lobbyists who have met with administration officials. ”
Also in Washington DC, “[t]he lead of the independent organization within the IRS charged with advising the agency on taxpayer issues wants it to provide its own free, direct e-file tax return system. ”
In Massachusetts, “[t]he chief justice of the state’s highest court…called on lawmakers to support a requested $49 million in the state’s fiscal 2024 budget to continue closing th[e justice] gap. ”
In Minnesota, the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, supported by others including the president of the Minnesota Bar Association and the Executive Director of the State Board of Public Defense, argued that “added stress and workload is contributing to a staffing crisis across our justice system, including shrinking numbers of courthouse clerks, public defenders, prosecutors, civil legal aid attorneys and law enforcement, probation and corrections officers. Recruiting new workers to fill these vacancies has become nearly impossible without the ability to offer competitive pay in this tight labor market. ”
In Nevada, “litigation on behalf of siblings Sylvia and Elvin Fred, who are both members of the Washoe Tribe, cuts to the heart of [civil rights advocates’ criticism decrying the lack of due process in civil asset forfeiture proceedings]. If successful, it stands to reshape the forfeiture process in Nevada — and give the Fred family members their three-bedroom Carson City house back for good[.] ”
In Utah, “[t]he Access to Justice department of the Utah State Bar has launched a new Utah Pro Bono Opportunity Portal in partnership with the Pro Bono Commission and sponsored by the Utah State Bar. This is a centralized dashboard using a system called Paladin that tracks pro bono opportunities in Utah in real time. These opportunities include Utah State Bar programs and listings from community partners. ”
Access to Justice – Criminal
In Maine, “[the] lead public defender for the state’s commission on indigent legal services has resigned, roughly one month after taking the position. ”
In Oregon, “[o]fficials have approved a plan for spending $10 million of emergency funding to address Oregon’s public defender crisis, which has left hundreds of people languishing in jails or in the community awaiting legal representation. ”
In Kansas, “public defense is at a crisis point, officials say, with overworked attorneys struggling to provide adequate services in the midst of a worker shortage. ”
In Minnesota, the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, supported by others including the president of the Minnesota Bar Association and the Executive Director of the State Board of Public Defense, argued that “added stress and workload is contributing to a staffing crisis across our justice system, including shrinking numbers of courthouse clerks, public defenders, prosecutors, civil legal aid attorneys and law enforcement, probation and corrections officers. Recruiting new workers to fill these vacancies has become nearly impossible without the ability to offer competitive pay in this tight labor market. ”
In Milwaukee WI, “[c]ounty officials ma[de a] desperate call for help with court backlog[.] ”
In Louisville KY, “public defenders continue to fight for [a] contract one year after [their] vote to unionize. ”
In Florida, “[f]or the first time in three years, Florida prosecutors and assistant public defenders got raises in the 2022-2023 budget — some $5,000 to $10,000 along with an inflation adjustment increase of more than five percent. But it’s still not enough in many cases to compete with private law firms, a state attorney and public defender told lawmakers Tuesday. ”
In Jefferson City MO, “[a] House bill was presented in the Judiciary Committee hearing Monday, which would modify past language in policy related to the funding for the Missouri State Public Defender. The purpose of HB 663 is to create the ‘Public Defender – Federal and Other Fund.’ ”
Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform
In King County WA, “King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion laid out her policy and practice changes for her new administration…in a press conference at the King County Courthouse. Among the announcements was the creation of two new divisions — one focused on gender-based violence and one tackling economic crimes and wage theft. ”
In New Mexico, “[state] Supreme Court Chief Justice Shannon Bacon…used the opportunity of the State of the Judiciary address — given once every four years — to defend bail reform and counter rhetoric alleging it made New Mexico less safe. ”
In Florida, “[a] federal judge upheld Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' suspension of a state prosecutor who DeSantis viewed as "woke" — but in doing so, condemned the governor for violating the prosecutor's right to free speech…In his order on Friday, [Judge] Hinkle wrote that, ‘The assertion that Mr. Warren neglected his duty or was incompetent is incorrect. This factual issue is not close.’…[but] Hinkle said that, while DeSantis was wrong to dismiss Warren, it was not within the court's power to reinstate him, and thus ruled in favor of the governor. ”
In Louisiana, “[t]he [US] Justice Department announced…that it has concluded there is probable cause to believe that the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections (LDOC) routinely confines people in its custody past the dates when they are legally entitled to be released from custody, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment…Between January and April 2022 alone, 26.8% of the people released from LDOC’s custody were held past their release dates. Of those overdetained people, 24% were held over for at least 90 days, and the median number of days overdetained was 29. ”
An attorney at the Federal Defenders of San Diego argued that “a new vacancy on the country’s largest federal appellate court [the 9th Cir.]…gives President Joe Biden a chance to remedy one of the federal judiciary’s most glaring oversights: More than 140 years after its establishment, the Ninth Circuit has never had a public defender among the ranks of its judges. ”
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January 20, 2023 at 12:37 pm
· Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hello, interested public!
