Woodland resident and Fijian immigrant to be allowed to stay in U.S.

By Jake Dorsey, The Daily Democrat – November 3

Times are much better these days for Rashmir Kaur, a Fijian immigrant and Woodland resident who was nearly deported twice because of her paperwork. Kaur said Oakland lawyer, Equal Justice Works Fellow Cassandra Lopez, is working on moving up her status hearing so she can secure her green card and start working again. Kaur was a nurse's assistant at Woodland Skilled Nursing Home; she said the home wrote a letter to ICE supporting her and will give her her old job back, once her status is fixed.

 

U.S. to pay $1.2 million to 5 detainees over abuse lawsuit

By Nina Bernstein, New York Times – November 3

The federal government is paying $1.2 million to settle the cases of five Muslim immigrants who sued over their detention and treatment in a Brooklyn jail after 9/11, when hundreds of noncitizens were rounded up and held for months before being cleared of links to terrorism and deported. But [Equal Justice Works Alumna] Rachel Meeropol, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents the detainees, said the amount the government is willing to pay speaks volumes. “I believe a settlement of this size is a deterrent to the United States from ever again rounding up innocent noncitizens based only on suspicion about their race and religion,” Ms. Meeropol said. “These were guys called terrorists and treated as terrorists, shoved against the blood-spattered picture of the American flag and told, you’re never getting out of here alive. And it’s a long way from that to where they are now.”

 

City rally highlights importance of voting

By Deborah Hirsch, Courier-Post – October 30

The last time Camden held a mayoral election, 18.3 percent of the voting age population cast ballots. Students at Rutgers Law School are hoping to boost that figure this time. On Thursday, the law school's Voter's Rights Project and NJ PIRG held a rally on campus to encourage students and residents to vote in Tuesday's election. "It is so vital that you vote in this and every other election," student government vice president Sean Brown told the crowd. "Not voting is the same as voting for someone you disagree with." Rutgers has been actively involved in city elections since 2004, when a group of law students started the Voter's Rights Project in an effort to educate voters and ensure that state elections laws are properly enforced. Every year since then, law students have held voter registration drives at community events and stationed themselves at the polls on election days. This fall, the project registered about 100 voters at 15 events and recently won a public service award at a national Equal Justice Works conference.

 

Student denies Mac Williams bomb threat

By Sarah A. Reid, Fayetteville Observer – October 19

Marcus Renkel turned to his father earlier this month and asked him if he did the right thing by reporting a bomb threat scrawled in a bathroom at Mac Williams Middle School. Charles Renkel said he initially calmed his 13-year-old's fears with praise. "I told him I was proud of him," he said. On Oct. 6 - a day after he reported the threat - Marcus was suspended for the remainder of the week, and administrators recommended sending him to an alternative school. They charged him with making the threat that he reported. [Equal Justice Works Fellow] Cary Brege, a lawyer with Legal Aid of North Carolina, has agreed to represent Marcus at suspension hearings. Brege is heading up a two-year project that investigates why some of Cumberland County's suspension rates are the highest in the state.

 

A question of sex

The Economist – October 17

Agreeing that the sports authorities were shabby, intrusive and untruthful in their handling of the case of Caster Semenya, the 18-year-old South African runner who won a gold medal in Berlin in August, is one thing. Deciding who is or is not a woman is another. On October 11th the International Association of Athletics Federations said it would try to settle this question for future games. Equal Justice Works Alumna Anne Tamar-Mattis of Advocates for Informed Choice, an American pressure group, says that though legal systems assume that male and female are indisputable categories, none defines them. A rare exception is in Australia, where a Human Rights Commission report in March 2009 recommended that adults should be allowed to register their sex as "unspecified" on documents such as passports. In February 2009 an Austrian court ruled that surgery was not a prerequisite for sex and name changes.

 

Inmates' families sue over collect-call fees
By Zachary Dowdy, Newsday – October 13

Long Island families with loved ones in state prisons are seeking to prevail in a lawsuit that could result in the state returning to them tens of millions of dollars for what the families say are exorbitant phone bills for calls to incarcerated relatives. Today, attorneys representing the three families, one of whom is from Selden, will argue before the state Court of Appeals in Albany that they are entitled to refunds of money they paid because the state prison system required them to pay for collect calls that put 57.5 percent of the call's cost into the state's coffers, a diversion of funds that they argue is an unconstitutional tax. The lawsuit, Walton v. New York State Department of Correctional Services, could have a ripple effect across Long Island, officials said, especially if the suit is certified as a class action. The state's prisons right now hold about 5,000 people who were convicted in Nassau and Suffolk, 8 percent of the prison population. "The law is clear in New York that the state can't raise revenue without being authorized to do so," said [Equal Justice Works Alumna] Rachel Meeropol, an attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights in Manhattan, which is representing the families.

 

Don’t throw away the key on all juvenile killers
By Scott Harshbarger, Boston Globe – October 3

In MA, life without any possibility of parole is the mandatory sentence for a person convicted of murder. But no other state in the nation expressly sets the minimum age of this mandatory sentence as young as Massachusetts does at age 14. Indeed, no other country in the world is known to impose life without parole on children under age 18. Sometimes, being unique can be a point of pride; this is not one of those times. For some youths, serving a life term without parole is an unfortunate necessity. For others, they may become different people - they may grow into adults who have faced the horror of their actions, who search for ways to make positive contributions. Teenage children change. It’s in their nature. That’s why the Legislature should replace the current law with one that allows for a review of juvenile life sentences. Under the reform recently proposed by juvenile justice advocates, the Parole Board would review juvenile life sentences after 15 years. As [Equal Justice Works Alumna] Lia Monahon points out in a report released this week by Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts, no one would be released automatically, just given an opportunity to prove their rehabilitation to the board - a tough audience that does not grant second chances lightly.

 

Graffiti cleanup and rezoning Sunset Park
By Courtney Gross, Gotham Gazette – October 1

The South Brooklyn Legal Services and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund have filed a lawsuit on behalf of some residents over the rezoning. The city did not factor in all of the rezoning's effects, including how it could change the socioeconomic character of the community, said [Equal Justice Works Fellow] Bethany Li, an attorney with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. You want graffiti erased from your storefront? The City Council on Wednesday approved legislation to make it easier for residents and business owners to have graffiti removed from their properties -– gratis -- by the city. In addition, the council approved a 128-block rezoning of the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn.

 

The big paypack: Four steps toward tackling student loan debt
By Matt, American Lawyer – October 2009

The average law student who graduated from a private university in 2008 borrowed more than $91,500 on the way to earning that degree, according to the nonprofit Equal Justice Works. Combine that with leftover undergraduate debt and the shrinking job market, and you’ve got a surefire recipe for postgrad financial fright. (See page 10).

 

$30M in hospital aid seen as good start
By Vladic Ravich, Queens Tribune – October 1

Queens healthcare providers were grateful for some $30 million of additional grants split among 12 medical facilities in the borough, but some advocates say the amount is insufficient to tackle the magnitude of the shortage. “The Department of Health has demonstrated an initial willingness to improve health care in Southeast Queens,” said [Equal Justice Works Fellow] Seth Cohen of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. “The State government is still responsible for coordinating a master plan for the future of healthcare delivery in Queens. One appropriate next step would be to form a task force of all stakeholders – including and especially community leaders – around health care concerns in Southeast Queens.”

 

Accounting for homes
By Anita Lee, Biloxi Sun-Herald – September 28

Too many homes and apartments are on the market in South Mississippi, but residents least able to afford them are still waiting for permanent housing more than four years after Hurricane Katrina. Attorney [Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Reilly Morse of the Mississippi Center for Justice, a leading advocate for low-income residents struggling with Katrina recovery, said: If you didn’t sit down and look at the numbers, you’d think Mississippi was continuing to add more money, consistently, over the last couple of years to increase the amount of money spent on housing. And that’s why we look at the numbers. There is an enormous difficulty pushing through the presumption of legitimacy of some of the things the state says.

 

Cutting law school debt
By Matt Straquadine, American Lawyer – September 28

The average law student who graduated from a private university in 2008 borrowed more than $91,500 on the way to earning that degree, according to the nonprofit Equal Justice Works. Combine that with leftover undergraduate debt and the shrinking job market, and you've got a surefire recipe for postgrad financial fright. In a sharp departure from recent history--when students coming out of even mid-tier schools could count on commanding six-figure salaries upon graduating--law school debt is now a heavy burden.

 

How do prostitutes pay their taxes?
By Brian Palmer, Slate – September 24

ACORN, the community organizing group and Republican cause célèbre, lost its federal funding last week after some of its employees were captured on video telling people they thought were prostitutes how to manipulate tax laws. How do real prostitutes go about paying their taxes? Equal Justice Works Alumna Sienna Baskin, an attorney with the Urban Justice Center, contributed to the article.

 

Public interest law and the recession
NPR/WAMU – September 24

It's the best of times and the worst of times for the public interest legal community. Budget crunches at top tier law firms have redirected many talented young lawyers to opportunities in the pro-bono and non-profit communities. But some are worried this trend is hurting the prospects of lawyers committed to careers in that arena. We explore how trends in the legal industry are affecting public interest law. Paul Igasaki, Deputy CEO for Equal Justice Works, is a guest on the show.

 

Small businesses at Willets Point demand to be moved en masse, slam city for no relocation plan
By Joe Kemp, New York Daily News – September 23

A group of workers and local advocates rallied at Willets Point on Tuesday to demand the city come forward with a relocation plan for small businesses in the area. The 62-acre labyrinth of about 60 auto repair shops, salvage yards and ironworks companies depend on one another to survive, the owners said. "It's important that these businesses be relocated together," said Tatiana Bejar of the Human Rights Project of the Urban Justice Center. The call came after the group released a report that claims the city, in its effort to redevelop the gritty industrial area, was biased against immigrants and minorities. However, after 40 years of not enforcing any building codes in the area, to suddenly close these businesses when the owners were in negotiations to sell the land was "not a coincidence," said [Equal Justice Works Fellow] Ted De Barbieri of the Urban Justice Center.

