Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Access to Justice
-
January 19, 2024
Baker Donelson Reinvests In ABA's Free Legal Answers
Baker Donelson announced on Friday a monetary and resource investment into the American Bar Association's Free Legal Answers clinic, which the law firm helped establish a decade ago.
-
January 19, 2024
Texas Non-Atty Ownership Plan Fizzles As Justice Gap Fix
As the legal industry struggles to find ways to bridge the wide gap between those who can afford civil legal services and those who cannot, a proposal in Texas to allow non-attorney ownership of firms providing low- or no-cost services faces an uncertain future following opposition from lawyers who say it would create an ethical quagmire.
-
January 18, 2024
AI Tool Updated To Help Immigration Attys With Legal Tasks
The American Immigration Lawyers Association and software platform Visalaw.ai released an updated version of an artificial intelligence legal research tool that now has an expanded library and a document upload feature.
-
January 17, 2024
Big Law Leans Liberal In Pro Bono Amicus Briefs, Study Says
BigLaw firms don't usually advertise their political and ideological leanings, but a new study examining amicus briefs filed by the largest U.S. law firms on behalf of likely pro bono clients before the U.S. Supreme Court may offer new insights into which direction BigLaw firms tilt.
-
January 11, 2024
Mich. Attys Can Now Pay For Pro Bono Clients' Travel, Clothes
Lawyers in Michigan can give impoverished pro bono clients certain kinds of financial aid under a revision to the state's professional conduct code adopted by the Michigan Supreme Court.
-
January 11, 2024
NJ Jail Hit With Civil Rights Suit Over Inmate's OD Death
The mother of a 31-year-old New Jersey woman who died of a drug overdose while in custody at a Garden State county jail has sued the county and its sheriff's department, alleging it knew about her history of substance abuse but failed to place her in a protected setting and adequately monitor her or her cellmates.
-
January 10, 2024
Justices Toy With New Testimony Rule In Ariz. Expert Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court seemed to agree Wednesday that Arizona prosecutors violated a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses testifying against him by presenting a substitute expert witness at trial, and instead centered most of its questions on whether the court should revise its rule for identifying testimonial statements.
-
January 09, 2024
NC Agency Sued Over Child Solitary Confinement Practice
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety is violating the constitutional rights of children not convicted of crimes by locking them up alone every hour of the day with little to no relief from confinement, while breaking state law requiring education, according to a proposed class action filed in federal court Monday.
-
January 05, 2024
The Issues Access To Justice Leaders Are Watching In 2024
A surge in evictions, domestic violence and child poverty last year has heightened the demand for legal services to help low- and middle-income families, and worsened a shortage of attorneys to assist in matters ranging from housing to healthcare to benefits and beyond in 2024.
-
January 05, 2024
Quinn Emanuel Aids 'Sewer Service' Debt Collection Fight
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP recently teamed up with two legal aid groups to notch a major win from a New York appeals court making it easier for consumers to challenge judgments they may have been hit with due to fraudulent service — or so-called sewer service — of debt collection complaints.
-
January 04, 2024
5th Circ. Won't Block Miss. GOP Capital City Law Amid Appeal
The Fifth Circuit on Thursday refused to temporarily block a controversial new Mississippi law that would give the majority-white state government greater control over the court system in the state's majority-Black capital city while the NAACP and other groups appeal, finding that they're not likely to succeed in their challenge.
-
January 04, 2024
Nonprofit, Paralegals Sue To Take Down NC Legal Advice Law
A North Carolina nonprofit is challenging a state law banning anyone but a fully licensed attorney from offering legal advice, saying in a federal lawsuit Thursday that the regulations amount to an unconstitutional restraint on free speech in violation of the First Amendment.
-
January 04, 2024
Judge Lauds Trans Women Behind Colo. Prison Housing Deal
A Colorado state judge on Thursday appeared inclined to approve $2.1 million in payouts for currently and formerly incarcerated transgender women and new housing options to settle their class action against state prison officials, with a named plaintiff calling the deal a "blueprint for other states."
-
December 22, 2023
Biden Issues Pardons For Federal Marijuana Offenses
President Joe Biden has announced unconditional pardons to anyone who has used, possessed or attempted to possess marijuana on federal lands, regardless of whether they have been convicted or charged.
