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Access to Justice
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July 21, 2023
Judge Tatel On Returning To His Pro Bono Roots
Senior D.C. Circuit Judge David S. Tatel grew up wanting to become a scientist like his father was, but the 1960s "changed everything," he recently told Law360 as he prepares to retire from the bench.
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July 21, 2023
Jersey City Advocates Leave Mark On Right To Counsel Laws
At eviction hearings nationwide, where a tenant's ability to stay in their home is at stake, an average of 97% of tenants come to court with a handicap — they don't have an attorney.
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July 18, 2023
Illinois High Court OKs 1st Law In Nation Abolishing Cash Bail
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a 2021 state law eliminating cash bail and strictly limiting pretrial incarceration in the state is constitutional, overturning a lower court's decision that had put the legislation in limbo.
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July 17, 2023
Mich. Justices Say Peremptory Strike Errors Warrant New Trial
A divided Michigan Supreme Court held for the first time that erroneous denial of a criminal defendant's peremptory strikes during jury selection is a flaw serious enough to automatically require a new trial.
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July 17, 2023
Mich. Chief Justice Pushes For Diminished Capacity Defense
The Michigan Supreme Court's chief justice said the state's ban on using a diminished mental capacity defense was misguided and urged the state Legislature to rethink an "all-or-nothing approach" that recognizes only legal insanity as a defense to criminal responsibility.
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July 11, 2023
New Program To Help Noncitizen Soldiers Become Naturalized
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP has launched a new fellowship to guide highly skilled noncitizen soldiers and veterans through the naturalization process and usher them across the finish line, after the firm won litigation ensuring the soldiers and vets can apply for citizenship that was promised in exchange for their service.
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July 10, 2023
Wash. To Pay $100M For Pretrial Mental Health Exam Delays
A Seattle federal judge has slammed a state agency for committing "inexcusable" constitutional rights violations by letting people with mental illness languish in local jails while awaiting trial, ordering the state to pay $100 million for violating a class action settlement over delays in court-ordered competency services.
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July 10, 2023
'Patently Unsafe': Latest Report Details Violence At NYC Jails
A video showing confrontational officers played at a new recruit ceremony and posted publicly on May 19. (Court Documents)
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July 07, 2023
'The Wire' Creator Urges Leniency In Actor's Fentanyl Death
The co-creator behind the HBO drama series "The Wire" urged a New York federal judge to show compassion to one of the men who pled guilty in the overdose death of Michael K. Williams, saying the actor's own stance against mass incarceration and the drug war spurred his letter.
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July 07, 2023
From Felon To Firm Owner, Mass. Atty Aids Inmate IP Pursuits
After opening up about his own criminal background and his unconventional path into the legal industry, intellectual property lawyer Keegan Caldwell is now helping incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people file patent applications.
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July 07, 2023
Justices Eye Intersection Of Domestic Violence, Gun Rights
In the fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case centering on the intersection of gun rights and domestic violence. Legal experts say it could be one of several cases involving the Second Amendment the court will be called to decide following its landmark ruling on gun rights last year.
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July 07, 2023
As States Purge Medicaid Rolls, Legal Aid Groups Step Up
With millions of Americans expected to lose Medicaid coverage as states review benefit eligibility following the end of COVID-19 pandemic-related protections, legal aid organizations are working to raise awareness, help people appeal terminations of coverage and educate beneficiaries about their rights.
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July 07, 2023
Sheppard Mullin Helps Afghans Put Down New Roots In Calif.
Attorneys at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP are helping Afghan refugees who have supported U.S. interests in Afghanistan and resettled in the San Diego area win asylum so they can stay in the United States permanently. Here, Law360 speaks with Sheppard Mullin partner Elizabeth S. Balfour and associate Matthew Rebelo about the firm's ongoing efforts.
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July 07, 2023
BigLaw Attorneys On Navigating LGBTQ Asylum Cases
Taking on asylum cases for LGBTQ immigrants can truly be life-or-death in many cases, with asylees facing persecution, criminalization and even death as a result of their sexual orientation and gender identity in their home countries.
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July 07, 2023
Sick Prisoner Claiming Inadequate Care Seeks Release
A man serving 18 years in prison after collecting more than $9 million from Medicare and Medicaid while banned for fraud urged a New Jersey federal judge to release him early, claiming the U.S. prison system can't manage his severe medical needs.
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July 07, 2023
Latham Partners Help Legal Aid DC Launch Endowment
A new $5 million endowment established by Legal Aid DC, with the help of supporters including Latham & Watkins LLP, will boost efforts to provide services to low-income residents, in a move that aims to ensure long-term financial stability in times of uncertainty.
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July 06, 2023
Probe Finds Failure To Punish 'Torture,' Racism In Ill. Prison
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has failed to punish administrators of a high-security federal penitentiary in Illinois for what have been described as acts of torture and a culture of "rampant racism," according to a report released Thursday by advocates for inmate rights.
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July 03, 2023
Law360 Podcasts Untangle A Week Of Blockbuster Rulings
The U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up its term last week with a series of blockbuster rulings striking down affirmative action and the government's ambitious plan to eliminate billions of dollars in federal student loan debt, and siding with a website designer opposed to same-sex weddings and a religious former postal worker seeking workplace accommodations.
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July 03, 2023
NJ Gets Rid Of Public Defender Fees With New Law
New Jersey residents will no longer have to pay fees, liens and warrants issued for public defender services in the state, thanks to a bill newly signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy.
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June 30, 2023
Justices Pass On Acquitted Conduct Review — For Now
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to take up several cases challenging the practice of acquitted conduct sentencing as the U.S. Sentencing Commission reassesses the controversial practice, but multiple justices made it clear that future high court review may be in the cards.
