R.I.’s hard times hit child support, By W. Zachary Malinowski, October 26, 2009, Providence Journal: “One-by-one, day-after-day, the men sheepishly walk to the lectern in Family Court and answer questions about why they can’t possibly make their child-support payments. On a recent morning, Kervin Candelier fumbled through his pants pockets and pulled out a wrinkled receipt from Western Union that suggested he had paid $1,000 in June. Candelier owed $6,900 in child support payments, and his former girlfriend, the mother of their two children, claimed that he only gave her $500 to pay for school clothes and supplies. He said that he’s doing his best, but he’s a barber and only makes about $230 a week. ‘Every business is slow right now because of the economy,’ he said. Magistrate George N. DiMuro, acting on a recommendation from the state Office of Child Support Services, ordered the father to immediately pay a lump sum of $300 and begin paying her $70 a week through the court system. DiMuro tells him to make sure the payments are made through the court, so it’s recorded - not directly to the mother. ‘Otherwise, you’re going to get yourself in a world of trouble here,’ DiMuro warned. There’s no better place to get an understanding of the state’s poor economy than Family Court - the place where divorce, custody, child support and other domestic crises are settled. According to the latest national economic data, Rhode Island’s unemployment rate of 13 percent is the third highest in the nation, trailing only Michigan and Nevada…”

• Missouri public defender system faces ‘caseload crisis,’ study says, By Mark Morris, October 25, 3009, Kansas City Star: “Missouri’s public defender system is facing ‘an overwhelming caseload crisis’ that has pushed the state’s criminal justice system ‘to the brink of collapse,’ a new study reports. The study, released Friday, underscores a similar 2005 report and notes that little has improved. The public defender system represents poor defendants charged with more than 80 percent of the felonies filed in Missouri. Offices throughout the state regularly report that their lawyers are working well above 100 percent of their recommended maximum workloads. Earlier this year, Laura Denvir Stith, then chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, warned legislators that the state’s courts could be forced to release ‘vast numbers’ of inmates from jail because their public defenders could not get them to trial quick enough. She also warned that the state was vulnerable to lawsuits challenging the adequacy of its public defender system…”
• Missouri Supreme Court must stanch public defender meltdown, Editorial, October 27, 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “A new study of Missouri’s public defender system - which provides lawyers for indigent defendants in criminal cases - says the system’s lawyers are so underpaid, overworked and badly supervised that they’re like the pilots of the commuter plane that crashed into a Buffalo, N.Y., suburb in February. As a result, says the Spangenberg Group, a judicial consulting firm, and George Mason University’s Center for Justice, Law and Society, Missouri’s criminal justice system ‘is heading for disaster, one which is both predictable and preventable.’ Missouri’s public defender system ’stands at the bottom of its sister states in terms of resources,’ the report concludes, and ‘has reached a point where what it provides is often nothing more than the illusion of a lawyer.’ None of this is news, at least not to anyone familiar with the state’s criminal justice system. The Missouri Bar commissioned a similar study four years ago, and it reached similar conclusions…”

California gives the poor a new legal right, By Carol J. Williams, October 17, 2009, Los Angeles Times: “California is embarking on an unprecedented civil court experiment to pay for attorneys to represent poor litigants who find themselves battling powerful adversaries in vital matters affecting their livelihoods and families. The program is the first in the nation to recognize a right to representation in key civil cases and provide it for people fighting eviction, loss of child custody, domestic abuse or neglect of the elderly or disabled. Advocates for the poor say the law, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed this week, levels the legal playing field and gives underprivileged litigants a better shot at attaining justice against unscrupulous landlords, abusive spouses, predatory lenders and other foes. Although some analysts worry that it could swell state court dockets or eat up resources better spent on other needs of the poor, the pilot project that won bipartisan endorsement in the state Assembly will be financed by a $10 increase in court fees for prevailing parties…”