-
December 20, 2023
Pa. Justices Say State Must Notify Inmates Of Deduction Hike
The State of Pennsylvania violated an inmate's constitutional right to due process by garnishing a larger portion of the wages and gifts he received without providing him notice or the opportunity to protest the change, the state's highest court ruled.
-
December 19, 2023
NC Residents Ask For Cert. In Court Software Class Action
A group of North Carolina residents have asked for certification in their proposed class action alleging the state's new digital court system has led to hundreds of wrongful arrests and detentions, with all facing common issues sufficient to satisfy class requirements.
-
December 15, 2023
NJ Atty Changes History For Wrongly Executed Black Soldiers
More than a century after 19 soldiers were hanged for mutiny following trials that were marred by racism, a New Jersey attorney and descendant of one of the servicemen recently helped convince the U.S. Army to overturn the soldiers' convictions.
-
December 15, 2023
New Eckert Seamans Pro Bono Chair Looks To Build Bridges
As he takes over as the new chair of the firm's pro bono committee, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC attorney Joshua Hill says he is looking to adopt a more holistic, firmwide approach to identifying and assigning pro bono projects.
-
December 15, 2023
The Biggest Access To Justice Issues Of 2023
High-profile death penalty cases, voting rights, civil forfeiture and fair pay for legal aid workers were among the biggest issues this year impacting the rights of disadvantaged people facing challenges in the American justice system.
-
December 14, 2023
4th Circ. Pauses Fight Over SC Non-Atty Legal Advice Law
The Fourth Circuit agreed Wednesday to pause a lawsuit brought by South Carolina's NAACP chapter challenging the legality of a state law that bars non-attorneys from giving legal advice while the merits of the NAACP eviction relief program at issue are under consideration at the state-court level.
-
December 14, 2023
Attys, Advocates Urge NY Gov. To Sign Appeals Reform Bill
More than 350 attorneys, advocates and organizations on Thursday urged New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that will expand an appellate court's ability to examine if evidence in criminal cases was uncovered unconstitutionally by law enforcement.
-
December 08, 2023
The Purgatory Docket: Mass. Judge Leaves Cases In Limbo
A Massachusetts federal judge has dozens of long-unresolved motions on his docket, highlighting what experts say is a problem that is difficult to solve amid lifetime appointments, no firm deadlines to resolve civil disputes or any form of discipline for judges if cases stall unnecessarily.
-
December 01, 2023
How Trauma-Informed Lawyering Can Help Clients Heal
The story of an Olympic gymnast-turned-lawyer illustrates the emotional and psychological challenges that trauma survivors can face, how these challenges can play out in litigation, and how people who have experienced trauma can bounce back.
-
December 01, 2023
Gibson Dunn Helps Vindicate LA Reporter After Protest Arrest
Three years after a reporter with the Los Angeles-area National Public Radio affiliate was tackled by sheriff's deputies and arrested while covering a protest, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP has helped secure a $700,000 settlement that the firm is hailing as a win for press freedom.
-
December 01, 2023
A Mountain To Climb: The Inaccessibility Of Rural Courts
Unlike the shortage of attorneys available to represent clients in rural areas, experts say there are an adequate number of courthouses to serve people living in remote areas of the country. It's getting to them that's the problem.
Expert Analysis
-
Justice Reforms Call For Quick Action To Fill US Atty Spots
U.S. attorneys play an important role in transforming the criminal legal system for several reasons, and they can restore integrity and independence to the U.S. Department of Justice, so President Joe Biden and Congress must move quickly to fill the remaining two-thirds of the top prosecutor seats, says Derick Dailey at Davis + Gilbert.
-
Judge's Veto Of Arbery Hate Crime Plea Deal Is Not Unusual
Contrary to media commentary, a Georgia federal judge’s rejection of the plea agreement between prosecutors and a defendant charged with hate crimes in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery is not actually surprising — it simply indicates the judge’s desire to retain discretion and allow all parties to be heard before making a just sentencing decision, says Dominick Gerace at Taft Stettinius.
-
Indefinite Migrant Detention Without Review Is Kafkaesque
In two recently argued U.S. Supreme Court cases, the government's position that detained migrants can't demand an immigration judge review their confinement, but can instead file a habeas petition in federal court, reads like a work of Kafka, offering only the illusion of access to a hearing before a neutral fact-finder, says César García Hernández at Ohio State University.