 

Project `Gaydar'
By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Boston Globe – September 18

Using data from the social network Facebook, they made a striking discovery: just by looking at a person's online friends, they could predict whether the person was gay. They did this with a software program that looked at the gender and sexuality of a person's friends and, using statistical analysis, made a prediction. The two students had no way of checking all of their predictions, but based on their own knowledge outside the Facebook world, their computer program appeared quite accurate for men, they said. People may be effectively ``outing'' themselves just by the virtual company they keep. ``Even if you don't affirmatively post revealing information, simply publishing your friends' list may reveal sensitive information about you, or it may lead people to make assumptions about you that are incorrect,'' said Kevin Bankston, [Equal Justice Works Alumnus] senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit digital rights organization in San Francisco. ``Certainly if most or many of your friends are of a particular religious or political or sexual category, others may conclude you are part of the same category - even if you haven't said so yourself.''

 

Gov't stands by as mercury taints water
By Jason Dearen, Associated Press – September 18

Abandoned mercury mines throughout central California's rugged coastal mountains are polluting the state's major waterways, rendering fish unsafe to eat and risking the health of at least 100,000 impoverished people. “Mercury tops the list as the most harmful invisible pollutant in the (state's) watershed," said [Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Sejal Choksi of San Francisco Baykeeper, an environmental watchdog group for the bay. "It has such widespread impacts, and the regulatory agencies are just throwing up their hands."

 

Judge cracks down on St. Bernard
By Nina Bernstein, The New York Times – September 10

For a year and a half Xiu Ping Jiang, a waitress with no criminal record and a history of attempted suicide, was locked away in an immigration jail in Florida. Often in solitary confinement, she sank ever deeper into mental illness, relatives say, not eating for days, or vomiting after meals for fear of being poisoned. With no lawyer to plead for asylum on her behalf, she had been ordered to be deported to her native China, from which her family says she fled in 1995 after being forcibly sterilized at age 20. Too ill to obtain the travel documents needed for the deportation to take place, she was trapped in an immigration limbo: a fate that detainee advocates say is common in a system that has no rules for determining mental competency and no obligation to provide anyone with legal representation. Hers is one of several cases cited in a 15-page letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. that asks for such protections, including the appointment of counsel to anyone with a mental disability in deportation proceedings, and the appointment of guardians ad litem to speak on behalf of those found mentally incompetent. The letter [which features the writing of Equal Justice Works Fellow Greg Pleasants] was signed by 77 mental health experts, civil rights lawyers and immigration advocates around the country.

 

Judge cracks down on St. Bernard
By Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune – September 12

U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan has ruled for the second time in a month that St. Bernard Parish officials are in contempt of court and violated the federal Fair Housing Act by denying a developer's bid to move forward with construction of four mixed-income apartment complexes in Chalmette. Her ruling Friday blocks the parish from interfering further with the resubdivision process that has halted the developments, and calls on parish administrators to complete all other paperwork by the end of Monday or face daily fines of more than $5,000. Housing advocates applauded Berrigan. "This order sets a clear course for a rebuilding effort that creates housing choices for all residents, regardless of their race or income," said Morgan Williams , general counsel for the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center [and Equal Justice Works Fellow].

 

Guidelines needed on school arrests
By Clive McFarlane, Telegram – September 11

It is called the “school-to-prison-pipeline,” this national trend in which police officers are being used to patrol school corridors and to make arrests that critics say are increasingly pushing large numbers of young people into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. In a three-year span (2005-2008) 260 Worcester public school students were arrested, with Hispanics (120) and African Americans (101) representing 85 percent of the arrests, even though these two groups combined represented just under 50 percent of the school system’s student population during those years. According to ACLU officials, the Worcester data seems to support the national trend of children being “over aggressively pushed out of the public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.” “These numbers are really troubling,” said Amy Reichbach , an Equal Justice Works fellow with the American Civil Liberties Union.

 

Effort to repeal federal gay marriage ban begins Tuesday
By Carlos Santoscoy, On-Top Magazine – September 11

The long-awaited bill that would repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will be introduced Tuesday, its sponsor New York Representative Jerrold Nadler announced Friday. The bill will be unveiled at a press event Tuesday, September 15 at the House Triangle, an outdoor venue near the southern steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. DOMA, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton 13 years ago on September 21, defines marriage as a heterosexual union for federal agencies and allows states to ignore gay marriages performed by other states. Nadler, a Democrat, is expected to be accompanied by an army of GLBT leaders, including Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus].

 

Council housing plan drawing fire
By Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune – September 6

The St. Bernard Parish Council is considering a ballot referendum later this year that, if passed by voters, would force any developer of multifamily housing to seek voter approval to build large apartment complexes in the parish. The initiative, which has already drawn the ire of fair housing advocates, comes after a federal judge ruled twice this year that St. Bernard violated the federal Fair Housing Act in attempts to block developers from building four 72-unit mixed-income apartment complexes in Chalmette. Attorneys with the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, the group that has sued St. Bernard over the mixed-income developments, sent an e-mail to St. Bernard's defense attorneys this week saying they believe the ordinance violates the Fair Housing Act. "If the parish proceeds to enact this ordinance, we will immediately seek any and all appropriate relief, including but not limited to contempt and sanctions," said Morgan Williams , general counsel for the Fair Housing Action Center [and Equal Justice Works Fellow].

 

HANO revises voucher guidelines
By Katy Reckdahl, The Times-Picayune – September 3

On September 2nd, HANO [the Housing Authority of New Orleans] -- bowing to criticism [that their application process was “confusing and misleading”] -- revised the guidelines for its Section 8 lottery, which was slated to begin accepting applications through e-mail and U.S. mail on Sunday. The Fair Housing Action Center applauded HANO's change of mind. "It's critical that this process is designed in a way that hardworking, low-income folks can access it without confusion," said Morgan Williams , the center's interim general counsel [and Equal Justice Works Fellow], who also noted that "the great flood of applications" they expect HANO to receive "is a clear indication of the need for more affordable housing and more housing vouchers in the region."

 

Phoebe Taubman from A Better Balance
By Morra Aarons-Mele, Families and Work Institute – September 1

The author of this piece interviewed Phoebe Taubman , who is an Equal Justice Works Fellow and project attorney at A Better Balance, a New York City based non profit organization. Taubman’s work focuses particularly on low-income workers, those employed by small businesses, or those who do not have the weight of a large organization behind them.

 

ACLU sues US Customs over laptop searches
By Ian Thomson, The Inquirer – August 27

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit over the seizure of laptops by border police without reason. The court action is designed to obtain records of searches performed by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of laptops and written materials from travelers entering the US. The CBP currently conducts such searches, including taking images of hard drives, on anyone, rather than on people about whom they have reasonable suspicion. "Travelling with a laptop should not mean that the government gets a free pass to rifle through your personal papers," said Catherine Crump, staff attorney with the ACLU First Amendment Working Group [and Equal Justice Works Alumna]. "This sort of broad and invasive search is exactly what the Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches are designed to prevent."

 

No one charged in Busby incident
By Tanya Mannes, Union-Tribune – August 26

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis won't pursue charges against two women who were arrested at a fundraiser for congressional candidate Francine Busby — even though Dumanis believes they broke the law. Charges also will not be filed against a deputy who pepper-sprayed guests at the event. “After a thorough, independent investigation and careful review of the facts and the evidence no criminal charges will be filed against any of the individuals involved,” Dumanis said in a statement yesterday. Kevin Keenan, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial counties [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], criticized Dumanis' letter. “I think the DA's analysis avoids . . . the issue of whether he (the deputy) had authority to enter the property,” Keenan said, “and whether he should be allowed to use force — rather severe force — to demand a date of birth, especially in the context of a minor civil infraction, a noise complaint.”

 

'Billable hour' under attack
By Nathan Koppel and Ashby Jones, The Wall Street Journal – August 24

With the recession crimping legal budgets, some big companies are fighting back against law firms' longstanding practice of billing them by the hour. The companies are ditching the hourly structure -- which critics complain offers law firms an incentive to rack up bigger bills -- in favor of flat-fee contracts. One survey found an increase of more than 50% this year in corporate spending on alternatives to the traditional hourly-fee model. Pfizer Inc., which spends more than $500 million a year on legal matters, says it expects to reduce its domestic law-firm spending by 15% to 20%, largely through flat-fee arrangements. It will pay 16 law firms lump sums to handle various portfolios of work, such as litigation and tax matters. "I have told firms you cannot make your historical profit margins" on Pfizer work, said the pharmaceutical giant's general counsel [and Equal Justice Works Board Member], Amy Schulman.

 

Openly lesbian and gay pastors now welcomed by Lutherans
By Hannah Clay Wareham, Bay Windows – August 24

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America voted to open their ministry to include partnered gay and lesbian pastors on Wednesday, August 19 at the church’s national convention in Minneapolis. Prior to the resolution, lesbian and gay clergy were asked to remain celibate in order to hold a professional position within the church. Allison Guttu of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod [and Equal Justice Works Fellow] allayed the church’s fears, including that the resolution would cause a drop in membership. "I have seen congregations flourish while engaging these issues; I have seen congregations grow recognizing the gifts of gay and lesbian pastors," she said in the statement.

 

Students: Take the long view home
By William A. Chamberlain, National Law Journal – August 24

This is indeed a tough time to be a 2L. One has to keep reminding one's self that this down economy, like all others, will pass. Despite all of the uncertainty, today's law students can be certain that in the long run, they can have long and happy legal careers. As we have all year, we are encouraging students to look broadly (employers in so-called secondary markets are experiencing a boom in student interest) and to be flexible and to try to interview only in places where they have connections. They should not miss federal government application deadlines and should attend the Equal Justice Works conference.