Major news this week focuses on criminal justice, including a new law review article demonstrating with data that courts presiding over police misconduct cases are more likely to admit facts concerning plaintiff-victims’ past misconduct into evidence than they are facts concerning officers’ past instances of misconduct. Meanwhile, the Governor of California is is proposing to slash the state’s public defense budget, the Pittsburgh Chief of Police is ignoring city ordinances, and Dodge County Wisconsin’s entire prosecutorial office has quit over low pay. In other news, a Boston College study examined the racially-disparate effect student loan debt will have when debtholders enter retirement and the IRS is gearing up for a hiring spree. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Take care of one another,
Sam
Editor’s Choice
At Stanford Law, “James Stone, ’23,…had been reading about communities nationwide moving toward making police misconduct records more accessible to the public. With his mind on the rules of evidence, including the nuanced situations where certain prior bad acts of defendants are admissible in criminal trials, he started thinking about the admissibility standards around past instances of misconduct by police officers who are sued in civil cases for excessive force.
A year of research and 17,000 words later, he has the answer to his question: no. The standards are not the same. In Past-Acts Evidence in Excessive Force Litigation, 100 Wash. U. L. Rev. 569, Stone critiques how courts’ interpretations of the long-held “objective reasonableness” standard, paired with Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence, cause judges to hold certain officer misconduct evidence irrelevant and therefore inadmissible at trial. Conversely, as he analyzes, many judges admit evidence of a plaintiff-victim’s past drug use, criminal activity, encounters with police, and gang affiliation under what he argues are strained relevance arguments. He undertakes the same analysis to rules around use of past acts to impeach the testimony of plaintiffs and accused officers.
[According to the co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center,] ‘No one else had ever taken the time to do that as systematically as James has, and the many hours he put into researching these cases allowed him to make thoughtful and well-grounded recommendations for using evidence law to make police misconduct litigation fairer and more meaningful.’ ”
In New York State, two law students at NYU argued in Slate that “[s]tacking the courts with prosecutors and corporate lawyers pushes students away from careers in public defense, legal aid, and legal services for the indigent. High salaries and a clear path to the bench for prosecutors and corporate lawyers already make these careers attractive. As students, we see the prestige afforded to corporate lawyers and prosecutors and the heightened scrutiny that public interest lawyers receive in judicial confirmations; they are often accused of bias merely for doing constitutionally required jobs. We are constantly thinking about how we will be able to pay student loans and afford rising costs of living in public interest careers. Routinely, we see our peers switch away from public interest careers and 71 percent make the switch because of student debt. Despite the urgent need for public interest lawyers, superior prospects push students into careers where they will learn to advocate for the interests of the wealthy and powerful, no matter how abhorrent those interests are. After dissuading students from public interest careers, the judicial bias for prosecutors and corporate lawyers then fast-tracks these acquired viewpoints to the bench. This lack of professional diversity deprives the court of crucial perspectives from fields that expose lawyers to how the law impacts ordinary people. ”
NOTE: This opinion piece was published specifically concerning NY Gov. Hochul’s ongoing effort to elevate Justice Hector LaSalle to the New York Court of Appeals over the objections of (as the students put it) “legal advocacy groups, unions, reproductive justice organization, and others.”