-
2 Worthy Goals For The DOJ's New Domestic Terrorism Unit
The U.S. Department of Justice’s newly announced Domestic Terrorism Unit should include both counterterrorism and civil rights prosecutors, and would benefit from a criminal statute that is modeled after international terrorism laws and that strikes a balance between protecting the public and constitutional rights, say Emil Bove and Brittany Manna at Chiesa Shahinian.
-
Justice Reforms Are Not To Blame For Waukesha Tragedy
Last month's parade attack in Wisconsin has brought into focus the fact that the accused was out of jail on a low bond — but this tragedy must not be exploited to reverse years of long-overdue criminal justice reform, when emerging data shows that new prosecutorial models are associated with better outcomes than an overly punitive approach, says Alissa Marque Heydari at John Jay College.
-
Addressing Prison Risk After CARES Act Home Confinement
Home confinement eligibility, which was expanded last year due to high rates of COVID-19 in penal institutions, may soon be tightened, so house-detained individuals at risk of returning to prison should understand their various avenues for relief, as well as the procedural obstacles they may face in mounting legal challenges, say Charles Burnham and Jonathan Knowles at Burnham & Gorokhov.
-
We Must Help Fix Justice Gap In Georgia's Legal Deserts
In much of rural Georgia, there are too few lawyers to meet residents’ urgent legal needs, forcing self-represented litigants to navigate an impenetrable system, but courts, law firms and nonlawyers can help address these legal deserts in various ways, says Lauren Sudeall at Georgia State University College of Law.
-
Reimagining Courthouse Design For Better Access To Justice
While courthouse design has historically been driven by tradition, it is time to shift from the classical courthouse to spaces that are accessible to those with mobility challenges, serve the needs of vulnerable litigants, and accommodate pandemic-era shifts toward remote and hybrid proceedings, says architect Clair Colburn at Finegold Alexander.
-
Why Law Schools Should Require Justice Reform Curriculum
Criminal defense attorney Donna Mulvihill Fehrmann argues that law schools have an obligation to address widespread racial and economic disparities in the U.S. legal system by mandating first-year coursework on criminal justice reform that educates on prosecutorial misconduct, wrongful convictions, defense 101 and more.
-
Attorneys, Fight For Enviro Justice With Both Law And Protest
In this moment of climate crisis, lawyers can and should use law and protest in tandem — from urging law firms to stop serving the fossil fuel industry to helping draft laws that accelerate the transition to a sustainable way of life, says Vivek Maru at Namati.
-
One-Subject Rule Strategy Can Defeat Dangerous State Laws
Attorneys at Ulmer & Berne explain how single-subject rule violation claims can thwart certain unconstitutional or controversial state statutes and protect civil rights in the face of state governments under one-party rule.
-
States Must Rethink Wrongful Conviction Compensation Laws
States, counties and municipalities have now paid over $3 billion in judgments or settlements to exonerees, while policymakers lack comprehensive data on official misconduct and financial costs — but rethinking state compensation statutes can curb the policies and practices that cause wrongful convictions in the first place, says Jeffrey Gutman at George Washington University.
-
Police And Voting Reform Need Federal Remedy, Not Takeover
The debate over what level of government should hold sway is central to today's impasse over voting rights and police reform legislation, but anchoring the conversation in the U.S. Constitution can create the common ground of tailored federal remediation that also preserves traditional state and local functions, says Marc Levin at the Council on Criminal Justice.
-
8th Circ. Ruling Further Narrows Qualified Immunity
The recent Eighth Circuit ruling in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship/USA v. University of Iowa seems to align with a growing body of case law suggesting that government officials may have a harder time obtaining qualified immunity for their actions if they involve calculated choices to enforce unconstitutional policies, says Thomas Eastmond at Holland & Knight.
-
6 Ways To Improve Veterans' Access To Civil Legal Aid
Veterans often lack adequate help when confronting civil legal issues such as evictions, foreclosures and child custody disputes, so legal aid organizations should collaborate with veteran-serving programs and state and local governments to offer former military members better access to legal resources, say Ronald Flagg at Legal Services Corp. and Isabelle Ord at DLA Piper.