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Access to Justice
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February 19, 2025
Orgs. Fear 'Complete Dismantling' Of Migrant Kids' Rights
Legal service providers that help unaccompanied children navigate the immigration court system warned on Wednesday that the children's due process rights are at risk after the Trump administration turned off the federal funding tap.
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February 19, 2025
3rd Circ. Hints County's Probation Detainers Need Scrutiny
Civil rights advocates told the Third Circuit that Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, is jailing defendants for probation violations too hastily, and the panel appeared open Wednesday to reviving a lawsuit against several county judges for more developments.
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February 18, 2025
How Ga. Hopes To Leash Injury Suits And Litigation Funders
The opening weeks of Georgia's legislative session have seen Republican lawmakers make their most forceful push in years to overhaul the state's civil justice system, placing premises liability and third-party litigation funding squarely in their crosshairs.
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February 12, 2025
Advocates Sue DHS Over Access To Guantanamo Deportees
The Trump administration has transported dozens of immigrants to Guantanamo and is now holding them "incommunicado" without access to attorneys, family members, or the outside world, a group of immigrants' rights advocates said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in D.C. federal court.
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February 11, 2025
Disparities In Adult Prosecution Of NJ Youths Draw Criticism
New Jersey's system of allowing county prosecutors to effectively choose when to move youth criminal cases into adult court with little judicial oversight has created wide disparities based on geography and race in which defendants stay in the youth justice system, according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch.
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February 10, 2025
9th Circ. Affirms Officers' Immunity For Getting Phone Contents
The Ninth Circuit on Monday upheld a summary judgment win for a sheriff and county prosecutor accused of illegally obtaining the contents of a drug arrestee's phone, ruling that they unlawfully got copies of the phone's contents but that the prosecutor who requested them was entitled to qualified immunity.
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February 07, 2025
Landmark NC Ruling Finds Race Bias Tainted Death Row Case
Racial bias sullied the jury selection process during the trial of a Black man in North Carolina who was ultimately sentenced to death for his crimes, a state court judge said Friday in a landmark ruling that could have a ripple effect for more than 100 ongoing capital punishment challenges across the Tar Heel State.
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February 07, 2025
NYU Law Professor On His AI-Powered Tenants' Rights Bot
New York City tenants routinely face uphill battles when prodding their landlords to make repairs in their rented homes. A recently launched AI chatbot designed by an NYU law professor could help turn things around.
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February 07, 2025
Native American Rights Fund Builds On Its Successes
Long a go-to litigator in Indian Country, the nonprofit Native American Rights Fund is stepping up to meet the high demand for its legal advocacy, moving to a larger headquarters and adding attorneys in recent years.
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February 07, 2025
For These Victims, Death Came Before Bankruptcy Resolution
Thousands of people have died with no compensation in recent years as big institutions shield themselves in bankruptcy court from claims related to opioids, fraud, asbestos and sexual abuse, plaintiffs' lawyers say. Critics say it's an inherent part of a bankruptcy court system that helps insiders and hurts creditors.
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February 06, 2025
NY Court Puts A Limit On Child Welfare Agency Surveillance
A New York appellate court ruled that child welfare agencies lack the authority to surveil a parent just because their child's other parent was charged with abuse or neglect, banning a statewide practice that lasted for decades, an attorney told Law360 on Thursday.
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February 04, 2025
NY Advocates Urge Pols To Enact Sentencing Reforms
New York lawmakers on Tuesday joined former prisoners and families of incarcerated people in Albany to urge elected officials and Gov. Kathy Hochul to enact bills that would reshape state sentencing laws that critics say are both too harsh and ineffective in deterring crime.
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February 03, 2025
Immigrant Advocates Sue Trump Admin Over Border Closure
A coalition of immigrant and civil rights groups accused President Donald Trump in a new lawsuit Monday of acting beyond his authority when he shut down the southern border to asylum claims.