Student Loans & Student Debt
Immigration & Refugee Issues
In Ontario, “[a] recent Court of Appeal case illustrates why defence lawyers, judges, and Crowns should always be aware of an accused’s immigration status before a guilty plea is entered, says Kenneth Jim, senior criminal counsel with Legal Aid Ontario. ”
In Cambridge MA, “[a]fter a groundswell of criticism, the Harvard Kennedy School…reversed its decision not to offer a fellowship to a leading human rights activist who contends he was rejecgted because of his past criticism of Israel. ”
In New York NY, “[a]fter New York City received over 3,100 asylum-seekers in the last week, including a record number [of] 835 last Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams called on the state to provide more resources to deal with the ongoing issue. ”
Environmental Justice
Reproductive Rights
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
In Massachusetts, “[a] state legal aid agency [is] seek[ing] more oversight when DCF removes children from homes without [a] court order[.] ”
In Louisiana, “[t]he [US] Justice Department announced [] the resolution of a matter involving the Louisiana Supreme Court (LASC) based on actions LASC has taken to improve access to state court proceedings and operations for people with limited English proficiency (LEP). ”
In California, “[t]he California Bar spent $552,000 over five years and a chunk of lobbying time to convince lawmakers to expand access to justice, the agency said in a report[.] ”
In Nebraska, “[a] dozen counties [] currently have no practicing attorneys…[a]nd by 2027, four more counties are projected to join them, according to the Nebraska State Bar Association. ”
In Alaska, “[l]egal experts discuss[ed] Alaska’s recent approval of the use of supervised non-lawyers to provide limited-scope legal assistance on the latest episode of LSC’s “Talk Justice” podcast[.] ”
In Nevada, “[w]ith a key source of pandemic-era rental help winding down in Southern Nevada, legal aid groups are pushing for more tenant protections. ”
Access to Justice – Criminal
In California, “[a]s California's budget faces big cuts amid a revenue shortfall, some lawyers say Governor Gavin Newsom wants to gut public safety funding at a time when critical reforms within the criminal justice system rely on state support. Public defenders in Oakland and San Francisco have been quick to criticize Newsom’s proposed budget for 2023-2024 presented on Jan. 10, which cuts significantly from a public defense budget. ”
In Maine, “[s]tate officials say they’re barely keeping up with the demand for lawyers to represent the poor in criminal and family cases, even as Maine takes gradual steps to shed its status as the only state without a public defender system. ”
In Dodge County WI, “[t]here will be no state prosecutors working in Dodge County as of Tuesday, Jan. 17, according to former Dodge County District Attorney (DA) Kurt Klomberg. Klomberg, the Dodge County DA since 2010, resigned on Friday, citing the office's staffing shortage…Klomberg said the Wisconsin District Attorney's Association is partnering with other state agencies in a proposal before the legislature to raise starting salaries to $70,000. ”
In Summerville SC, “[the] Town Council recognized the need for a full-time prosecutor to handle a growing backlog of criminal cases at the group’s Jan. 12 public meeting, but opted to put off on adding a new public litigator until the new fiscal year. ”
In Oswego County NY, “[although i]n late 2021, Oswego County legislators voted to use state money to establish a public defender’s office to provide legal representation for defendants who can’t afford a lawyer. More than a year later, the Office of the Oswego County Public Defender exists in name only. ”
Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform
In Pittsburgh PA, “Pittsburgh Police officers have been instructed [by the Acting Chief of Police] to resume enforcing minor traffic violations…despite a 2021 ordinance to prevent them from doing so in the absence of a larger infraction….[Active Chief] Strangecki told WESA another reason for the reversal was to boost morale among the city’s police ranks. ”
In California, “Meta said it’s suing ‘scraping-for-hire’ service Voyager Labs for allegedly using fake accounts, proprietary software, and a sprawling network of IP addresses to surreptitiously collect massive amounts of personal data from users of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social networking sites…Among the California-based Facebook users to have their data scraped, Meta said, were ‘employees of nonprofit organizations, universities, news media organizations, health care facilities, the armed forces of the United States, and local, state, and federal government agencies, as well as full-time parents, retirees, and union members.’…Among Voyager Labs' customers, according to the exhibits, is the Los Angeles Police Department. ” (emphasis added)
In Milwaukee WI, “a group of prosecutors from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office who spend more time in specific neighborhoods [working out of police stations] than at the courthouse. They make up the Community Prosecution Unit, which has been slowly building back up after budget constraints. ”
In Cleveland OH, “[after] Cleveland’s city prosecutor [charged] two officers with assaulting people in handcuffs…[t]he police union wants the chief prosecutor off the job and one defense attorney calls the move to issue arrest warrants in the cases an abuse of power. ”
In Allegheny County PA, “Chief Public Defender Matt Dugan announc[ed a] run for district attorney[.] ”
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January 13, 2023 at 4:52 pm
· Filed under Public Interest Law News Bulletin
Sam Halpert, NALP Director of Public Service Initiatives
Photo: Harris and Ewing Collection, Library of Congress
Hello, interested public!
Squeaking in under the wire this week, but here we are with the news. In Washington DC, amicus briefs are stacking up in support of the Biden Administration’s student loan forgiveness plan while the Administration followed up with new proposals for low-income borrowers that critics pointed out leave graduate students out of the picture. Public Defense is getting attention from high officials across the United States. Florida is facing a class action over its decision to fly Venezualan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard last September, while in New York advocates are pushing for an immigrants’ right to counsel in deportation cases. Nebraska, in a Supreme Court case, is considering whether tenants facing eviction have a constitutional right to a jury trial. As always, these stories and more are in the links below.