More of state’s poor may soon get public defender, By Bruce Vielmetti, October 11, 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Seven years after a Journal Sentinel investigation revealed how outdated eligibility criteria prevent hundreds of poor residents charged with crimes from getting a public lawyer, those same 1987 standards remain in effect. The criteria essentially say that anyone earning $7.25 an hour, with a $2,000 car and $300 cash isn’t poor enough for a public defender. The paper’s 2002 series “Unequal Justice” examined hundreds of cases in which defendants were denied a public defender and found dozens who were forced to defend themselves, including the nearly illiterate, a mentally impaired senior and a first-time defendant who thought the prosecutor was his lawyer. Everyone in the criminal justice system agreed in 2002 that the practice violates the U.S. Constitution and often leads to injustice. But year after year, legislative attempts to change the standards have failed…”

Study finds high rate of imprisonment among dropouts, By Sam Dillon, October 8, 2009, New York Times: “On any given day, about one in every 10 young male high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention, compared with one in 35 young male high school graduates, according to a new study of the effects of dropping out of school in an America where demand for low-skill workers is plunging. The picture is even bleaker for African-Americans, with nearly one in four young black male dropouts incarcerated or otherwise institutionalized on an average day, the study said. That compares with about one in 14 young, male, white, Asian or Hispanic dropouts. Researchers at Northeastern University used census and other government data to carry out the study, which tracks the employment, workplace, parenting and criminal justice experiences of young high school dropouts…”

Economy boosts demand for free legal aid, By Brian Wargo, September 18, 2009, Las Vegas Sun: “The slumping Las Vegas economy has increased demand for free legal services and stretched the resources of agencies trying to provide those services. Nevada Legal Services, the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada and Senior Citizens Law Project have reported many more requests and say it’s hard to meet the demand. ‘It is overwhelming,’ said Lynn Etkins, development director of Legal Aid Center. ‘Our lobby is filled with clients ranging from victims of domestic violence to people losing their homes and jobs. With the economy and layoffs, we have a lot more people in the community (who need) our services.’ This year has seen a 25 percent increase in placements with pro bono attorneys. A consumer hotline has received 14 percent more calls than a year ago, she said. Demand has increased for help with divorce, consumer credit, bankruptcy and other issues, Etkins said…”

• Voter ID decision resurrects debate, By Bill Ruthhart and Jon Murray, September 18, 2009, Indianapolis Star: “The Indiana Court of Appeals’ rejection of the state’s controversial voter ID law Thursday has reignited a political firestorm over its merits and left Gov. Mitch Daniels accusing judges of playing politics. The ruling fanned the flames on a debate that has raged since 2005, when Indiana became the first state to require voters to show government-issued photo identification at the polls. Republicans have long held that the law strengthens the electoral process and prevents fraud, while Democrats have insisted that it disenfranchises elderly, disabled and poor voters…”
• Indiana court strikes down voter ID law, By John Schwartz, September 17, 2009, New York Times: “An Indiana law requiring voters to show identification, declared constitutional by the United States Supreme Court just last year, was struck down Thursday by a state appellate court. The state court said the law violated the Indiana Constitution by not treating all voters equally. The legislature passed the voter ID law in 2005, and it was challenged in federal court. The Supreme Court upheld it in April 2008, but that July the League of Women Voters brought a new suit in state court…”
• Indiana court strikes down state’s voter ID law, By Charles Wilson and Mike Smith (AP), September 17, 2009, Indianapolis Star: “The state Court of Appeals on Thursday struck down an Indiana law requiring government-issued photo identification for voters, overturning on state constitutional grounds a strict law that previously had been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said he would appeal the ruling. ‘The state’s long-held view is that the Voter ID law is constitutional, and we will vigorously defend the statute in arguing that position before the Indiana Supreme Court,’ he said…”

