Access to Justice

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2023

They Are Mentally Ill; Some States Want Them Off Death Row

By Marco Poggio

Death rows across the country are filled with people suffering from severe forms of mental illness. Taking action in an area where the U.S. Supreme Court has not ventured, some states are now enacting or considering laws that would exclude those prisoners from capital punishment.

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Growing Movement Teaches Cops To Confront Misconduct

By Alison Knezevich

After a string of high-profile incidents including the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, a growing number of law enforcement agencies are participating in a peer intervention program designed to empower police officers to step in when they see something that isn’t right, and to teach about the psychology of why people don’t always intervene.

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All Access

New Texas A2J Leader On Plans To Narrow The Justice Gap

By Lynn LaRowe

The new executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Commission says she's "hit the ground running" as the commission tackles big issues like limited-scope representation and the use of paraprofessionals to provide legal assistance to those unable to afford an attorney.

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NY Gov. Signs Bill To Seal Certain Criminal Records

By Patrick Hoff

New Yorkers convicted of certain crimes will have their conviction records automatically sealed after a set number of years, with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday signing a bill aimed at curbing discrimination against formerly incarcerated people and boosting employment.

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Analysis

Activists Optimistic Justices Will Uphold Abuser Gun Ban

By Katie Buehler

Gun and domestic violence advocates are optimistic the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold a federal statute prohibiting people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms, saying the justices during oral argument seemed to have a consensus about the regulation's importance and that the Fifth Circuit erred in striking it down.

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Justices Split In Denial Of Solitary Confinement Challenge

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court split along ideological lines Monday when it declined to review a Seventh Circuit ruling that an Illinois prison's decision to deprive an inmate in solitary confinement of exercise for three years did not violate his constitutional rights — a ruling the court's liberal wing said was an "indisputable" error.

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Perspectives

The Meaning Of 'Bail' Has Strayed Far From Its Legal Roots

As the pretrial system faces increasing scrutiny nationwide, states must recognize that imposing financial bail conditions harms communities, and that pretrial release practices must be realigned with foundational American legal principles — including the idea that money-based detention violates due process, says Matt Alsdorf at the Center for Effective Public Policy.

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Legal Aid Atty To Lead Criminal-Side Policy, Litigation Work

By Andrea Keckley

A New York Legal Aid Society attorney is taking charge of its criminal defense practice's special litigation unit amid the group's fight to challenge incarceration, policing and forensic practices, and push for policy reform.

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DC Legal Aid Providers Revive Eviction Assistance Program

By Jack Rodgers

Legal Aid D.C., several legal service providers and 19 law firms across Washington, D.C., are relaunching an eviction assistance program after efforts to remove residents from their homes more than doubled this year, and as a COVID-19-era eviction moratorium ends, the group announced Thursday.

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Perspectives

Learning From San Francisco's Jury Pay Pilot Program

A pilot program in San Francisco shows that increasing compensation for lower-income jurors can foster more diverse juries and boost access to justice — and provides lessons for establishing similar projects in jurisdictions around the U.S., say San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and Public Defender Mano Raju.

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