 

Team to mediate housing lawsuits
By Jessica Infante, Asbury Park Press – August 22

In the wake of three lawsuits filed against the township's affordable-housing plan, a four-member mediation team has been named and will take part in discussions with plaintiffs, officials said during Monday's Township Committee meeting. Two developers, the Walters Group and K. Hovnanian, and the Fair Share Housing Center have filed lawsuits challenging the township's fair housing plan, which was approved late last year. Walters is challenging the Township Committee's rejection of an ordinance to rezone a piece of land on which the developer planned to build a 70-unit affordable-housing apartment complex, which was turned down by the Township Committee. The Fair Share Housing Center believes the committee's rejection of the complex sets a bad precedent, the center's staff attorney [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Adam Gordon said. "We feel, from the affordable-housing advocate standpoint, it's not fair to have a sort of bait-and-switch on developers," he said. "If that kind of process keeps happening, then no one is going to want to invest (in) housing, in building affordable-housing in this state." The center also contests the township's planned number of units, because its population has boomed from the time COAH issued requirements, Gordon said.

 

Advocacy groups shut out of federal challenge to Calif. ban on gay marriage
By Dan Levine, The Recorder – August 20

Lawyers mounted their arguments Wednesday to intervene in a federal challenge to California's gay marriage ban, but Chief Judge Vaughn Walker clearly knew how he would rule before any of them uttered a word. Without smiling he denied an attempt by gay rights groups to direct the plaintiffs' case alongside legal heavyweights Theodore Olson of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and David Boies of Boies, Schiller & Flexner. Shannon Minter, an attorney for NCLR [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], said that while he was "disappointed" with Walker's ruling over intervention, the issue itself was a "sideshow." "Now the focus is on the harm Proposition 8 is doing to our community," he said.

 

Immigrant detention deaths increase pressure for reform
By Michael B. Farrell, Christian Science Monitor – August 18

Monday's disclosure of 10 previously unreported deaths at immigrant detention centers highlights the need for reform at those facilities, say both immigrant rights groups and the government. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency announced the deaths that it apparently discovered during an in-depth review of agency records, which was prompted by a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In total, 104 immigrants have died at federal detention centers since 2003. "Medical care has been the chief concern," says Kevin Keenan, executive director for the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus]. "There are no enforceable standards for medical care or anything else inside these facilities – there are guidelines but no way to enforce them."

 

Economy's effect mixed at state's law schools
By Danny Jacobs, Daily Record – August 14

As of early July, the number of students seeking admission into the class of 2012 at law schools across the country grew 5.2 percent compared to last year, according to the Law School Admission Council, which administers the LSAT. The number of applications received also was up 6.5 percent compared to last year. “People were planning for that,” said Tracy Simmons, chairwoman of the Association of American Law School’s Section on Pre-Legal Education and Admission to Law School [and Equal Justice Works Alumna]. “It’s pretty typical that applications to graduate school increase in down economic times.”

 

Garden Grove RV park residents sue city
By Deepa Bharath, OC Register – August 11

The residents of an RV Park on Harbor Boulevard, who face the prospect of moving out to make way for a city-planned water park and hotel, have filed a lawsuit against the city seeking legal and appropriate relocation benefits. "Destroying over 100 units of affordable housing to build a water park at public expense is not responsible redevelopment – particularly without a plan for replacement of the housing or adequate relocation for the tenants," said Remy De La Peza , [Equal Justice Works Fellow and] attorney for Public Counsel, a pro bono law office. She said the lawsuit asks the city to comply with state-mandated affordable housing requirements before taking actions that will have an adverse effect on residents.

 

Same-sex marriage opponent fights $12,000 in court cases
By Mike McKee, The Recorder – August 10

The Campaign for California Families spent years opposing same-sex marriage, making its case with briefs in the trial and appellate courts, and arguing its position before the state's highest court early last year. But the Sacramento-based group now says it was never a true party to the marriage cases and shouldn't have to pay the $12,000 in court costs for those pre-Proposition 8 battles. The Campaign's opponents, however, say Connerly [a 2006 California Supreme Court ruling that said amici curiae are non-parties that most often shouldn't be subjected to private attorney general fees] addresses only attorneys fees, not costs, and that it involved a business association designated the real party in interest over its initial objection. "Unlike the business association in Connerly," NCLR legal director [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Shannon Minter wrote, "the Campaign in this case fought to the end to argue that is should be permitted to participate as a full party…” The most puzzling aspect of the appeal for the city and civil rights groups is that the Campaign for California Families is willing to risk more costs and attorneys fees to fight over a relatively small amount of money. "The amount is very modest," Minter said in an e-mail message. "So [we're] not sure why they are fighting this, but ... they are."

 

Immigration: Caught in a hurricane and undocumented? Tough luck.
By M. Junaid Levesque-Alam, WireTap Magazine – August 8

The U.S. Border Patrol has recently declared that it will continue to man its checkpoints in the event of a hurricane on two highways, scrutinizing documents and questioning people about their immigration status as they attempt to flee certain death or disaster. Meanwhile, the Texas state legislature has passed a law, effective Sept. 1st, that will make it a crime to remain home during a hurricane. The implications of these joint policies become obvious when you look at the valley’s demographics: The percentage of the valley’s population that is Hispanic stands at over 85 percent, and the area contains about 150,000 undocumented immigrants. “It’s a Catch-22 situation of sorts,” said Corinna Spencer-Scheurich , an attorney with the South Texas Civil Rights Project [and Equal Justice Works Fellow]. “If people try to leave they can be deported. But if they stay, they can be arrested and deported.” She further observed that such inspections could create lengthy traffic jams as Border Patrol pores over documents while people try to get out of harm’s way.

 

LGBT attorneys talk of experience
By Andrew Davis, Windy City Times – August 8

Lawyers talked about their experiences in school and work in "The Gay Bar: LGBT Attorneys in the Profession," a forum held July 31 in Chicago, as part of the American Bar Association's annual meeting. The attorneys spoke as the ABA's Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, chaired by San Francisco attorney Jeffrey G. Gibson, presided over the event and listened intently to the experiences. Among the other commissioners present was the National Center for Lesbian Rights' Shannon Minter [, an Equal Justice Works Alumnus,], who argued against Proposition 8 in front of the California Supreme Court.

 

Group submits petitions to elect Detroit council members by district
By David Josar, The Detroit News – August 5

A coalition of residents and community organizations this afternoon submitted to the City Clerk roughly 38,000 signatures calling for a binding referendum in November that would require City Council members be elected by district but still maintain two at-large representatives. The proposal, if passed by voters, would create districts for seven council members. Currently the nine council members can reside anywhere in the city. Former state Rep. Steve Tobocman [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], who collected 1,000 signatures, said now is the time for such a drastic revamp. "I live in southwest Detroit and no one represents me," he said.

 

Asian workers file suit in New York over low wages
Balita Pinoy – August 4

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund's (AALDEF) New Jersey-Asian American Legal Project (NJ-AALP), with the pro bono legal assistance of law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham, & Taft LLP, announced that it has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of four Korean workers against a New Jersey nail salon chain Ji Ji Nails, Inc. and its owners for years of unpaid minimum wage and overtime pay. Bethany Li, AALDEF Staff Attorney and Equal Justice Works Fellow, said, "Workers have rights to minimum wage and overtime pay. They have rights to organize for better working conditions. And they have a right to work free from discrimination. Workers have these rights regardless of their immigration status." Li continued, "All employers must comply with labor laws, and we are ready to aggressively pursue employers who choose to disregard basic workers' rights."

 

The justice bus in San Geronimo
By Dhyana Levey, The Daily Journal – August 3

A day of pro bono legal aid in the rural backcountry of Marin County hadn't even begun, but anxious clients milling around outside the local community center were already peeking into windows and trying to slip in the door as attorneys and law students set up their stations. Once the doors officially opened, a steady stream of seniors and low-income citizens spilled into the San Geronimo Valley Community Center throughout the afternoon to seek free legal assistance from summer associates and interns from Legal Aid of Marin. After some intense training, the students boarded the “justice bus” with [Equal Justice Works Alumna] Salena G. Copeland, the PIC attorney who coordinated Thursday's trip, Hanson Bridgett associate Steven Miller and Julia H. Veit, senior counsel and summer program coordinator with the firm. The justice bus program began in March 2007 through San Francisco's Public Interest Clearing House, a nonprofit that works with local law firms to provide pro bono work

 

St. Bernard Parish fair-housing case back in court
By Chris Kirkham, The Times-Picayune – August 3

St. Bernard Parish was back in court Monday in the latest chapter of a federal fair housing court case that has been simmering on and off in the suburban parish since 2006. In Monday's hearing, a local fair housing group and the developer of four proposed mixed-income apartment developments in Chalmette alleged that St. Bernard Parish government is in contempt of a judge's previous order against the parish. Plaintiffs attorneys presented a wide array of evidence Monday, from local newspaper columns written by Taffaro to racially charged anonymous posts about the developments on nola.com stories and forums. At one point Relman showed the MySpace page of someone who supposedly authored an e-mail -- also shown in court -- sent to the fair housing action center's general counsel [and Equal Justice Works Fellow], Morgan Williams , saying that St. Bernard doesn't want black people.

 

A year after firebombings, no arrests, though awareness remains among scientists
By J.M. Brown, San Jose Mercury News – August 2

A year ago today, UC Santa Cruz molecular biologist David Feldheim and his wife woke up at 5:45 a.m. when a firebomb exploded on their front porch of their town home near campus. At the time of the firebombings, authorities had been investigating a string of animal-rights incidents targeting the University of California. Since last summer, authorities have charged four people in connection with three animal-rights related incidents targeting UC researchers, including a February 2008 demonstration outside the home of another UCSC researcher who uses animals in cancer research. Rachel Meeropol, an attorney with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights [and Equal Justice Works Alumna], said her organization joined the defense team for the four suspects because the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act "allows for incredibly broad prosecution" and isn't fit to accuse anyone of a crime. She said the law could be used to dampen lawful picketing outside research facilities. "The first amendment needs breathing room," Meeropol said. "It's problematic to give prosecutors that much discretion."

