Blog

July 16, 2020 In Blog

Public Justice Calls on California Supreme Court to Instate Diploma Privilege

By Stevie Glaberson Staff Attorney The COVID-19 pandemic has created a domino effect of unanticipated changes to our country’s systems, and this applies to the legal field as much as any other. Recognizing the danger that an in-person administration of the bar exam poses, states across…

July 16, 2020 In Blog Debtors' Prison ProjectAlabama, Eleventh Circuit

Evidence Shows Montgomery Residents Were Illegally Jailed For Inability to Pay Fines

The court held that the Montgomery Municipal Court “engaged in a systemic practice of jailing traffic offenders for failing to pay fines without inquiring into their ability to pay” and “deprived offenders of their due process and equal protection rights not to be incarcerated for their poverty”—and that there is sufficient evidence to hold both JCS and the City liable for the violations.

July 9, 2020 In Blog Access to Justice, Consumers' Rights

Hundreds of Previously-Hidden Documents Now Available About Harmful Permanent Birth Control Device Essure

By Stevie Glaberson Staff Attorney Public Justice has long fought against unnecessary secrecy in court. As so many of our cases have shown, court secrecy enables harassment and discrimination and, in some cases, even kills. Nowhere is court secrecy more dangerous than in medical products…

June 10, 2020 In Blog Civil Rights & Liberties

End Qualified Immunity

Public Justice joins a broad coalition of allies in calling on Congress to pass the Ending Qualified Immunity Act and restore accountability for police departments and officers across the country.

May 27, 2020 In Blog

Modern Day Robber Barons Siphon Away Economic Impact Payments

By Paul Bland Executive Director It reads like a plot from a 21st century Charles Dickens novel: More than 40 million unemployed. Nearly 100,000 dead in the United States alone. 3.6 million homeowners unable to pay their mortgages. And, to add insult to injury, businesses snatching…

May 15, 2020 In Blog

Peloton’s Cycle of Broken Promises

“Pedaling a Stationary Bike” by dfmobile is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 As lockdowns and quarantines continue across the country, and Americans look to maintain as much of their usual routine as possible while the COVID pandemic disrupts so many aspects of everyone’s lives, we learned this week of…

April 15, 2020 In Blog Access to Justice

Tips for Law Firms Seeking Funds Under the Paycheck Protection Program

By Janet Varnell Board Member Paul Bland Executive Director In response to the economic devastation created by the COVID-19 crisis, Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) as part of the CARES Act. The PPP provides extremely low-cost loans, which will be forgiven if a…

April 10, 2020 In Blog Consumers' Rights

Congress Can Stop the Pandemic From Causing Credit Pain for Decades

Ask your Senators and Representatives to support the Disaster Protections for Workers’ Credit Act By Paul Bland Executive Director In the weeks since the COVID-19 outbreak began, nearly 10 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits. The numbers are historic, the graphs on the front…

March 30, 2020 In Blog Access to Justice

Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied: Courts Should Allow Remote Depositions During the COVID-19 Crisis

By Paul Bland Executive Director Many people have reacted heroically during the COVID-19 crisis, caring for others (sometimes at great risk to themselves) and showing humanity and kindness. But, unfortunately, the crisis seems to have brought out the worst in some other people. Specifically, some…

March 25, 2020 In Blog Civil Rights & Liberties, Consumers' Rights

Launching a New Challenge to Texas’ Unconstitutional Drone Statute

By Leah Nicholls Senior Attorney On Friday, Public Justice client the National Press Photographers Association filed an amicus brief in a case in Victoria, Texas, urging the local district court to hold that the Texas statute governing use of drones violates the First Amendment of…