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January 30, 2025
Canadian Pot Equipment CEO Says CBP Illegally Booted Him
The Canadian CEO of a company that makes cannabis agricultural equipment has sued the U.S. Homeland Security Department and Customs and Border Protection, saying they detained him at the U.S.-Canada border and ordered his removal for allegedly abetting the spread of narcotics despite a prior U.S. Court of International Trade finding that his company was operating legally.
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January 29, 2025
Driver Says Okla. Cops Forced Catheter On Him As Minor
An Oklahoma man is suing a police department, sheriff's office and Harmon County, alleging that when he was 17, police forced him to be catheterized for a drug screening against his will after he was a victim of a road rage incident.
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January 28, 2025
Judge Temporarily Halts Trump's Funding Freeze
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Trump administration freeze on federal spending that was set to go into effect at 5 p.m., as a group of nearly two dozen attorneys general filed a separate case challenging what they described as an illegal and potentially catastrophic move.
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January 27, 2025
Ga. County Looks To Dodge Wrongful Imprisonment Suit
A Georgia county facing allegations that its police department framed a then-teenager for the murder of his friend almost 30 years ago has asked a federal judge to be let out of the suit, arguing the plaintiff's Civil Rights Act claims failed to plead that his prosecution was the result of systemic failures.
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January 27, 2025
High Court Won't Mull 'Cruel And Unusual' Miss. Voting Ban
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to sections of the Mississippi Constitution that permanently bar people convicted of certain felonies from voting and which a federal court of appeals had found violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibitions against "cruel and unusual punishment."
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January 24, 2025
'Waverly Two' Will Walk Free After Biden Commutation
Among the nearly 2,500 people for whom former President Joe Biden commuted sentences before he left office were Terence Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne, who were sentenced to life in prison in 2001 even though a federal jury found them not guilty of murder.
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January 24, 2025
Immigrant Rights Attorneys Set For Battle As Trump Returns
In the face of the sweeping anti-immigration measures proposed by President Donald Trump, legal aid organizations across the country are responding by bolstering their resources and increasing outreach efforts to prepare for an expected surge in deportation cases. Many are training more staff, expanding their pro bono networks, and collaborating with community organizations to ensure that noncitizens, especially those in vulnerable populations, receive timely legal advice and representation.
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January 24, 2025
Dentons' Ben Weinberg On Making An Impact With Pro Bono
For over 16 years, Ben Weinberg has been shaping Dentons' pro bono program, looking for ways to connect the needs of local communities with the resources of a global legal powerhouse to make an impact.
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January 24, 2025
Biden Leaves Mixed Legacy On Criminal Justice Issues
When he stepped into the White House in January 2021, former President Joe Biden brought with him an ambitious criminal justice agenda that aimed to satisfy both reformers and law enforcement advocates, but he never cleared that high bar, with a record of underappreciated successes and missed opportunities.
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January 23, 2025
Many Attorneys Not Meeting ABA's 50-Hour Pro Bono Goal
While most attorneys have volunteered pro bono services at some point in their career, many lawyers are not meeting the American Bar Association's goal for every lawyer to provide 50 hours of pro bono work every year, and lack of time was the biggest discouraging factor, according to a recent report.
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January 23, 2025
Judge Puts 'Unconstitutional' Trump Citizenship Order On Ice
A Washington federal judge paused nationwide enforcement of President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship on Thursday, calling the order "blatantly unconstitutional" and expressing disdain for attorneys backing the presidential decision while hearing four states' emergency bid for a temporary restraining order.
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January 22, 2025
Justices Skeptical Of 'Moment Of Threat' Rule In Use Of Force
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared inclined to reject a legal doctrine under which courts looking at a police officer's use of deadly force only need to consider the officer's perception of danger at the precise moment force was used.
Expert Analysis
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The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan
Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.
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DC Circ. Seizure Ruling Deepens 4th Amendment Circuit Split
The D.C. Circuit’s recent Asinor v. District of Columbia decision, holding that the government’s continued possession of seized property must be reasonable, furthers a split among circuit courts and portends how the text, history and tradition method might influence Fourth Amendment cases, say Ty Howard and Wayne Beckermann at Bradley Arant.