 

Boston Scientific elects Katherine Bartlett and Bruce Byrnes to its board
TradingMarkets.com – August 2

Boston Scientific Corp. announced that the Company’s Board of Directors has elected Katharine T. Bartlett and Bruce L. Byrnes as Directors. Bartlett is the A. Kenneth Pye Professor of Law at the Duke University School of Law, where she served as Dean from 2000-2007, leading the law school through a period of major strategic expansion. During Bartlett's tenure as Dean, the Law School was recognized by the American Bar Association five times for excellence in student leadership, leadership education and public interest programming. In addition, she was honored by Equal Justice Works in 2006 with its Dean of the Year award for support of public interest programs for law students, and by Duke University in 1994 as Scholar/Teacher of the Year.

 

Bronx Beep, son of anti-gay crusader, issues pro-gay proclamation
By Roy Edroso, The Village Voice – July 31

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. presented Demetrius McCord and [Equal Justice Works Alumna] Lisa Winters of the Bronx Community Pride Center with a proclamation celebrating Bronx Pride Day. According to his office, Diaz discussed with them "their shared agenda for the Bronx LGBT community, including topics such as equal access to borough services and future funding for LGBT initiatives," and said, "The LGBT community should receive all the services and resources available to Bronxites in general... My administration will work with them to achieve those goals."

 

Luca County foreclosure cases fall compared to last year
By Erica Blacke, Toledo Blade – July 31

After months of watching the number of foreclosure filings continue to creep up - in some months by a staggering amount--the Lucas County Clerk of Courts office is hopeful it has finally begun to see a downward trend. In line with national and regional numbers that say foreclosures are down, the county has, for the third month in a row, had fewer foreclosure filings this year than during the same time in 2008. Andrew Neuhauser , an attorney at ABLE in Toledo [and Equal Justice Works Fellow], is not as optimistic that Lucas County is working its way out of a crisis. Instead, he said, most local foreclosures are tied to unemployment. In the past few years, he said, most of the clients his agency helped were victims of high interest rates coming at the end of adjustable rate mortgages. More recent clients, however, are in need of help because they have either lost their jobs or are now at lower-paying ones.

 

Legal services offered for abandoned, orphaned and homeless immigrant children
By Saundra Amrhein, St. Petersburg Times – July 31

The nonprofit legal advocacy group Gulfcoast Legal Services in St. Petersburg Florida takes about 70 cases of immigrant children in a five-county area. Many are neglected, abused and abandoned, alone without legal status. “Some kids are traveling here by themselves, some did come here to be reunified with their families, and others were abandoned once they got here,” said Mariam Ahmedani , a Gulfcoast attorney [and Equal Justice Works Fellow] who was instrumental in formalizing the agency’s new pro bono program for immigrant children, called GLS Child. The program was unveiled during a reception on July 30. Experts say about 8,000 to 9,000 children a year come to the United States alone or unaccompanied by an adult. Often abused or victims of rape, many are put in detention centers without access to an attorney.

 

Leeds officials give family 28 days to clean up their yard
By Victoria L. Coman, The Birmingham News – July 29

The Leeds City Council has granted a Leeds couple a 28-day extension before addressing possible condemnation of their home. The city of Leeds has considered condemning Jerry and Emma Brasher's home, saying that it is a blight to their neighborhood. The Brashers have enlisted Legal Services of Alabama to help. Stephanie Blackburn [an Equal Justice Alumna,] and Bradley E. Byrne Jr., attorneys with Legal Services, told the council that volunteers, including churches, have stepped up wanting to help. They are working to make the Brashers better candidates for the Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham program. "We have a goal in sight and we're getting there, which is a major feat," Blackburn said.

 

Scooter squabble: veteran sues mall company over transportation dispute
By Jeremy Roebuck, The Monitor – July 28

David Guzman, a disabled Iraq war veteran, usually welcomes the extra attention he gets from zipping around the mall in his scooter because it has dramatically changed his life—but not everyone shares his enthusiasm. On Monday, Guzman, 43, filed suit against the corporate owners of McAllen’s La Plaza Mall and the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets in Mercedes claiming the shopping centers unfairly barred him from bringing his Segway onto their facilities. Those refusals violate his rights under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, said Corinna Spencer-Scheurich , an attorney with the South Texas Civil Rights Project [and Equal Justice Works Fellow] who is representing Guzman in his suit. “He’s just trying to live his life after serving his country in the best way he can,” she said. “Our disabled veterans and all people with disabilities deserve to fully use and enjoy public businesses, which is what federal and state laws require.”

 

Renew, reuse and represent
By Ursula Furi-Perry, Esq., Pre Law Magazine – Back to School 2009

For Nicole Prenoveau , affordable building and green building go hand-in-hand—and the recent 2008 Brooklyn Law School graduate is doing her part to serve green community economic development efforts and the legal needs of clients who are furthering those efforts. As an Equal Justice Works Fellow and staff attorney at Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, Prenoveau works with community organizations and nonprofits. “I am providing transactional legal representation to community development corporations that are pursuing green development,” she said.

 

San Francisco, gay groups want in on federal marriage suit
By Carlos Santoscoy, On Top Magazine – July 24

Last month gay rights groups altered course to back a federal gay marriage lawsuit likely headed to the Supreme Court; now they want to intervene as full-fledged plaintiffs in the suit. And so does the City of San Francisco, the AP reported. Three gay rights groups – the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – and the city of San Francisco have petitioned the court to intervene on behalf of the case. Previously the gay rights groups had called fighting the gay marriage ban in federal court a “very high-risk proposition.” “In our view, the best way to win marriage equality nationally is to continue working state by state, not to bring premature federal challenges that pose a very high risk of setting a negative U.S. Supreme Court precedent,” Shannon Minter, legal director of National Center for Lesbian Rights [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], told the AP.

 

Benton to add interpreters
By Kari Petrie, St. Cloud Times – July 22

Benton County Sherriff’s Office has agreed to change the way it communicates with deaf and hard of hearing people after a woman said she did not get an interpreter when she requested one. Mary Cervantes of Rice complained to the county after she was denied an interpreter on several occasions in 2007 while reporting crimes, her attorney [and Equal Justice Works Fellow] Emily Teplin said. The county has agreed to expand its pool of qualified interpreters so someone is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Benton County Chief Deputy Troy Heck said.

 

Federal authorities announce changes to controversial 287g program
By Sherry Greenfield, Maryland Gazette.Net – July 21

Federal immigration authorities last week announced 12 changes to the controversial 287g program to focus efforts on deporting illegal immigrants who have committed major drug offenses or violent crimes — changes Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said will not affect his office's participation in the program. "The changes are going in the right direction, however these are cosmetic changes that do not go far enough," said Michelle Mendez , the group's staff attorney [and Equal Justice Works Fellow]. "Despite them saying they are really focusing on violent offenders, we don't see how this will deter local law enforcement agencies from arresting people for minor traffic violations. At the end of the day, what we really would like to see is no more 287g, which we believe is a flawed program."

 

Consumer groups say gov't kept secret the dangers of cell phones in cars
By Lisa Stark and Kate Barrett, ABC News – July 21

In 2001, the state of New York passed a law aimed at helping drivers keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel. The state said drivers could use cell phones in transit if, and only if, they used a hands-free device to carry on the conversation.  But government documents released Tuesday suggest it doesn't matter whether commuters are holding their cell phones in hand or not: Data shows chatting while driving slows reaction time--a finding consumer groups now say the government never stressed at the expense of people's lives. "It is a travesty that [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] kept secret factual information that could have saved lives," said Public Citizen Attorney [and Equal Justice Works Fellow] Margaret Kwoka , who handled the case. "Although [the Freedom of Information Act] protects an agency's decision-making process, these documents reflect facts about safety risks that the public had every right to see." Video showing an interview with Margaret on this issue can be seen here, courtesy of CBS News.

 

Mill Valley sewer board not interested in full consolidation
By Jim Staats, Marin Independent Journal – July 20

While refusing to go the distance toward full consolidation of its various districts, leaders of a troubled Southern Marin sewage agency are willing to support a "functional collaboration" of services, staff and resources. The agency's board of commissioners, representing the six sewer districts of the Sewerage Agency of Southern Marin, agreed with some findings of a Marin County Civil Grand Jury report but rejected the main thrust: a call to merge the districts. Sejal Choksi, of San Francisco Baykeeper [and Equal Justice Works Alumna], said in opposing consolidation the board has framed the problem as one of local rights. "In reality, this is a problem that has been caused by allowing the financial interest of a few (the special districts and board members) to outweigh the public's interest," she said.

 

Obama goes to bat for Bush wiretap program
By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle – July 16

Obama is adamant about maintaining the secrecy of a wiretapping program authorized by George Bush, an administration lawyer told a federal judge in San Francisco on Wednesday. Although both the Bush and Obama administrations have refused to discuss the extent of phone company participation, several members of Congress have confirmed that the government obtained records from phone companies, the plaintiffs' lawyer, Kevin Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], told Walker.

