Access to Justice
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November 4, 2018
NY Plan To Police Prosecutors Enters Uncharted Territory
New York is turning heads with a first-of-its-kind commission tasked with investigating prosecutorial misconduct. All eyes are on the Empire State to see if the watchdog will survive a lawsuit by district attorneys and, if so, become an effective check on the justice system.
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November 4, 2018
5 Criminal Justice Reforms To Watch On Election Day
Should a nonunanimous jury be capable of sentencing a defendant to life in prison? Should the repeal of a criminal law be retroactive? Here, Law360 looks at those ballot questions and other proposed criminal justice reforms going before voters on Tuesday.
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November 4, 2018
Hard Decisions Loom In Lame-Duck Push For Sentencing Reform
A long-simmering struggle over whether and how to reform not only the federal prison system but also sentencing laws could boil up into a major conflict this month in Congress.
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November 4, 2018
Unjust Prison Term Drives Golf Course Artist's Reform Mission
It would be easy for Valentino Dixon to harbor animosity and anger after being wrongly imprisoned for 27 years. But instead he wants to take that experience and use it to teach society about the abuses of the prison system and sentencing reform.
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November 4, 2018
Kavanaugh's Approach To Access Depends On Whom You Ask
Where the U.S. Supreme Court’s newest justice might land on important access to justice cases received little attention during his confirmation. Here, Law360 looks at Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s track record when it comes to ensuring court access for the masses.
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November 4, 2018
In Benefits Suit, Veteran Seeks Rare Class Action Status
For decades, a quirk of America’s legal system has blocked veterans from banding together in class action lawsuits over benefits. But after a string of recent court rulings leveled that hurdle, a newly proposed class suit is challenging the denial of medical reimbursements to veterans under a controversial new rule.
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November 4, 2018
Justices' Doubts In Google Row Fuel Legal Aid Worries
The U.S. Supreme Court’s look at a class action settlement with Google could rock the world of legal aid funding, and while that possibility went largely undiscussed during recent oral arguments, the justices’ skepticism of payouts from such deals to charities raises concerns for legal aid providers.
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November 4, 2018
Greenberg Traurig's Adam Siegler On Legal Aid For Veterans
Greenberg Traurig partner Adam Siegler last year retired from active military service with the rank of colonel and more than two decades working as a judge advocate in the military legal system. His work with armed forces members and veterans, however, is far from over.
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November 4, 2018
Murder Case Puts Vulnerability Of Court Records On Display
What if, while sitting on death row, you had a chance to overturn your conviction by arguing the jury was not properly instructed, but the exact wording of those instructions had been lost to time?
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October 28, 2018
LexisNexis Launches Law360's Access To Justice
Letter from the Publisher
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October 28, 2018
MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant Spotlights Access To Justice Field
A MacArthur "genius" grant awarded to prominent access to justice scholar Rebecca Sandefur recognizes an often-overlooked academic subject — and could encourage more researchers to join the field.
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October 28, 2018
High Court Case Threatens Key Source Of Legal Aid Funding
This term, the U.S. Supreme Court holds the power to curtail a popular settlement tool in large consumer class actions that provides cash infusions to nonprofits. Here’s what it could mean for legal aid organizations’ bottom lines.
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October 28, 2018
NYC Public Defenders, District Attorneys Demand Pay Parity
New York City's public defenders and district attorneys testified from behind the same table for the first time ever last week, joining forces to demand the mayor's office bring their salaries in line with other city and government agency lawyers.
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October 28, 2018
Pro Se Case Draws Legal Firepower To Narrow Target
The involvement of some of the country's biggest legal names has brought unusual attention to a self-represented litigant's appeal of an order refusing to let him amend his case, but even with the dispute sitting on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, experts are skeptical of its ultimate value for similar plaintiffs.
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October 28, 2018
Ann Claire Williams On Advancing Rule Of Law In Africa
Ann Claire Williams pours years of experience into training lawyers and judges in African countries, and not just lessons from her time prosecuting crimes or weighing appellate cases on the Seventh Circuit. In some ways, her time as a Detroit public schools teacher has proven just as valuable.
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October 28, 2018
Legal Aid Funder Faces Existential Crisis Under Trump
The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to shut down the Legal Services Corporation, America's largest single funder of civil legal aid. It's not the first time federal funding for low-income legal assistance has faced the chopping block, and it may not be the last.
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October 28, 2018
Mo. Case Shows Fight Over Juvenile Sentencing Still Raging
Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Montgomery decision ordered resentencing or parole hearings for thousands of prisoners sentenced to life without parole as juveniles, litigation like a recent class action by Missouri prisoners shows how some states are struggling to offer those inmates meaningful opportunities for release.
Expert Analysis
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How BigLaw Pro Bono Pros Can Promote Access To Justice
Allegra Nethery, president of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel, discusses opportunities for large law firms to make a difference.
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Aggressive Stops And Frisks Won’t Make Chicago Safer
In a recent speech before the International Association of Chiefs of Police, President Donald Trump called for aggressive stop-and-frisk practices in Chicago to reduce violent crime. Beyond the negative consequences of this approach, data supporting its effectiveness is extremely sparse, say Dr. Tara Lai Quinlan and Northeastern University School of Law professor Deborah Ramirez.
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The Pro Bono Policies Worth Adopting In Every State
A recent survey of attorneys across the country found that, despite broad opposition to mandatory pro bono, strong support exists for a number of statewide policies and initiatives to more effectively engage the private bar in pro bono work, says Latonia Haney Keith, associate dean of academics at Concordia University School of Law.
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Using The Constitution To End Punishment Of The Poor
One hundred and fifty years after the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, lawyers are achieving real victories on the ground with new constitutional theories striking at both inequality and unfair process, says Brandon Garrett of Duke University School of Law.