At least 23 states spend less on prisons, By John Gramlich, August 11, 2009, Stateline.org: “A $1 billion cost-cutting plan announced last week by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) will translate into layoffs for more than a thousand state prison workers. In Oregon, a voter-approved plan to hand longer prison sentences to those who commit property crimes was delayed by state lawmakers who said they could not pay for it. Tennessee’s department of corrections has sought to save money by offering inmates less milk and meat in their daily meals. And in Kansas - which has received national attention in recent years for shifting resources from locking up prisoners to rehabilitating them - the state eliminated 85 percent of the slots in its substance-abuse treatment program for inmates, citing budget constraints…”

Mentally ill offenders strain juvenile system, By Solomon Moore, August 9, 2009, New York Times: “The teenager in the padded smock sat in his solitary confinement cell here in this state’s most secure juvenile prison and screamed obscenities. The youth, Donald, a 16-year-old, his eyes glassy from lack of sleep and a daily regimen of mood stabilizers, was serving a minimum of six months for breaking and entering. Although he had received diagnoses for psychiatric illnesses, including bipolar disorder, a judge decided that Donald would get better care in the state correctional system than he could get anywhere in his county. That was two years ago. Donald’s confinement has been repeatedly extended because of his violent outbursts…”

• Attacks on homeless bring push on hate crime laws, By Eric Lichtblau, August 7, 2009, New York Times: “With economic troubles pushing more people onto the streets in the last few years, law enforcement officials and researchers are seeing a surge in unprovoked attacks against the homeless, and a number of states are considering legislation to treat such assaults as hate crimes. This October, Maryland will become the first state to expand its hate-crime law to add stiffer penalties for attacks on the homeless. At least five other states are pondering similar steps, the District of Columbia approved such a measure this week, and a like bill was introduced last week in Congress…”
• Florida led the nation last year in violence against the homeless, By Scott Wyman, August 8, 2009, South Florida Sun Sentinel: “Last September, a homeless woman in Pompano Beach was raped and nearly strangled. Earlier in the year, two homeless men in West Palm Beach were shot and killed and a Fort Lauderdale man was accused of harassing the homeless with a chainsaw. Florida led the nation for the fourth consecutive year in violence against the homeless in a report released Saturday by the National Coalition for the Homeless. The group documented 30 attacks last year in 10 communities across the state, including three deaths…”

Cuts in legal aid hit poorest, By Jenifer B. McKim, August 6, 2009, Boston Globe: “A dramatic drop in funding is forcing legal aid programs across Massachusetts to lay off lawyers, cut back their office hours, and turn away a growing number of people who cannot afford to pay for legal help. Tens of thousands of people statewide who would normally qualify for free assistance this year will not get it, according to the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, a quasipublic agency that administers most of the funding for the state’s legal aid programs…”

Iowa’s legal aid offices feel pinch, By Grant Schulte, July 24, 2009, Des Moines Register: “Child support debts continued to mount for Ann Howser even after her former husband died and her 17-year-old son returned to her care. But the Des Moines woman could not afford the legal fees - probably $1,000 - to revise her divorce papers and cancel the required payments. So she turned to Iowa Legal Aid, a nonprofit group that helps low-income Iowans navigate the law…”

Governor vetoes bill on public defenders, By Chad Livengood, July 14, 2009, Springfield News-Leader: “Gov. Jay Nixon on Monday vetoed legislation that would have eased the burden on the state’s overworked public defenders.  Sen. Jack Goodman’s Senate Bill 37 would have allowed the state public defender system to establish caps on the number of cases each attorney can take on…”

Government to require verification of workers, By Julia Preston, July 8, 2009, New York Times: “The Obama administration will require businesses that win federal contracts to use a government electronic database system to verify that their employees have legal immigration status to work in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Wednesday.  After a six-month review, Homeland Security officials decided to go ahead with a worker-verification plan based on the electronic system, called E-Verify. The system, which the Bush administration sought to put into effect in its final months, is meant to prevent federal contractors from hiring illegal immigrants…”