 

Valley Med launches first program in nation to link doctors and lawyers to address diabetics' needs
By April Dembosky Contra Costa Times – July 14

Some times when Dr. Tyler Aguinaldo, a diabetes specialist, tries to advise patients on blood sugar monitoring and insulin injections, they push back with complaints about their boss cutting back on sick days or the government denying their disability claim. The doctor realized that if he was going to help patients manage their diabetes, he'd have to make an unlikely addition to the medical team: a lawyer. So Jessa Barnard , an attorney from the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley [and Equal Justice Works Fellow], joined Aguinaldo at Valley Medical to start the Diabetes Law Collaborative. "It is stressful and scary to choose between taking care of your health needs and keeping your job," Barnard said. When patients "come to their doctor, they may not know that they even have a legal issue, or how to get legal help or find a lawyer."

 

Four law students earn national awards
By La Monica Everett-Haynes, UA News – July 13

Four graduate students in Arizona earned AmeriCorps education awards to support summer work in public defender's offices – and all of them are studying at The University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law. The students were each named Equal Justice Works 2009 Summer Corps members , a title that went to 420 students across the nation, which provides a $1,000 AmeriCorps education award voucher while becoming part of a nationwide network and gaining critical experience in the legal field. The UA students selected are Esther Brilliant, Katherin Elgin, David Lopez-Negrete and Julian Ross. Each is now working for public defender offices and nonprofit organizations that aid underserved and low-income populations in Tucson, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Washington D.C.

 

A race between protection and deportation
By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times – July 13

Immigration attorneys say detention and the threat of deportation undermine the law that Congress passed in 2000 creating the U-visas, which are designed to bolster law enforcement's ability to investigate and prosecute certain crimes while offering protection to undocumented victims and their families. Natalie Nanasi, a staff attorney at Tahirih Justice Center in Virginia [and Equal Justice Works Alumna], represented such a case and said she has since lost touch with her client, who was deported in April 2008. Nanasi said it's frustrating to see how two branches of the Department of Homeland Security that deal with immigration cases do not coordinate cases as well as they should.

 

Official rips agencies' emergency housing prep
By Deborah Barfield Berry, Clarion-Ledger – July 9

Four years after hurricanes left thousands homeless along the Gulf Coast, federal, state and local agencies still aren't prepared to provide enough emergency housing for victims of major catastrophes, a top Homeland Security official said Wednesday. Reilly Morse, senior attorney for the Mississippi Center for Justice [and Equal Justice Works Katrina Fellow], said governments aren't fully prepared in case of another natural disaster. "Being ready means having enough affordable-housing stock in place to absorb displaced victims," said Morse, who also testified before the committee. "We're still not there."

 

Newsmakers & kudos
Los Angeles Business Journal – July 6

Abir LLP has named Abi Gnanadesigan and Neda Sargordan associates. Previously, Gnanadesigan was a law clerk at the firm. Sargordan was an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps fellow at the Public Law Center in Santa Ana.

 

No legal consensus on arrest at event
By Tanya Mannes, Union-Tribune – July 5

Deputy Marshall Abbott appeared at a June 26 party in Encinitas for Democratic congressional candidate Busby and asked the host, Shari Barman, 60, for her date of birth to fill out his report on someone's noise complaint about the party. After Barman demurred, Abbott restrained her and doused guests with pepper spray as they tried to free her. Kevin Keenan, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial counties [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], said in a statement: “It is not a crime to refuse to provide information that officers have no legal right to require, nor is it a crime to question an officer's right to seek such information.” The ACLU is also concerned about the use of force by the officer and whether he had a right to be on the property

 

Growing presence in the courtroom: cellphone data as witness
By Anne Barnard, The New York Times – July 5

The pivotal role that cellphone records played in these two prominent New York murder trials this year highlights the surge in law enforcement’s use of increasingly sophisticated cellular tracking techniques to keep tabs on suspects before they are arrested and build criminal cases against them by mapping their past movements. But cellphone tracking is raising concerns about civil liberties in a debate that pits public safety against privacy rights. “The cost of carrying a cellphone should not include the loss of one’s personal privacy,” said Catherine Crump, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union [and Equal Justice Works Alumna], which filed a lawsuit along with the Electronic Frontier Foundation after the Justice Department did not respond to a Freedom of Information request for data.

 

Facebook changes privacy controls so members feel safe to share
By Jon Swartz, USA Today – July 2

Facebook is streamlining its complicated privacy controls to give its millions of members more control over what photos, comments and personal details they share with friends, family and strangers on Facebook and beyond. The change is considered vital as the 5-year-old social-networking service further expands its user base — now at more than 200 million. Privacy experts lauded the move. Kevin Bankston, senior staff attorney at non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], says the new options solve a long-standing issue. Some Facebook users often shared provocative photos and off-color comments with workers and casual friends, creating awkward situations. "The new settings allow greater flexibility and control," he says. But he is concerned that even if users share intimate information only with close friends, it could leave them exposed if hackers break into accounts or the government requested access to the sensitive data.

 

Nearly a year in jail, stowaway freed
By Maria Sacchetti, The Boston Globe – June 30

In a relieving turn of events, Sunday Agbata, the Nigerian immigrant who was jailed for 11 months after he was ordered deported, has been freed. In initial accounts of Agbata’s case, it was discovered that immigration officials could not justify why they chose to detain him longer than the typical six-month period allotted for Customs to deport an immigrant after the order is finalized. Agbata’s lawyer [and Equal Justice Works Fellow] Andrea Saenz of the Boston-based Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project, who discovered his case during a routine visit to jail, said Agbata had been cooperative.

 

Pro bono partnership tops more than $1.4 million in homeowner grants for Hurricane Katrina survivors in Mississippi
DLA Piper News Release – June 30

A partnership of lawyers and volunteers from DLA Piper, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Mississippi Center for Justice announced today the attainment of more than $1.4 million in the Mississippi Development Authority homeowner assistance grants for residents of coastal Mississippi whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The legal assistance provided by the partnership represents a concerted effort towards removing the economic and social barriers that have restricted the access of Gulf Coast residents to legal advice for decades. “We feel privileged to be delivering such an important service to these asset-challenged communities and look forward to successfully guiding more clients through the grant process,” explained Crystal Utley, Mississippi Center for Justice pro bono counsel [and Equal Justice Works Alumna]. “Resolving heirs’ property issues remains a critical component in strengthening these recovering communities.”

 

San Francisco federal judge to hear latest legal challenge to Proposition 8
By Howard Mintz, Mercury News – June 29

The latest legal challenge to California's voter-approved ban on gay marriage may be a long way from the U.S. Supreme Court, but the first step on a possible path to the high court unfolds this week before a San Francisco federal judge.  The lawsuit, filed on behalf of two same-sex couples seeking the right to marry, argues that Proposition 8 violates equal protection rights by discriminating based on sexual orientation. Gay rights organizations, which have been reluctant to bring their cause to the federal courts because of worries about how the conservative U.S. Supreme Court might ultimately rule, have decided to jump into the fray. Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Gay and Lesbian Rights [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], said gay rights groups do support the federal legal challenge. ”We definitely want the case to succeed," said Minter, a lead lawyer in the state Supreme Court legal fight. Minter was also on the guest list for an official White House LGBT Event for June 29, 2009.

 

Thousands still in FEMA trailers
By Rick Jervis, USA Today – June 29

Four years since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, there are still nearly 3,000 mobile homes and trailers across the Gulf Coast housing victims of that disaster. In Louisiana, there are 2,100 families living in trailers, most of them homeowners struggling to rebuild their homes, according to figures released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Mississippi has 781 families in trailers. The federal government has made it a priority to vacate the temporary trailers, particularly after formaldehyde and toxics were found in the trailers. This month, FEMA and HUD announced programs to help extradite residents from the trailers, including $50 million in housing vouchers. Slow-moving federal housing funds, elderly and disabled residents unable to navigate the system, and a lack of affordable rental units have kept them from completely emptying, said [Equal Justice Works Alumna] Crystal Utley of the Mississippi Center for Justice, which provides legal advice to disaster victims. Escalating insurance rates in the affected areas have also made it difficult, she said.

 

Both sides of the fence
By Gabe Semenza, Victoria Advocate – June 28

Eloisa Tamez is the first Texan who refused to sign federal paperwork that would allow U.S. Homeland Security to build a border fence in her backyard. As hundreds of other Texas landowners like her soon learned, citizen defiance rarely trumps eminent domain. Now, as contractors erect the last portions of U.S. border fence in the Rio Grande Valley, Tamez speaks out again. [Equal Justice Works Fellow] Corinna Spencer-Scheurich is a lawyer with the South Texas Civil Rights Project, a nonprofit group that represents a number of Valley landowners who can't afford hefty legal defenses. She represents Tamez. "In the beginning, a lot of people were scared," the lawyer said. "It's already uneasy to live in an area that's so militarized."

 

Funds reduced by $3 million for state programs
By Marsha Sills, The Advocate – June 26

Federal funding cuts to AmeriCorps will bite into the number of service hours the program’s volunteers give back to the community. To offset a $3 million funding reduction, AmeriCorps programs in Louisiana were funded at levels less than last year and four programs were not funded at all. AmeriCorps, a part of the Corporation of National and Community Service, was created to spur volunteerism. In exchange for their service, participants receive educational awards to help pay college costs. This year, a reduction of federal funds coupled with an influx of programs created after the 2005 hurricane season meant less money to go around, said Brooke Smith, director of strategic partnerships with Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu’s office. Now some of these programs can not be sustained with the volume of funding needed.

 

Incisive Media launches new career web site for public interest law sector
Probono.net – June 26

Incisive Media today launched a new career Web site focused on job opportunities and career management in public interest law. The site, publicinterestlawjobs.com, is a sibling to Incisive’s popular lawjobs.com and features a variety of tools and content for both public interest law organizations and jobseekers interested in public interest law careers. The site also includes links to major public interest law groups, including Equal Justice Works, as well as pro bono news, training and opportunity content from probono.net. All services are free to both employers and job applicants. “People need legal help more than ever and there are so many opportunities to serve,” said Paul Igasaki, deputy CEO for Equal Justice Works. “Tools like publicinterestlawjobs.com and pslawnet.org connect lawyers who want to do public interest work with employers, efficiently and smoothly.”

