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Access to Justice
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December 12, 2024
Prison Co. Says Jurors Shouldn't See ICE Facility In TVPA Suit
Private prison operator Geo Group urged a Colorado federal judge to deny immigrant detainees' request to show jurors the inside of its detention facility in a trafficking case, including the size of housing units, arguing Wednesday the facility's size will not be relevant when determining whether detainees performed forced labor.
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December 12, 2024
Biden Commutes Nearly 1,500 Sentences In Clemency Record
President Joe Biden announced Thursday he was commuting the prison sentences of nearly 1,500 Americans he said had successfully rehabilitated themselves, the largest number ever in a single day, according to a statement by the White House.
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December 09, 2024
Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch Crack Door For 2nd Amendment Fight
Three U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday signaled their willingness to delve into an appeal from a Hawaii man who argues that he is being unconstitutionally prosecuted for owning a handgun without a license, though they agreed with the rest of the court that they don't currently have jurisdiction to hear it.
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December 06, 2024
Ga. Man Freed After 26 Years Sues Over Bogus Murder Charge
A Georgia man who spent more than a quarter-century in prison for murder before his name was cleared with the help of two true crime podcasters has sued the county and cops behind his arrest and prosecution alleging he was framed for the accidental death of a friend during a game of Russian roulette.
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December 06, 2024
Justices To Consider Easing Rules On Revising Habeas Petitions
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case that could make it easier for prisoners to amend their habeas corpus petitions, brought by a man who claims his drunken attorney never pointed out that key evidence in his child pornography trial was marked as "not child porn" by investigators.
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December 06, 2024
Advocates Shine Light On Rash Of Deficient Evictions In NJ
A new report from a team of New Jersey housing experts found that as many as 29,000 tenants and tenant families may be evicted in the Garden State every year based on legally deficient complaints. Now they’re calling for greater oversight in the state’s landlord-tenant courts.
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December 06, 2024
Keker Van Nest Marks 5 Years Of Calif. Resentencing Work
Over the last five years, Keker Van Nest & Peters LLP has helped imprisoned Californians petition to reduce their life sentences following a 2018 change to the state's felony murder rules, most recently securing the release of a man who was originally sentenced to death.
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December 06, 2024
Wash. Justices OK Pilot To Relax Regs For Non-Lawyers
Washington's high court has approved a pilot program that will allow the Evergreen State to loosen rules on who can practice law, with the aim of empowering businesses and organizations not run by lawyers to innovate on providing legal services, and perhaps make them more affordable.
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December 05, 2024
Covington Helps Take Calif. Court Reporter Shortage To Court
Covington & Burling LLP is among the counsel for groups petitioning the California Supreme Court to address the state's court reporter shortage by mandating the use of electronic recording when court reporters are unavailable.
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November 27, 2024
Rikers Faces Federal Takeover As NYC Held In Contempt
A Manhattan federal judge found New York City and its corrections department in civil contempt for failing to fix the "unconstitutional danger" for inmates at Rikers Island, indicating a receivership is the solution.
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November 20, 2024
Ga. Judge Cuts Claims From Jail Book Policy Challenge
A Georgia federal judge Tuesday dismissed several claims in a bookstore's lawsuit alleging a Georgia sheriff and jail commander imposed an unlawful policy of only allowing books into the county jail from authorized retailers, only keeping alive claims against the two men in their official capacities.
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November 15, 2024
Exploring Louisiana's History Of Nonunanimous Juries
The elimination of nonunanimous jury verdicts in Louisiana in 2018 inspired a Southern University Law Center professor to dive into the state’s long-standing racial prejudice against Black residents, culminating in three books that examine the roots of the problem and how to build a better criminal justice system.
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November 15, 2024
Texas Justices Say Subpoena Can't Pause Roberson Death
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said that a group of bipartisan Lone Star State legislators can't use its committee's subpoena power to pause the execution of a man convicted based on a "shaken baby syndrome" diagnosis.
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November 14, 2024
CFPB Orders Prison Telecom, Payment Provider To Pay $3M
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday it has instructed one of the largest prison service providers to pay $3 million to settle claims tied to the company's money transfer and telecommunications businesses, including a claim alleging it froze and drained incarcerated individuals' accounts.
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November 13, 2024
Colo. A2J Commission Will Launch Listening Tour Next Year
Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart told a room of attorneys on Wednesday that the state's Access to Justice Commission is preparing a 2025 "listen and learn" tour to solicit ideas on how to better serve Coloradans who struggle to afford legal representation.
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November 08, 2024
Conn. AG Building Abortion Rights 'Firewall' With Firms' Help
Connecticut's Democratic attorney general has joined a multistate partnership with a pro-choice nonprofit and law firms including Silver Golub & Teitell LLP and Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder PC as part of what he described Friday as a "firewall" to protect abortion access during a second Trump administration.
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November 06, 2024
Texas High Court Delays Rule Changes For Non-Atty Services
The Texas Supreme Court has delayed the effective date of rules for allowing non-attorneys to perform some legal services, saying it will take the extra time to "give due consideration to the comments received."
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November 05, 2024
Paxton Seeks Sanctions In Immigration Nonprofit Row
The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked an El Paso federal judge to sanction an immigrant rights nonprofit, claiming that it resisted a civil investigation by making misrepresentations to the court.