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How To Use Geofence Warrants In A Constitutional Manner
Ensuring that court-issued geofence search warrants minimize infringements on innocent individuals' rights, and uphold the principles underlying the Fourth Amendment, involves striking a balance that includes treating digital information as property, says Robert Frommer at Institute for Justice.
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2 High Court Rulings Boost Protections Against Gov't Reprisal
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Gonzalez v. Trevino and Chiaverini v. City of Napoleon significantly strengthen legal protections against retaliatory arrests and malicious prosecution, and establish clear precedents that promote accountability in law enforcement, say Corey Stoughton and Amanda Miner at Selendy Gay.
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High Court Ruling Leaves Chance For Civil Forfeiture Reform
Though advocates for civil forfeiture reform did not prevail in Culley v. Marshall last month, concerns voiced by a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court justices potentially leave the door open to consider stricter limits in future cases, say attorneys at Dykema.
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NY Chief Judge Spotlights Need To Strengthen Public Defense
In a recent concurrence in People v. Watkins, New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson called attention to the necessity for greater investment in public defense services, highlighting not only the urgency of current crises, but the need to embrace a more ambitious vision of equal right to counsel, says Corey Stoughton at Selendy Gay.
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Justices' 1st Post-Bruen Gun Ruling Provides Little Guidance
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Rahimi that domestic abusers can be prohibited from owning guns — its first chance to clarify the new gun rights test it established in its 2022 Bruen decision — will not do much to help lower courts because it didn’t resolve one of the biggest open issues involving the Second Amendment, says Michael McCarthy at Kendall Brill.
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DOJ Must Be Transparent With Its Death-In-Custody Data
In two lawsuits, the Justice Department is fighting news organizations’ efforts to disclose the data it collects about deaths in custody — a counterproductive position against transparency at odds with officials' statements recognizing that such data is necessary to save lives, says David Janovsky at the Project on Government Oversight.
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Justices' Repeat Offender Ruling Eases Prosecutorial Hurdle
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last week in Brown v. U.S., clarifying which drug law applies to sentencing a repeat offender in a federal firearms case, allows courts to rely on outdated drug schedules to impose increased sentences, thus removing a significant hurdle for prosecutors, says attorney Molly Parmer.
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Congress Must Abolish Acquitted Conduct Sentencing
The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s recent amendment, limiting judges’ ability to consider acquitted conduct at sentencing, is a necessary step toward ensuring fairer trials and protecting individual rights, but ultimately, Congress must end the practice altogether, say Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice and Martín Sabelli at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
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Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys
As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.
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Public Interest Attorneys Are Key To Preserving Voting Rights
Fourteen states passed laws restricting or limiting voting access last year, highlighting the need to support public interest lawyers who serve as bulwarks against such antidemocratic actions — especially in an election year, says Verna Williams at Equal Justice Works.
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Officers' Failure To Appear In Court Undermines Justice
Ten years of data from Philadelphia show that police officers frequently fail to appear at court hearings for which they’re subpoenaed, which has numerous consequences for defendants, crime victims and the smooth functioning of the criminal legal system, say Lindsay Graef, Sandra Mayson and Aurelie Ouss at the University of Pennsylvania and Megan Stevenson at the University of Virginia.
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Criminal Defendants Should Have Access To Foreign Evidence
A New Jersey federal court recently ordered prosecutors to obtain evidence from India on behalf of the former Cognizant Technology executives they’re prosecuting — a precedent that other courts should follow to make cross-border evidentiary requests more fair and efficient, say Kaylana Mueller-Hsia and Rebecca Wexler at UC Berkeley School of Law.
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Justices' Forfeiture Ruling Resolves Nonexistent Split
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in McIntosh v. U.S., holding that a trial court’s failure to enter a preliminary criminal forfeiture order prior to sentencing doesn’t bar its entry later, is unusual in that it settles an issue on which the lower courts were not divided — but it may apply in certain forfeiture disputes, says Stefan Cassella at Asset Forfeiture Law.