 

Antioch schools, ACLU settle dispute
By Hilary Costa, East County Times – June 25

The Antioch school district and the American Civil Liberties Union have settled a dispute over discrimination and disproportionate discipline of minority students in city schools. As part of the settlement, the school district agreed to five years of monitoring by the ACLU. The ACLU contended that school records indicate "extreme disparities" between the suspension and expulsion rates for African-American and Latino students and their white peers. "There's been a series of studies conducted by educational researchers around the country that demonstrated that where you see disparities as extreme as in Antioch, the source for those disparities is differences in the way students are treated when they commit similar infractions," said [Equal Justice Works Alumna, and] the ACLU of Northern California's Greta Hansen.

 

Student loan bailout: you only have to be broke for ten years
By Elie Mystal, Above The Law – June 23

An article in the Above The Law blog is acting as a reminder to law students about the College Cost Reduction and Access Act that goes into effect on July 1. The act, passed in 2007, will cap monthly loan payments according to income and forgive student debt balances after a certain amount of time, and will help benefit those going into public interest careers. “There are a lot of things that are making it tough for new graduates, with the tight job market and the deferrals, said Heather Jarvis, a senior program manager at Equal Justice Works, an organization that encourages attorneys to undertake public interest law careers. “But there has never been a better time to graduate, as far as student loans.”

 

Family coping: Ruiz family to keep house, thanks to ABLE
By Jonathan Walsh, CBS Toledo – June 22

The Ruiz family was just steps away from losing their home to foreclosure. Then Abelino Ruiz, the father, heard about Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, also known as ABLE.  ABLE helps with a number of issues, including foreclosures, eviction defense, loan modifications and more—best yet, ABLE does not charge for their services. Both ABLE and the Legal Aid of Western Ohio are funded by various government agencies and private contributions helping attorneys fight for you. "People who are in the greater Toledo area have it as good if not better than any other place in the country because there's a wealth of resources available," said Andrew Neuhauser, ABLE foreclosure attorney [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus].

 

Will Florida recognize gay adoptions from other states?
By Sarah Lundy, Orlando Sentinel – June 22

A lesbian couple living together in Washington state chose to each have a child, and legally adopt the other’s baby. Since then the couple has moved to Florida and separated, and are now involved in a bitter custody battle over the two daughters. The issue is whether Florida, the only state with a blanket ban on gay adoption, must recognize another state’s adoption laws—including gay adoption laws. One of the women’s attorneys [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], Shannon Minter, said cases like his client's are emerging across the country. "Today people are so mobile, and it's so common for families to move from one state to another," he said. "We wanted to make sure they are not stripped of their parental status just by moving across the Florida state line."

 

Gay activists impatient with Obama and Congress
By David Crary, Associated Press – June 19

Frustrated gay-rights leaders want President Barack Obama to be far more forceful in supporting their political goals, but they also fault the Democratic-led Congress and vow to step up lobbying efforts in hopes of seeing campaign promises fulfilled. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights [and Equal Justice Alumnus], said the responsibility for inaction on gay-rights priorities lies with both Obama and Congress. "It's shocking to realize we still live a country where gay and lesbian people can't serve openly in the military, have no federal protections in the private workplace, and same-sex couples are entitled to no benefits under federal law," Minter said. "There's so much anger in our community. We expect the president and Congress to move forward."

 

ACLU suit to challenge isolation prisons
By Dean Kuipers, Los Angeles Times – June 18

Civil rights activists plan to file a lawsuit contesting the transfer of a Tunisian American prisoner to a federal prison facility that some inmates have dubbed "Little Guantanamo." The suit by the American Civil Liberties could be the first of many challenging the secretive units, which drastically restrict outside contact. The suit, along with similar suits being prepared by the Center for Constitutional Rights, is deeming the specialized prisons an unwarranted expansion of the war on terrorism. "These are political prisons," says Rachel Meeropol, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights [and Equal Justice Works Alumna]. "These people are being targeted to limit their ability to communicate with the outside world, and to limit their ability to be political people."

 

America accused of spying on millions of emails
By Bobbie Johnson, The Guardian – June 18

American intelligence agencies have been accused of spying on the emails of millions of Americans, including those of former president Bill Clinton. In the latest in a series of intelligence scandals to hit Washington, details of a secretive email surveillance scheme are beginning to come to light - with fresh allegations reported in the New York Times. "Ordinary Americans' most private emails have been and still are being intercepted in bulk and then stored in secret NSA databases, without probable cause," said Kevin Bankston, a lawyer with the campaign group Electronic Frontier Foundation [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus].

 

Want a job? Hand over your e-mail login
By Declan McCullagh, CBS News – June 18

The city of Bozeman, Montana has been instructing all job applicants to divulge their usernames and passwords for “any Internet-based chat rooms, social clubs, or forums, to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, Myspace, etc.” The assistant city manager, Chuck Winn, justifies this policy by classifying it as a safeguard against hiring dangerous people, and just another step in a background check process. An attorney for the Electric Frontier Foundation [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], Kevin Bankston, questioned the city’s choice to ask for usernames and passwords. "I think its indefensibly invasive and likely illegal as a violation of the First Amendment rights of job applicants," said Bankston.  Since the time of press, the city has rescinded this policy.

 

Edison YMCA ready to begin exchange program in Mumbai
By Lalita Aloor Amuthan, MyCentralJersey.com – June 17

Members of the Edison branch YMCA can look forward to exchange programs with fellow members at a YMCA in Mumbai, India — thanks to a recently-forged international partnership with the Bombay YMCA. The Edison-Mumbai partners will work together on service projects, which are of common interests to both YMCAs; the partnership also will facilitate an intercultural exchange and the sharing of news through the Internet. "While we are in the early stages of our relationship, we hope to establish exchange programs and service projects that involve our youth, YMCA staff, YMCA volunteers and members," said Veena Iyer, a YMCA board member [and Equal Justice Works Alumna].

 

Loss of TennCare coverage leaves mom with prospect of nursing home
By Mariann Martin, Jackson Sun – June 17

The family of a paralyzed mother-of-three who has been threatened with losing her insurance coverage for in-home nursing, contacted the Tennessee Justice Center for help; the center has in turn sent out a news release to publicize Williamson’s case and raise awareness about long-term home health care. Michelle Johnson, managing attorney at the TJC [and Equal Justice Works Alumna] said she was not hopeful that Williamson’s status could be changed. “We represent a lot of folks who are losing their home health,” Johnson said. “I think it is unlikely that she will be able to keep her coverage. But we are trying to educate the public that the government has failed to keep their promises.”

 

New York Assembly passes law vacating prostitution convictions for sex trafficking victims
Sex Worker’s Project at the Urban Justice Center Press Release – June 16

The New York State Assembly took a critical step toward enabling victims of human trafficking to wipe away prostitution convictions resulting from coerced involvement in sex work. “Even after they have escaped their abusers, it is extremely hard for people who were trafficked into sex work to start a new life with a long “rap sheet” of prostitution convictions,” added Sienna Baskin, a staff attorney with the SWP [and Equal Justice Works Alumna] who worked with a broad coalition of anti-trafficking advocates to build support for the bill.

 

New identification law draws fire from foes
By Milton Kent, WYPR News – June 15

The ability of Latino and Hispanic immigrants to find work may be severely restricted by a new Maryland law designed to secure the state by requiring driver’s license applicants to prove they are in this country legally. Michelle Mendez, a staff attorney with CASA of Maryland [and Equal Justice Works Alumna], says the law may force some well-intentioned immigrants to make difficult and possibly unlawful choices. "They have the same commitments that anyone of us has, but now they're being forced to do those basic things under illegal situations if they can't get a Maryland driver's license."

 

U.S. Court weighs e-mail privacy, again
By Thomas Claburn, InformationWeek – June 12

Civil liberties groups are once again trying to persuade the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that e-mail messages deserve the same privacy protection as telephone calls. Back in 2005, the government obtained an order from an Ohio judge directing internet service provider NuVox Communications to turn over electronic messages belonging to appellant Steven Warshak. On Wednesday, June 10, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the ACLU of Ohio, and the Center for Democracy and Technology filed an amicus brief in favor of Warshak. In a statement, EFF senior staff attorney [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Kevin Bankston says that the Justice Department conducted what amounts to a "back-door wiretap" when it intercepted six months of Warshak's e-mail without a warrant. "Thankfully, this abuse has given the appeals court yet another opportunity to clarify that the Fourth Amendment protects the privacy of e-mail against secret government snooping, even when it's in the hands of an e-mail provider," he said.

 

Search policy leads to arrest, controversy
By Tim McGlone, The Virginian-Pilot – June 12

Although the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbids unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, a Homeland Security policy allows agents to search any electronic device carried by international travelers. Just this week, the American Civil Liberties Union announced that it might challenge the policy. "These highly intrusive government searches into a traveler's most private information, without any reasonable suspicion, are a threat to the most basic privacy rights guaranteed in the Constitution," Catherine Crump, an ACLU attorney [and Equal Justice Works Alumna], said in a statement.

 

Groups seek edit to Prop 8 decision
By Matthew S. Bajiko, Bay Area Reporter Online – June 11

LGBT legal groups are asking the state Supreme Court to fix what they say is a factual error in its decision upholding Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in California. Last week the groups filed a petition for rehearing for the limited purpose of asking the court to correct its mistake, not to rehear the entire case, said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights [and Equal Justice works Alumnus]. At issue is the court's assertion in the 6-1 ruling that a racially discriminatory initiative challenged on federal grounds in Mulkey v. Reitman was not challenged as an improper amendment under state law, which was the basis on which numerous cities, municipalities, and LGBT groups challenged Prop 8.

