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Each week, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School
of Law publishes the Legal Services E-lert, reaching a
wide audience with the most important articles on civil
legal aid and access to justice for low-income people.
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THIS WEEK'S HEADLINES
1. More than $7.2 Million in Food Stamps to Be
Restored to Participants in NYC Parks Department Jobs
Program Whose Benefits Were Unlawfully Denied From 2003
to 2006
2. Farmworker and Environmental Advocacy
Organizations Sue Environmental Protection Agency to
Halt Use of Four Toxic Pesticides
3. Ohio Adds Free Legal Aid to Foreclosure
Assistance Program; 1,100 Private Attorneys Sign Up to
Help
4. LSC President and Board Chair Testify in
Congress, Making Case for Increased Funding
5. As Case Loads Rise and Funding Flattens, Legal
Aid of West Virginia Faces Difficulty Taking on New
Clients
THIS WEEK'S STORIES
FEATURE STORY
1. More than $7.2 Million in Food Stamps to Be
Restored to Participants in NYC Parks Department Jobs
Program Whose Benefits Were Unlawfully Denied From 2003
to 2006
Press Release,
New York Legal Assistance Group, April
8, 2008
In a press
release, the
New York Legal Assistance Group
states: "In a groundbreaking victory for working
families, the United States District Court of the
Southern District of New York today [April 8, 2008]
ordered the State of New York and the City of New York
to restore more than $7.2 million in food stamps to
nearly 6,000 low-income families living in New York
City. Under the terms of a settlement approved and
ordered by United States District Judge William H.
Pauley, federally-funded transitional food stamp
benefits (TBA) . . . will be restored to thousands of
families who participated in the Parks Department jobs
program from March 2003 until October 2006. Elena
Goldstein, an attorney for the plaintiffs from the New
York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) applauded the
Court's ruling and said, 'While it is unfortunate that
the City and State delayed paying these families their
rightful food stamp benefits for many years, this is an
enormous victory for working families in New York who
struggle to provide food for their families and make
ends meet.'"
LEGAL SERVICES ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
*Employment*
2. Farmworker and Environmental Advocacy
Organizations Sue Environmental Protection Agency to
Halt Use of Four Toxic Pesticides
Environment News Service, April 9,
2008
Environment News Service reports: "A
coalition of farmworker advocates and environmental
groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Friday [April 4, 2008], seeking to
force a halt to the use of four organophosphate
pesticides . . . . The four organophosphates at issue
in the case . . . are used primarily in California on a
wide variety of fruit, vegetable, and nut crops. 'These
four pesticides put thousands of farmworkers and their
families at risk of serious illness every year,' said
Patti Goldman, an attorney for Earthjustice, the
environmental law firm that represents the coalition in
the case, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco
. . . . The lawsuit alleges that the four pesticides
were registered and are used in violation of the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the
Endangered Species Act . . . . [LSC-funded] California
Rural Legal Assistance is also participating in the case
on behalf of Moises Lopez, an individual farmworker in
California."
*Housing*
3. Ohio Adds Free Legal Aid to Foreclosure
Assistance Program; 1,100 Private Attorneys Sign Up to
Help
Business First of Columbus, April 1,
2008
Business First of Columbus reports:
"State officials have added more muscle to an effort
aimed at curbing Ohio's foreclosure crisis: free legal
aid for troubled homeowners. Gov. Ted Strickland, Ohio
Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer and several
other state officials gathered Tuesday [April 1, 2008]
to announce it has added the legal component to its Save
the Dream initiative, an effort created last month that
helps homeowners connect with counselors and nearby
assistance. The new Save the Dream component helps
those who need foreclosure assistance but can't afford a
lawyer . . . . State officials last month sent letters
to more than 34,000 registered Ohio attorneys requesting
they help provide free legal aid. As of Tuesday [April
8, 2008], more than 1,100 attorneys have registered.
About 350 of those attorneys have received foreclosure
training from the Ohio State Bar Association, while more
training sessions are scheduled, officials said."
LEGAL SERVICES STRUCTURE
*Beltway Bulletin*
4. LSC President and Board Chair Testify in
Congress, Making Case for Increased Funding
LSC,
LSC Updates, April 4, 2008
As
LSC Updates reports: "On April 2,
[2008,] leaders from the Legal Services Corporation
testified before a House panel on the critical need for
increased funding to provide crucial legal assistance to
the millions of low-income Americans forced to confront
serious civil legal problems without the help of an
attorney. LSC Board Chairman Frank B. Strickland and
President Helaine M. Barnett appeared before the House
Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,
Science and Related Agencies to present the case for
LSC's FY 2009 budget request for $471 million, an
increase of $121 million over current funding levels . .
. . 'The LSC Board and I urge you to restore adequate
funding for the provision of civil legal aid to the most
vulnerable among us,' said Barnett. 'In this effort,
the federal government must lead the way consistent with
its role in fulfilling the promise of our Constitution,
the promise inscribed on the Supreme Court Building:
equal justice under law.'"
Throughout
the hearing, Chairman Alan Mollohan (D-WV) and Ranking
Member Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) questioned Strickland
and Barnett about LSC's monitoring and oversight
mechanisms as well and internal management and Board
governance structures. Additionally, Representative
Chaka Fattah (D-PA) asked what role the restriction on
LSC-funded organizations bringing class action lawsuits
has played in the midst of the national foreclosure
crisis.
*Funding*
5. As Case Loads Rise and Funding Flattens, Legal
Aid of West Virginia Faces Difficulty Taking on New
Clients
Mona Ridder,
Cumberland Times-News (West Virginia),
April 7, 2008
The
justice gap in the United States means that many
eligible low-income people are unable to secure
desperately needed civil legal representation. As the
Cumberland Times-News reports: "There
is a good chance that people who are looking for
assistance from [LSC-funded] Legal Aid of West Virginia
will either not be able to reach the agency by telephone
or if they do, they will be told the agency cannot serve
them . . . . [Adrienne Worthy, executive director of
LAWV] said that since 1980, funding cuts at federal and
state levels have reduced the number of attorneys Legal
Aid has from more than 80 to 44 that serve the entire
state. She said federal funding has declined
significantly, but the agency also receives state
funding, conducts fundraising activities and receives
funding from other agencies . . . . Worthy said that
while funding appears to have stabilized in the last
couple of years, the case load continues to grow."
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The Legal Services E-lert is produced by David Pedulla
and edited by Laura Abel and David Udell. Because the
E-lert collects stories reported by others, the views
presented are not necessarily those of the Brennan
Center.
The majority of the text presented in the E-lert is
drawn verbatim from original news sources. The bolded
headlines are produced by the Brennan Center. Whenever
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