• Growing numbers of poor people swamp legal aid offices in U.S., By Tony Pugh, July 12, 2009, Detroit Free Press: “After years of funding shortfalls, legal aid societies across the country are being overwhelmed by growing numbers of poor and unemployed Americans who face eviction, foreclosure, bankruptcy and other legal problems tied to the recession.  The crush of new clients comes as the cash-strapped agencies cut staff and services…”
• A fair shake for legal aid, Editorial, July 13, 2009, Washington Post: “For the past 13 years, the Legal Services Corp. has had its hands tied while trying to fulfill its mission of representing poor people in civil matters. Legal aid lawyers, for example, have been prohibited from using federal and even privately procured or state and local funds to initiate class actions; they have also been barred from seeking attorney’s fees even when they prevail in court — a benefit available to other lawyers in many civil rights or consumer protection matters…”

• State is sued over voter registration, By Amanda Hamon, July 10, 2009, Indianapolis Star: “Voters’ rights groups filed a lawsuit Thursday charging that Indiana fails to provide public assistance applicants the chance to register to vote, violating federal law.  The suit, filed in U.S. District Court, names as defendants eight state officials, including Anne Murphy, secretary of the state Family and Social Services Administration, and Thomas Wheeler, chairman of the Indiana Election Commission…”
• Groups say states violating voter registration law, By Nedra Pickler (AP), July 9, 2009, Chicago Tribune: “States across the country are violating part of the federal “motor voter” law requiring voter registration help for low-income residents, according to a coalition of advocacy groups trying to force change through the courts. The groups filed lawsuits in Indiana and New Mexico on Thursday on the heels of a successful settlement in Missouri. They say the problem is not isolated in those few states but widespread across the nation, and they are trying to help other states follow the law without litigation…”

Advocates push to add attacks on homeless to Florida hate crimes law, By Anthony Man, July 7, 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Horrified by video of teens who went on a rampage beating homeless men in downtown Fort Lauderdale, a state legislator was propelled to push for including attacks on the homeless to the state’s hate crimes law.  It is now state law — in Maryland — because state Sen. Alex Mooney, R-Md., saw what he termed “gruesome” video of the Fort Lauderdale incident. His state is the first to include homeless people as a protected group under its hate crimes statute…”

In prisoners’ wake, a tide of troubled kids, By Erik Eckholm, July 4, 2009, New York Times: “Herbert Rashad Scott, whose parents were in and out of prison throughout his childhood, vowed to break his family’s cycle of self-destruction.  The circumstances were not promising. Mr. Scott, 20, was awaiting sentencing for drug possession and robbery, but he was allowed supervised release from jail in May to attend a job preparation class — a chance to turn his life around…”

U.S. shifts strategy on illicit work by immigrants, By Julia Preston, July 2, 2009, New York Times: “Immigration authorities had bad news this week for American Apparel, the T-shirt maker based in downtown Los Angeles: About 1,800 of its employees appeared to be illegal immigrants not authorized to work in the United States.  But in contrast to the high-profile raids that marked the enforcement approach of the Bush administration, no federal agents with criminal warrants stormed the company’s factories and rounded up employees…”

Constant fear and mob rule in South Africa slum, By Barry Bearak, June 29, 2009, New York Times: “The two robbery suspects had already been viciously beaten, their swollen faces stained with rivulets of red. One of them could no longer sit up, and only the need to moan seemed to revive him into consciousness. The other, Moses Tjiwa, occasionally stared into the taunting crowd and muttered, ‘I didn’t do anything’…”

Nebraska judge strikes down Medicaid rule, By Nate Jenkins (AP), July 2, 2009, Lincoln Journal Star: “Nebraska has been wrongfully denying Medicaid coverage to hundreds of low-income residents whom state officials argued did not work enough to comply with a welfare-to-work program, a judge has ruled.  The ruling nixes a controversial state policy that required a single parent with one or more children younger than 6 years old, for instance, to work at least 20 hours a week to retain the Medicaid benefits…”