 

The right to divorce
By Marcelle S. Fischler, New York Times – June 6

A lesbian couple married in Massachusetts in 2005, had a child together, but then encountered marital problems and decided to separate in late 2007. However, while seeking legal advice in their state of residency, New York, they realized that since gay marriage isn’t allowed in their jurisdiction, neither is gay divorce. The divorce came on the heels of a decision in February 2008, by Acting Supreme Court Justice Laura E. Drager in Manhattan, allowing the divorce proceedings in another same-sex case to move forward, requiring the recognition of a same-sex marriage that had taken place in Canada. There has since been a trickle of gay divorces in New York. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus], said those couples continue to be “entitled to be treated as married in every respect, including being able to go to court and dissolve their marriage.”

 

Hurricane victims can buy trailers for as little as $1
By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times – June 4

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday that it would allow hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast still living in government-supplied trailers to buy their temporary homes for as little as $1. Housing advocates agree that the assistance will help in the short term but are divided over its long-term merits. While Tuggle called it "a huge step in the right direction," Reilly Morse, senior attorney with the Mississippi Center for Justice [and Equal Justice Works Katrina Fellow], said he would prefer to see more permanent housing solutions. "Both of these measures sound like they're just buying time," Morse said. He said that many people who lived in the trailers were poor, elderly or disabled. The recent economic downturn has made things worse.

 

Stowaway from Nigeria imprisoned in Mass. months longer than courts suggest
By Maria Sacchetti, The Boston Globe – June 2

Sunday Agbata came to the United States as a stowaway on a ship from West Africa. When they arrived in America, Agbata was turned over to federal authorities and ordered to be deported in July 2008 to his native Nigeria. Almost a year later, Sunday Agbata is still in jail. The Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that six months is a reasonable amount of time to hold immigrants, raising the questions about why the federal government keeps some immigrants, like Agbata, longer than they have been ordered. "It's extremely upsetting to think that in the United States we could hold people with no end in sight," said Andrea Sáenz , a lawyer at the Boston-based Political Asylum/Immigration Representation Project [and Equal Justice Works Alumna], who discovered Agbata's case during a routine visit to jail. "ICE has never said that Sunday is dangerous. They've never said he's a flight risk. All they've said is, 'Don't worry, we're about to deport him.' And now they've been saying that for 10 months."

 

Protesters seek clarification on hurricane evacuation policies
By Jeremy Roebuck, The Monitor – June 1

Community activists renewed their call Monday for federal officials to close South Texas' immigration checkpoints in the event of a mandatory hurricane evacuation. Checking the legal status of every evacuee would discourage people from leaving in advance of a storm and slow down the overall process for others, the migrant rights advocates said protesting on the first day of the 2009 hurricane season. "We think this could cause a tragedy of enormous proportions," said Corinna Spencer-Scheurich , an attorney with the South Texas Civil Rights Project [and Equal Justice Works Fellow]. "We have been working to get a clear and safe answer to the government's policies on hurricane evacuation."

 

Public-interest sector getting a little crowded
By Karen Sloan, National Law Journal – June 1

Sending incoming associates into temporary public-interest jobs has been a fiscally smart trend for law firms trying to handle the influx of young attorneys in this economic downturn. However, some law students preparing for public-interest careers worry that law firms are hurting their prospects by flooding the already harsh hiring market. Paul Igasaki, the deputy chief executive officer of Equal Justice Works, said that public-interest organizations have struggled with funding reductions from interest on lawyers' trust accounts (IOLTA), lower donations and fewer grants, limiting their ability to hire. These law firm deferrals add yet another hardship to the public-interest students of 2009. "There will be an impact" on recently graduated public-interest students, "but exactly how much and in what way, it's a little too early to tell," Igasaki said.

 

In from the cold: making homeless shelters accessible to people with disabilities in the nation's capital
By Amber Harding, Clearing House Review – May-June Edition

In this story, Amber Harding discusses the work she did during and after her time as an Equal Justice Works Fellow in 2003. Her goal was to bring D.C.’s homeless shelters into compliance with federal disability rights laws—thereby increasing accessibility for those with disabilities. Working with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, under their Shelter Access Project, Amber helped testify with, and on behalf of, clients who were being denied the attention, care, and justice they deserved. Amber and the Legal Clinic were able to convince the government to enact system reform—providing services and updating shelters, rather than closing them down for inadequacies.  Viewing this article requires a subscription.

 

Progress seen at Sheriff's Department
By Kristina Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune – May 30

Two years after a team of outside investigators finished reviewing a string of deadly shootings by San Diego County sheriff's deputies, the auditors released a follow-up report congratulating the department for making improvements to its use-of-force policies. Auditors were less enthused with the department's progress on developing an early-intervention system, or a database for tracking deputies who show patterns of risky behavior. Sheriff's officials said the system was supposed to be integrated into the new records-management system, but the county's financial crisis has prevented them from moving forward. “That's the most important management and accountability tool for departments, so it's no small matter that that's the thing they are behind on,” said Kevin Keenan, the ACLU's executive director in San Diego [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus].

 

Gay groups call federal marriage suit premature
By Lisa Leff, Associated Press – May 27

A coalition of gay rights groups said Wednesday that a federal same-sex marriage lawsuit brought by two high-profile lawyers is premature and they'd rather work through state legislatures and voters to win wedding rights. "In our view, the best way to win marriage equality nationally is to continue working state by state, not to bring premature federal challenges that pose a very high risk of setting a negative U.S. Supreme Court precedent," said Shannon Minter, legal director of National Center for Lesbian Rights [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus].

 

Internet threatened by censorship, secret surveillance, and cybersecurity laws
By Stephen Lendman, Atlantic Free Press – May 26

Congress and state legislatures have repeatedly tried to censor free speech, allegedly regarded as indecent, obscene, hateful, terrorist-related, or harmful to minors, most recently under the Bush Administration.  According to Electronic Frontier Foundation's senior staff attorney [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Kevin Bankston: Obama's "Justice Department (is continuing) the Bush administration's cover-up of the National Security Agency's dragnet surveillance of millions of Americans, and insisting that the much-publicized warrantless wiretapping program is still a 'secret' that cannot be reviewed by the courts...." because doing so would harm national security.

 

Barbour urges increase in recovery aid
By Deborah Barfield Berry, Clarion-Ledger Washington Bureau – May 21

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour called on federal officials this week to increase hurricane recovery aid to the state, emphasizing the need for subsidies for affordable housing. Thousands of seniors and low-income residents were left homeless after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Barbour said. Housing advocates complained that not enough was spent on housing for low-income families, particularly for more affordable rental units. [Equal Justice Works Katrina Fellow] Reilly Morse, senior attorney for the Mississippi Center for Justice, complained the state spent only 54 percent of the federal block grant money it received for disaster aid on housing programs, which disproportionately impacted low-income and minority residents.

 

Audit: Apartments slight disabled; No recent buildings meet rules, it says
By Katy Reckdahl, Times-Picayune – May 22

No apartment buildings constructed in the New Orleans area in recent years were found to be fully accessible for people with disabilities in an audit conducted by the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center and released Thursday. The federal Fair Housing Act requires that in all rental residential buildings with more than four apartments that were built since March 1991, ground-floor apartments and those reachable by an elevator must be accessible without barriers. Courts have ruled that violating the federal design standards amounts to discrimination against renters with disabilities. But very few violation cases make it to court because this type of discrimination does not involve deliberately treating someone badly, said [Equal Justice Works Fellow] Morgan Williams, a lawyer who worked on the audit for the Fair Housing Action Center. "People think it's just the way it is," he said.

Ashcroft, Mueller can't be sued over abuse: top court
By Steven Edwards, Canwest News Source – May 18

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that FBI Director Robert Mueller and ex-attorney general John Ashcroft are among Bush-era officials who can’t be sued over alleged abuse of a Pakistani Muslim jailed in New York as a terror suspect. “The Supreme Court is making it harder for plaintiffs (who) bring discrimination claims against high-level government officials to get into court,” said [Equal Justice Alumna] Rachel Meeropol, attorney with New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights in the so-called Turkmen vs. Ashcroft class-action lawsuit that involves Toronto residents Akhil Sachdeva, an Indian-born Hindu, and Pakistani-born Shakir Baloch.

 

ACLU sues Knox, Nashville school systems over blocking access to Web sites about gay/lesbian issues
By Lola Alapo and Chloe White, The Knoxville News-Sentinel – May 18

Knox County and Nashville's school systems were sued Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union, which accuses the systems of unconstitutionally blocking student access to educational Web sites about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. "Allowing access to Web sites that present one side of an issue while blocking sites that present the other side is illegal viewpoint discrimination," [Equal Justice Works Alumna] Catherine Crump, ACLU staff attorney, said in a statement. "This discriminatory censorship does nothing to make students safe from material that may actually be harmful, but only hurts them by making it impossible to access important educational material."

 

Transportation workers can be watched during drug tests, court rules
By Del Wilber, Washington Post – May 15

A federal appeals court ruled today that some transportation workers may be watched while taking urine tests that screen for drug abuse. [Equal Justice Works board member and] U.S. Court of Appeals Judge David S. Tatel wrote that regulators "acted neither arbitrarily nor capriciously in concluding that the growth of an industry devoted to circumventing drug tests, coupled with returning employees' higher rate of drug use and heightened motivation to cheat, presented an elevated risk of cheating on return-to duty and follow-up tests."

 

Federal agents take over Novato Sanitary District office
By Brent Ainsworth, Marin Independent Journal – May 15

Federal agents shut down the offices of the Novato Sanitary District on Thursday as part of a criminal investigation into apparent environmental issues. [Equal Justice Works Alumna] Sejal Choksi of San Francisco Baykeeper, an organization that monitors pollution in the bay, said her group received an anonymous tip that started the inquiry.