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June 30, 2023
High Court To Look At Gun Rights In Domestic Violence Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said it will rule on whether a federal law forbidding people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms violates the Constitution, one year after issuing a landmark decision that expanded gun rights.
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June 29, 2023
6th Circ. Says Private Juvenile Lockup Must Face Death Suit
A split panel of the Sixth Circuit has reversed a Michigan federal judge's dismissal of a civil rights case brought against a private juvenile detention center operator, with the majority ruling that the complaint over a teenage detainee's suicide sufficiently alleged that the company is a state actor.
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June 28, 2023
Are Attys Being Held Accountable For Client Sexual Contact?
When the Missouri Supreme Court recently declined to disbar an attorney accused of sexually assaulting his clients, it was not an anomaly. A Law360 investigation of attorney discipline records found that of more than 100 attorneys disciplined for having sexual contact with clients, the vast majority were allowed to keep their law licenses.
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June 28, 2023
ACLU Wants NJ To Push Forward On Incarceration Reforms
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey urged state officials on Wednesday to continue efforts to decrease incarceration by eliminating mandatory minimum sentences, expanding clemency and compassionate release, and decriminalizing drug offenses.
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June 28, 2023
NJ Judge Forced To Quit For Airing Bias Concerns, Suit Says
A New Jersey municipal judge suffered retaliation in the form of lost disability accommodation and was forced to resign after he made widely publicized allegations that local courts discriminated against Hispanic defendants, the jurist alleges in a new lawsuit.
Expert Analysis
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Legal Aid Needs Law Firm Support Now More Than Ever
With the need for pro bono services expected at unprecedented levels in the wake of the pandemic, and funding sources for legal aid organizations under severe stress, law firm leaders need to take measures to fill the gap, says Jeffrey Stone, chairman emeritus at McDermott.
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Coping With A Pandemic: Cleveland Legal Aid's Colleen Cotter
As society continues to adapt to COVID-19, Law360 is sharing reactions from around the business and legal community. Today's perspective comes from Colleen Cotter, executive director at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.
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Problems With Tolling The Speedy Trial Act During Pandemic
A plethora of federal courts have responded to social distancing requirements by entering blanket orders tolling compliance with Speedy Trial Act deadlines, but because there is no case-by-case analysis of their need and other factors, the orders raise questions about whether such tolling efforts are valid, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.
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Guantanamo 9/11 Trial Is A Failure
The Guantanamo military commissions — seemingly a contrived attempt to avoid federal criminal court and thereby insulate the CIA from the legal implications of its torture program — appear fatally flawed, so Congress should have the 9/11 defendants tried in civilian criminal court, says Patrick Doherty at Ropes & Gray.
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Data Is Key To Stopping COVID-19 Spread In Prisons
There is an urgent need for state and county officials to publicly share accurate data about COVID-19 testing, infections and deaths in jails and prisons, so that effective, life-saving changes can be made to the criminal justice system, say criminologists Oren Gur, Jacob Kaplan and Aaron Littman.
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A Proposal For Efficient Post-Pandemic Justice In New York
The litigation backlog in state courts due to COVID-19 will make swift, orderly and fair resolution of disputes almost certainly impossible, but thankfully in New York, there are three nontraditional avenues to justice that can inform a post-pandemic emergency tribunal, says Joseph Gallagher at Harris St. Laurent.
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Downturn An Opportunity For Law Firms To Boost Pro Bono
While now hardly seems like the time for law firms to be volunteering their attorneys’ services, it is the right thing to do and a sensible investment that would likely not be made at any other time, says Martin Pritikin, dean of Concord Law School.
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Inmate Release Exhaustion Rule Should Be Waived For COVID
The issue at the forefront of many compassionate release applications during the pandemic has been whether federal courts must wait 30 days before they can rule on them due to the statutory administrative exhaustion requirement, and those 30 days could become a matter of life or death, says Jolene LaVigne-Albert at Schlam Stone.
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COVID-19 Highlights Access Injustice In Personal Bankruptcy
In the age of enforced social distancing, the limits on access to electronic filing means bankruptcy is paradoxically only available to those individuals who can afford it, says Rohan Pavuluri at Upsolve.
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Coping With A Pandemic: Pine Tree's Nan Heald
With distancing and isolation the new norm amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Law360 is sharing reactions from around the business and legal community. Today's perspective comes from Maine-based Nan Heald, executive director at Pine Tree Legal Assistance.
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Social Distancing And Right To Jury Trial Must Be Reconciled
It would seem almost obvious to conclude that the internet and proposed e-courtroom venues may be best suited to promote social distancing while ensuring the uninterrupted constitutional right to a trial by jury, but numerous questions exist, say Justin Sarno and Jayme Long at Dentons.
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Tips For Prisoner Release Requests During Pandemic
The 70 compassionate release rulings issued by federal courts in the past three weeks suggest that the chances of securing release from prison premised on COVID-19 are boosted significantly where the defendant is able to accomplish one or more of three goals, say attorneys at Waller.
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States Must Toll Court Deadlines To Ensure Access To Justice
There are several reasons why a state should consider temporarily lifting statutes of limitations during this pandemic, including protecting the rights of litigants who are vulnerable, say Adam Mendel and Rayna Kessler at Robins Kaplan.
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Coping With A Pandemic: ASU's Rebecca Sandefur
With self-isolation and social distancing now the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic, Law360 is sharing reactions from around the business and legal community. Today's perspective comes from Rebecca Sandefur, a professor at Arizona State University and faculty fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
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Coronavirus Crisis Shows Need For Permanent Bail Reform
All states should follow Florida's lead and reduce the number of people held in jails unnecessarily during the pandemic, and use this tragic time as a catalyst to make lasting, long overdue changes in our criminal justice system, says Matt Morgan at Morgan & Morgan.