Access to Justice

SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 2024

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The Issues Access To Justice Leaders Are Watching In 2024

By Marco Poggio

A surge in evictions, domestic violence and child poverty last year has heightened the demand for legal services to help low- and middle-income families, and worsened a shortage of attorneys to assist in matters ranging from housing to healthcare to benefits and beyond in 2024.

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Pro Bono Spotlight

Quinn Emanuel Aids 'Sewer Service' Debt Collection Fight

By Tracey Read

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP recently teamed up with two legal aid groups to notch a major win from a New York appeals court making it easier for consumers to challenge judgments they may have been hit with due to fraudulent service — or so-called sewer service — of debt collection complaints.

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Nonprofit, Paralegals Sue To Take Down NC Legal Advice Law

By Travis Bland and Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina nonprofit is challenging a state law banning anyone but a fully licensed attorney from offering legal advice, saying in a federal lawsuit Thursday that the regulations amount to an unconstitutional restraint on free speech in violation of the First Amendment.

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Judge Lauds Trans Women Behind Colo. Prison Housing Deal

By Daniel Ducassi

A Colorado state judge on Thursday appeared inclined to approve $2.1 million in payouts for currently and formerly incarcerated transgender women and new housing options to settle their class action against state prison officials, with a named plaintiff calling the deal a "blueprint for other states."

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Biden Issues Pardons For Federal Marijuana Offenses

By Sam Reisman

President Joe Biden has announced unconditional pardons to anyone who has used, possessed or attempted to possess marijuana on federal lands, regardless of whether they have been convicted or charged.

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Perspectives

Immigration Detention Should Offer Universal Legal Counsel

Given the large backlog of immigration court cases and the more than 70% of people in immigration detention without counsel in 2023, the system should establish a universal right to federally funded representation for anyone facing deportation, similar to the public defender model, say Laura Lunn and Shaleen Morales at the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network.

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