 

Bridge battle lands in court
By Todd Spangler and John Gallagher, Detroit Free Press – May 15

The battle over who gets to build a second span crossing the Detroit River landed in court Thursday, with the private owner and operators of the Ambassador Bridge arguing that supporters of a proposed rival span are protecting predominately white neighborhoods while sacrificing a community of poor Hispanics and blacks in southwest Detroit. Former state Rep. [and Equal Justice Alumnus] Steve Tobocman, who represented the area for six years, called the filing and the inclusion of nonprofit community groups as plaintiffs "a PR stunt" by Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun.

 

Advocates sue MD over long waits for aid approval
Associated Press - May 12

Advocates looking to improve the delivery of aid for the poor have filed a suit on their behalf, saying they have been waiting longer than the 30-day limit required by federal law. Laura Redman, an attorney with the New York-based National Center for Law and Economic Justice [and Equal Justice Works Alumna], said her group has also sued over delays in Indiana and in several New York counties. The center is also involved in the suit against Maryland, which she said "has a long history of not addressing delays."

 

Latino legal center marks 40-year anniversary
By Matt O'Brien, Contra Costa Times – April 30

Finding a Spanish-speaking lawyer to defend against exploitation by a landlord or employer in the diverse East Bay may seem easy today, but not 40 years ago, when a group of students and attorneys started volunteering at Centro Legal de la Raza. Lately, the center has also had to adjust to growing concerns from undocumented residents living across the region. Cassandra Lopez , a current [Equal Justice Works] fellow at the center, said her office is the only East Bay organization that provides free services to people detained in local jails for immigration violations.

 

In the Life: Revising Gender
Michael Billy – April 2009

This Month, IN THE LIFE examines the controversy raging over the inclusion of Gender Identity Disorder in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. National Center for Transgender Equality Executive Director Mara Keisling and political theorist, Paisley Currah, discuss legislation designed to protect trans-people from discrimination at work and in gender-specific public spaces. Equal Justice Works Alumnus Shannon Minter of NCLR is featured.

 

Raleigh event to offer free groceries, health screenings
By Stacy Davis, WRAL – April 27

Triangle area businesses, churches and community organizations are teaming up to help the less fortunate during Raleigh's first annual Convoy of Hope. More than 40,000 pounds of groceries will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. The event will also offer medical and dental screenings, a job fair, haircuts, children's activities and live entertainment. "They are two hefty bags full of groceries that we will give out per person,” said [Equal Justice Works Fellow] Cary Brege , who works with the group. "It's all free. We want people to know that."

 

US Attorney OK'd GPS to track cell phones
Associated Press – April 23

The American Civil Liberties Union says the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey under Christopher Christie, now a GOP gubernatorial candidate, tracked the whereabouts of citizens through their cell phones without warrants. ACLU lawyer [and Equal Justice Works Alumna] Catherine Crump argues that government tracking without a search warrant showing probable cause is a violation of the Constitution.

 

CNN's Gerri Willis covers Equal Justice Works
Gerri Willis, CNN – April 22

In a spot on CNN, Gerri Willis covers Equal Justice Works' part in the College Cost Reduction & Access Act that is to be fully implemented on July 1, 2009. Willis answers a viewer's question regarding debt relief and forgiveness for graduated law students, and directs them to Equal Justice Works' website.

 

Groups seek to overturn renewal of mine permit
By Steve Keenan, The Montgomery Herald – April 22

Citing unacceptable threats to local communities, world-class whitewater rapids and historic sites, the Sierra Club and the Ansted Historic Preservation Council (AHPC) continued their opposition of a permit for the 463.8-acre mine site located between the New and Gauley rivers. On Thursday, the two groups mailed an appeal to the W.Va. Surface Mine Board, according to [Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Derek Teaney of the Appalachian Center for the Economy and the Environment. They insist that Powellton Coal is violating the Clean Water Act by dumping illegal levels of toxic aluminum, iron and suspended solids into Rich Creek, a trout stream that feeds into the Gauley River.

 

Maine PUC can't regulate prisoner phone call rate
By David Sharp, Associated Press – April 22

The Maine Public Utilities Commission doesn't have the power to intervene in a dispute over phone rates paid by state prison inmates, the state supreme court ruled Tuesday. In an unanimous ruling, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court said state agencies don't have authority over each other, so the Public Utilities Commission doesn't have the right to regulate the phone system run by state's corrections system. The decision is a setback for inmates, their families and lawyers who complained of exorbitant phone rates charged by state prisons. Complaints about prison phone rates are common across the country, and it's tempting for states with budget problems to raise phones rates on prisoners and their families, said [Equal Justice Works Alumna] Rachel Meeropol from the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights. But prisoners and their families are fighting back, with some success.

 

Government helps low-income grad students pay for school
By Kim Clark, U.S. News & World Report – April 22

Today's economy means higher tuition and fewer scholarships for graduate study. But starting this fall, grad students will get a big break repaying federally backed loans because they'll be able to ask the government to let them pay a percentage of their income instead of a standard fixed monthly amount. "Loan repayment options and forgiveness are getting better and better every year," says [Equal Justice Works Fellow] Corinna Spencer-Scheurich, an attorney for the South Texas Civil Rights Project in San Juan, Texas. "People should follow their hearts. It is possible," she says. Heather Jarvis, who has analyzed law school LRAPs for Equal Justice Works, a Washington-based nonprofit that supports public-interest attorneys, found that some schools' LRAPs have strict rules limiting the number of grads who can get help.

 

'Torture Memos' embolden liberal groups
By Josh Gerstein, Politico – April 17

President Obama’s decision to release the so-called "torture memos" has emboldened civil-liberties activists and top Democrats in Congress to step up their demands for ever broader disclosure of the most closely held secrets of the Bush anti-terror fight. Liberal groups are seizing on the graphic memos, saying Obama has set a powerful precedent for the release of other anti-terror tactics, including warrantless wiretapping. "Certainly, this demonstrates what we all already know. Which is the administration can, when it chooses to, declassify things and share them with the public. They can and should do so when it comes to the memos regarding warrantless surveillance," [Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Kevin Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation said. "I think the same exceptional circumstances there apply here."

 

Senate panel plans hearing on wiretapping
By Pamela Hess, Associated Press – April 17

The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Thursday that the panel would hold a hearing to get to the bottom of reports that the National Security Agency improperly tapped into the domestic communications of American citizens. [Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Kevin Bankston, an attorney with the privacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the revelation shows the "NSA surveillance program is not narrowly targeted against international terrorist communications as the government has claimed, but actually sweeps in masses of domestic communications from telecommunications companies fiber optic networks."

 

Willets Pt. rallies under Citi’s shadow
By Vladic Ravich, Queens Tribune – April 16

Critics of the Willets Point redevelopment plan used the Mets season opener to draw attention to their cause, rallying in front of Citi Field on Monday to protest the ongoing relocation efforts in the area. “The issue today is that the city has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars in low interest financing to build Citi Field, which is great, but in a time of economic crisis to have the city neglect the most vulnerable people in this relocation project is not acceptable to us and the group,” said Ted De Barbieri, an [Equal Justice Works] fellow at Urban Justice Center, who is working with the Willets Point Defense Committee.

 

Four Bay Area immigrants' rights groups call on government to revise immigration enforcement practices
Asian Law Caucus – April 15

Four Bay Area immigrants' rights organizations spoke out today against the federal government's current immigration enforcement practices. The four organizations - the Asian Law Caucus, the UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic, the Centro Legal de la Raza, and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center - provide legal representation and advocate on behalf of Bay Area non-citizens detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, also known as ICE. "The Asian Law Caucus currently represents two citizens in immigration detention," said Theodore Roethke , Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Asian Law Caucus. "Around ten of our current citizen clients were in ICE custody at one point or another," he added. Cassandra Lopez , Equal Justice Works Fellow at the Centro Legal de la Raza, said that even when detainees are not citizens or permanent residents, they are often arrested after being racially profiled.

 

Ramey Ko reacts to Rep. Brown's remarks
By Jenny Hoff, KXAN – April 12

The Texas Capitol was filled with the commotion surrounding one house members’ comments made during a hearing over the Voter ID bill. The remarks Rep. Brown made during the hearing of an already controversial debate resulted in an increased interest. These now infamous words have forced [Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Ramey Ko, the receiving end of the statements, to speak out in response. Ko stopped by the KXAN studio to open up about the incident that made Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update

 

Law students get real-world experience
By Ana Veciana-Suarez, Miami Herald – April 11

Started in 2008, the Health and Elder Law Clinic was founded to give UM law students practical experience in real cases while helping poor clients who couldn't otherwise afford a lawyer. UM students also do a fair amount of immigration law for elderly clients simply because of South Florida's demographics, says Olga Porven , the Equal Justice Works Fellow who supervises the students. Those cases involve filing for residency, applying for a green card or naturalization proceedings under a disability waiver. Representing the poor and elderly has given students a different perspective on their law careers.

 

White House opts for secrecy, defends Bush-era policies
By Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle – April 7

The Obama administration is again invoking government secrecy in defending the Bush administration's wiretapping program, this time against a lawsuit by AT&T customers who claim federal agents illegally intercepted their phone calls and gained access to their records. [Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Kevin Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a lawyer for the customers, said Monday the filing was disappointing in light of the Obama presidential campaign's "unceasing criticism of Bush-era secrecy and promise for more transparency."

 

Iowa's same-sex marriage ruling stirs California debate
By Josh Richman, Contra Costa Times – April 3

Same-sex marriage advocates in California crowed Friday as the Iowa Supreme Court overturned that state's law banning the practice. National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director [and Equal Justice Works Alumnus] Shannon Minter, who argued before the California Supreme Court last month, acknowledged Friday that the two cases' issues "are not identical, but the Iowa Supreme Court emphasizes that equal protection is an essential principle that defines the 'blueprint' of our government, which is the foundation of our argument in the Prop 8 case."