Take care of one another,
Sam
Student Loans & Student Debt
Immigration & Refugee Issues
In San Diego CA, “[a] legal defense [drafted after Trump’s family separation policy] exposed Section 1326 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which makes it a crime to unlawfully return to the U.S. after deportation, removal or denied admission, as racist and a violation of equal protection rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment. And it became the legal framework for a never-before-seen ruling in August 2021 by Nevada U.S. District Judge Miranda Du. She struck down the law as unconstitutional and discriminatory against Latinos when she dismissed an illegal reentry charge against Mexican immigrant Gustavo Carrillo Lopez, though she didn’t block enforcement and prosecutions haven’t stopped as the government appeals the case. ”
In Florida, “[the State] may end up paying up to $1 million to defend itself in a class action lawsuit filed over its decision to fly nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts last September. ”
In New York, “[the state] could soon become the first state to establish the guaranteed right to counsel for people facing deportation and ensure fairness in immigration court with the proposed Access to Representation Act. ”
In Boston MA, “Harvard University has rescinded a fellowship it had offered to a leading human rights activist over what he says was his group’s criticism of Israel. Kenneth Roth, who headed Human Rights Watch until recently, was recruited last year by the Harvard Kenney School’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy to become a fellow. He accepted. But a few weeks later, in July, Roth said the center called and told him that the school’s dean had vetoed the fellowship. Roth believes it was due to his and his group’s criticism of Israel. Over the years, the group has issued a number of reports saying that Israel appears to have committed war crimes against the Palestinians. ”
Rule of Law; Free and Fair Elections
Non-Profit & Government Management & Hiring
Access to Justice – Civil & Economic
In Jersey City NJ, “one group wants to give tenants an attorney to fight evictions, so the deck isn’t stacked in favor of landowners[;… a] town hall…include[d] speakers on housing justice topics, feedback from the audience, and a presentation on the Right to Counsel campaign. ”
In Lincoln NE, “[t]he Nebraska Supreme Court began hearing arguments Wednesday on a case looking at whether Nebraskans being evicted from their homes have a constitutional right to a jury trial. ”
In Georgia, “[s]ix legal kiosks will be installed in rural Georgia counties, allowing residents to receive legal assistance and information at safe and convenient locations. At the kiosks, users will be able to apply for legal services, meet with their attorneys virtually and access automated self-help tools for pro-se litigants. ”
In Clark County NV, “[t]he Civil Law Self-Help Center located at the Regional Justice Center is assisting 300 people a day who are seeking help because they are at imminent risk of eviction. According to a release, the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada is hosting a briefing [on the crisis] on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. ”
In Florida, “The Supreme Court is weighing a Florida Bar panel’s recommendations for improving access to legal services, proposals that run the gamut from a commission to coordinate access for self-represented litigants, to expanded use of certified legal interns and better promotion of pre-paid legal service plans. ” (detailed in their report, available here )
Access to Justice – Criminal
Criminal Justice Reform and Counter-Reform
In North Carolina, “Duke University has released the findings of a study of plea agreements in the Berkshire District Attorney’s office that it describes as an unprecedented look into the shadowy world of dealmaking that accounts for the conclusion of the overwhelming majority of criminal cases. ”
In Ontario, “Federal Justice Minister David Lametti and Cassidy Caron, the president of the Métis National Council, announced that $1.5 million in federal funding will go to ‘support Métis-led engagement that will inform the development of an Indigenous Justice Strategy to address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Canada’s justice system.’ ”
In San Francisco CA, “[the] Public Defender’s Office is accusing the District Attorney of violating state law that protects juvenile records. ”
Also in San Francisco, “[f]ederal public defenders representing indigent criminal defendants in several states including Arizona, California and Texas are urging appeals courts to strike down prohibitions on criminal defendants and felons possessing guns. ”
In New York, “Governor Kathy Hochul is once again proposing to give judges more discretion when setting bail…But bail reform advocates argue that the least restrictive standard already allows judges to look at a person’s criminal history and flight risk. They also say that this “least-restrictive” standard has been a “well-established United States Supreme Court precedent protecting the presumption of innocence.” Without this standard, Legal Aid says more people will end up in jail before they are convicted of any crime. ”
Also in New York, “senators, union leaders, reproductive rights organizations, and advocates for due process and civil rights gathered at the state capitol building in Albany to call on the governor to change her mind on nominating LaSalle, citing the judge’s judicial records — which critics say includes decisions that are anti-labor, anti-due process, and anti-abortion. ”
In Harrisburg PA, “[t]he Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday indefinitely postponed the impeachment trial of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, adding new uncertainty to an effort by Republicans in the state legislature to remove the city prosecutor. ”
In Bexar County TX, “Harvard Law School has launched a study in Bexar County to learn more about the effects of short-term jail time on people who are arrested but haven’t seen their case determined. ”
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