https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section Latest articles for: Access to Justice Copyright 2025 Portfolio Media, Inc. en-US Wed, 30 Apr 2025 22:11:13 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2332641?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2332641 Three men on a New York Police Department list of criminal gang members filed a putative class action alleging officers unconstitutionally surveil, detain and harass Black and Latino people on the list, civil rights groups said Wednesday. Tue, 29 Apr 2025 19:54:58 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2331705?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2331705 President Donald Trump has issued an executive order directing the attorney general to help defend police officers from misconduct lawsuits, including arranging private-sector pro bono aid for them. Tue, 29 Apr 2025 18:14:14 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2331804?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2331804 A federal judge ruled Tuesday that high-ranking officials from Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services must face a lawsuit filed by former inmates at a Delaware County juvenile correctional facility alleging widespread abuse, at least for now.  Tue, 29 Apr 2025 15:23:40 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2332012?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2332012 Staff members at the Federal Defenders of New York have announced their plans to join their attorney colleagues as members of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys. Mon, 28 Apr 2025 20:15:07 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2331344?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2331344 Five states, 17 cities and one county enacted laws between 2017 and 2024 guaranteeing tenants the right to legal counsel in eviction proceedings, but uneven implementation, chronic underfunding and persistent court barriers have sharply limited the programs' effectiveness, according to a new national study published Friday. Fri, 25 Apr 2025 23:48:39 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2330490?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2330490 The former North Carolina governor's decision to commute a Black man's death sentence last year rendered moot the trial court's later landmark decision finding racial bias tainted his trial, his defense counsel conceded in a state supreme court brief. Fri, 25 Apr 2025 20:24:59 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2329272?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2329272 After staff at a New Jersey federal prison told Alishea Sophia Kingdom that, due to an executive order by President Donald Trump, she would no longer be receiving hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria, Kingdom lodged the latest in a series of suits against the Federal Bureau of Prisons that contend following the executive order violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Fri, 25 Apr 2025 19:00:29 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2329455?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2329455 The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that preliminary injunctions don't entitle civil rights plaintiffs to recoup attorney fees was partly an attempt to reduce lengthy fee litigation, but it may have also reduced litigants' ability to vindicate their rights in court. Fri, 25 Apr 2025 19:00:28 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2329285?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2329285 A New York man who says prison guards tortured him during a medical emergency recently secured a $1.2 million settlement — one of the largest known payouts for abuse in state custody — as part of litigation that exposed a correction officer's alleged recurrent violent behavior. Fri, 25 Apr 2025 18:12:38 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2330166?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2330166 New York City and state officials agreed to overhaul how special education complaints are handled, settling a 2020 class action brought by students with disabilities who waited months for crucial services. Wed, 23 Apr 2025 19:35:46 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2329226?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2329226 The U.S. Sentencing Commission overstepped by telling prisoners serving unusually long sentences that they can seek early release due to changes in sentencing law, the Sixth Circuit ruled Tuesday, deeming the move "a heavy-handed and unseemly power grab by the commission."  Wed, 23 Apr 2025 13:23:03 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2328244?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2328244 Texas' proposal to become the latest state to license paraprofessional providers of limited legal services could help firms expand their reach and improve access to justice, but consumers, attorneys and allied legal professionals would benefit even more if similar programs across the country become more uniform, says Michael Houlberg at the University of Denver. Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:14:56 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2328068?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2328068 Atlanta's John Marshall Law School recently announced it has launched a Criminal and Civil Justice Institute to help students pursue legal careers aimed at making a difference in their clients' lives and communities. Mon, 21 Apr 2025 15:50:06 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2328114?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2328114 The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday seemed dubious of a Fourth Circuit ruling refusing an inmate's appeal on procedural timing grounds, as the justices weighed a case that will likely disproportionately affect pro se litigants. Sat, 19 Apr 2025 15:04:49 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2318279?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2318279 The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in five cases this week, including disputes over the constitutionality of a task force that sets preventive healthcare coverage requirements, a school district's introduction of LGBTQ-themed storybooks and whether parties can establish standing based on harms affecting third parties.  Fri, 18 Apr 2025 19:00:32 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2327452?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2327452 A Black man who won a seminal case proving racial bias tainted the jury selection process in his capital murder trial is fighting prosecutors' efforts to undo the ruling, telling North Carolina's highest court the state has no statutory right to appeal. Wed, 16 Apr 2025 20:48:36 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2326180?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2326180 Former Clayton County, Georgia, Sheriff Victor Hill, who was convicted in 2022 of violating his detainees' civil rights by leaving them strapped to a chair for hours at a time, was sued by a detainee who says she faced "deplorable" conditions in the Clayton County Jail. Wed, 16 Apr 2025 19:07:05 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2326205?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2326205 A Connecticut town has asked a federal judge to either toss or zero out an exonerated murder defendant's $5.7 million jury trial win, saying one of its police officers did not, as a matter of law, assist a state police officer in fabricating a jailhouse informant's testimony. Wed, 16 Apr 2025 18:07:52 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2326539?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2326539 A coalition of organizations, including unions like the AFL-CIO and nonprofits like the nonpartisan legal volunteering network We the Action, has teamed up to connect the thousands of federal employees fired under the Trump Administration with free legal support, calling on lawyers across the U.S. to join their efforts. Wed, 16 Apr 2025 16:24:55 +0000 https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2325898?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=section https://www.law360.com/access-to-justice/articles/2325898 The California Civil Rights Department announced it has reached settlements with a Nevada-based appraisal management company and an individual appraiser that allegedly lowballed a Black and Latino family in the Bay Area because of their race.