Access to Justice

SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2023

Family's 10-Year Eviction Saga Highlights NYC Housing Crisis

By Katryna Perera

When the Solis family was suddenly evicted from an illegal Brooklyn sublease nearly a decade ago, they relied on the kindness — and ultimately the legal acumen — of a neighbor, who recently helped them secure a $275,000 settlement from their former landlord. Their case demonstrates the importance of legal representation in housing matters, and the continuing severity of the city’s housing crisis.

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NY Top Court To Weigh Courtroom Closure's Constitutionality

By Marco Poggio

New York’s highest court is set to hear arguments later this month over whether a Manhattan judge violated a murder suspect’s constitutional right to a public trial by ordering her courtroom to be sealed in response to what she called “intimidating” behavior by audience members observing the case.

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All Access

DC Courts' First Pro Bono Leader Looks To Expand Services

By Katie Buehler

The District of Columbia courts system announced the hiring of its first-ever pro bono program manager two weeks ago, welcoming an attorney with more than two decades of pro bono experience who will help shape the role and expand the availability of pro bono and affordable legal services to D.C. litigants.

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Ark. Jail's 'Postcard-Only' Policy Axed As Unconstitutional

By Marco Poggio

An Arkansas federal judge struck down as unconstitutional a county jail's policy allowing inmates to only receive information from the outside world by means of 3-by-5-inch postcards while banning books and magazines.

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DC Circ. Orders Due Process Analysis For Gitmo Detainee

By Katie Buehler

The full D.C. Circuit has reversed part of a 2020 panel ruling that a Guantánamo Bay military prisoner, who is being detained indefinitely for supporting al-Qaida, lacks any constitutional due process rights, and ordered a lower court to revisit his substantive due process challenge to his ongoing imprisonment.

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Justices' Dissent Rips La. Brady Ruling In Death Penalty Case

By Ivan Moreno

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan said Monday they would have voted to review the case of Louisiana death row inmate David Brown, who was convicted of killing a prison guard in a case where prosecutors failed to disclose a potentially exculpatory confession from another convict until after sentencing.

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DOJ Says No Right To Counsel In Immigrant Bond Hearings

By Britain Eakin

The Biden administration told a D.C. federal judge that no constitutional right to counsel exists for detained immigrants in bond proceedings as it tries to undercut what remains of a lawsuit alleging several immigration detention centers are hindering attorney access.

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Mich. Justice Suggests Pro Bono Fee Awards Go To State Bar

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Michigan Supreme Court justice on Tuesday floated a rule that would send fee awards in pro bono cases to the state bar association instead of the lawyers involved, as Honigman LLP asked the court to find that its fee award should not have been decimated because it represented a pair of journalists for free.

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Perspectives

Lessons On Litigating Wrongful Death Cases Against The BOP

With the process of litigating wrongful death claims against the Federal Bureau of Prisons littered with roadblocks, attorneys at HWG share some key lessons for navigating these challenges to ensure families can pursue justice for loved ones who died in custody.

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Law360's 2023 Access To Justice Editorial Advisory Board

Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2023 Access to Justice Editorial Advisory Board.

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