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November 01, 2024
#MeToo, Except For Migrants Fleeing Gender-Based Violence
Women fleeing gender-based violence face an uphill battle in a U.S. asylum system that has long been perceived as largely geared toward victims of state persecution and has yet to absorb the #MeToo movement's cultural shift.
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November 01, 2024
Behind High Court's Rare Review Of 2nd Texas Capital Case
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court took up a case over a Texas inmate's right to new DNA testing his attorneys believe could save him from execution. It’s a rare move for the justices, who in recent years have pointedly stayed out of capital appeals.
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November 01, 2024
How Sidley Won Landmark Verdict In Solitary Confinement Case
After spending nine years alone in a concrete cell the size of a parking space, a former New York prisoner recently got the chance to tell his story to a jury and win a landmark civil rights verdict with help from a pro bono team of Sidley Austin LLP attorneys.
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October 31, 2024
Georgia Launches Committee To Take On 'Civil Justice Gap'
Georgia's chief justice has created a committee to identify ways to improve rural and low-income Georgia residents' access to civil legal services in an effort to close "the state's civil justice gap," the justice announced Thursday.
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October 29, 2024
Wash. Chief Justice Calls Diversity 'Critical' For Courts
Washington Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven González reflected Tuesday night on what diversity in cultural perspectives can bring to classrooms and courtrooms alike, remarking that the dynamic on the high court has changed for the better during his 13 years on the bench as he's been joined by more colleagues of color.
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October 29, 2024
Philly Cops Lose Free Speech Suit Over Facebook Posts
A group of active and former Philadelphia Police Department officers disciplined for inflammatory Facebook activity have lost their First Amendment lawsuit against the city, with a Pennsylvania federal judge ruling Tuesday that the city had the right to terminate officers for making racist, violent and otherwise offensive posts.
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October 29, 2024
ICE Accused Of Withholding $300M In Nixed Immigrant Bonds
A New York resident hit the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with a proposed class action in New York federal court Tuesday, accusing the agency of systemically failing to return more than $300 million in bonds paid to secure the release of immigrants whose detention proceedings were later dismissed.
Veterans Courts Help Some, But Leave Many Others Behind
Veterans treatment courts have helped thousands of justice-involved vets with addiction and mental health issues, but strict eligibility rules, difficulty identifying defendants and a lack of courts mean many former service members are still falling through the cracks.
Calif. Justice Reformers Vow To Fight After Election Day Losses
California voters' Election Day moves to oust progressive prosecutors and enact purportedly tough-on-crime ballot measures point to a broad conservative swing in criminal justice, a movement that San Francisco's former District Attorney Chesa Boudin and other reform proponents told Law360 they intend to fight in coming years.
The High Court Fee Case That Has Civil Rights Attys On Edge
The U.S. Supreme Court could soon make it more difficult for civil rights attorneys to get paid even when they successfully challenge harmful government policies, an "earthshaking disturbance" advocates say could deter lawyers from taking on indigent clients.
The Push To End 'Prison Gerrymandering' Gains Momentum
Opponents of so-called prison gerrymandering are having success fighting to end the practice, which they say reduces the political representation of minority communities in favor of rural, white areas, but obstacles like poor data and political opposition remain.
Expert Analysis
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Responsible Use Of AI Could Bridge The Justice Gap
The access to justice crisis continues to worsen in the U.S., but artificial intelligence has the potential to reverse this trend and close the justice gap if legal aid, court, pro bono, technology and law firm leaders work together, say Margaret Hagan at Stanford and Amy Groff at K&L Gates.
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2 Ways To Boost Court Flexibility, Improve Appearance Rates
Millions of people miss their court dates every year, leading to arrest warrants and snowballing consequences, but allowing for flexible scheduling and offering grace periods can promote appearance rates, improve court efficiency, and increase access to justice, say Shannon McAuliffe and Cameron French at ideas42.
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Courts Must Reduce Impact Of Parental Incarceration On Kids
Research consistently shows that when a parent is incarcerated, the children left behind suffer myriad negative and long-lasting consequences, and courts must do more to guard against causing these additional harms, say Fulton County, Georgia, Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney and Yolanda Lewis at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.
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How Attorneys Can Support The ERA's Implementation
After the American Bar Association’s recent resolution affirming that the Equal Rights Amendment has met the constitutional standard for ratification, attorneys should consider ways to support the ERA’s implementation to ensure that gender equality is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, says Kate Kelly at the Center for American Progress.
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Protecting Survivor Privacy In High-Profile Sex Assault Cases
Multiple civil lawsuits filed against Sean "Diddy" Combs, with claims ranging from sexual assault and trafficking to violent physical beatings, provide important lessons for attorneys to take proactive measures to protect the survivor's anonymity and privacy, says Andrea Lewis at Searcy Denney.
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20 Years On, It's Time To Fix The Crime Victims' Rights Act
The Crime Victims’ Rights Act, enacted 20 years ago this month, was a good start toward helping survivors of crime, but it has fallen short in several key ways, and amendments are needed to ensure the legal system empowers and protects victims, says Bridgette Stumpf at Network for Victim Recovery.
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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.