Civil Legal Aid in Trouble - Again

As tiresome as this topic is, the fact remains that significant numbers of people all across America are without resources to address their civil legal issues.  In the criminal law realm, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you, at no cost.  No dice on the civil side of the legal house.

Though the New York Times points out the deficiencies for legal help for people in the throes of  foreclosure, lack of low cost legal assistance can be seen on the local level in Washington state where, in the family law arena, increasing numbers of pro se clients seeking divorces, assistance with out-of-wedlock child custody, child support and parenting plans have flooded the court docket.  These individuals, some indigent, some not, have "just said no" to hiring a lawyer.  Unfortunately for the courts, the practical reality is that court staff has had to be augmented with Family Court Facilitiators to help the pro se's navigate civil procedure and keep the wheels of justice turning efficiently.  Do It Yourself resouces are plentiful on the Internet.

What the world doesn't need are more lawyers.  What it does need and has available are skilled paralegals that can help the pro se'ers.  Problem is that jealous lawyers threaten paralegals with prosecution because they are trying to protect their turf, their monopoly, their cash flow.  A paralegal is not permitted to give legal advice.  The lawyers argue that assisting a person with the check box on standard forms required by the court constitutes giving legal advice.

This growing legion of "do-it-yourselfers" weren't going to hire a lawyer, period.  So, it isn't as though the lawyers would be losing revenue.  The pro se crowd needs procedural help that falls on the back of the court staff because a paralegal must have their every "t" and "i" approved by a lawyer.  The court staff is likewise precluded from giving legal advice.  Only trained lawyers can provide legal advice.  So, why aren't they stepping up to the plate and helping in greater numbers without regard to the payment? 

New York Times Editorial - October 14, 2010


Need a Lawyer? Good Luck.

Across the country, programs that provide legal representation in civil cases to low-income Americans are so cash-strapped that they are turning away numbers of people. Hard-pressed Americans fighting foreclosure or seeking protection from domestic violence or access to medical care or unemployment benefits must often navigate the judicial system on their own or give up.

For much of its financing, civil legal aid has relied on the interest earnings from escrow accounts that private lawyers often hold for clients. That has all but disappeared as interest rates have dropped. At the same time, deficit-plagued statehouses are cutting support, while federal dollars are not taking up enough of the slack.

The chief judge of New York State’s highest court, Jonathan Lippman, has begun a campaign for expanded state support. At recent public meetings, business, political, and bar leaders, judges and litigants described the high cost, to all New Yorkers, of denying such assistance to the poor.

Beyond basic moral and ethical concerns, they argued, the rising volume of self-represented litigants is causing court delays that impose financial burdens on opposing parties with lawyers. Foreclosures that might be avoided drive families into shelters, further straining local budgets and disrupting lives. Hospitals operating at the financial brink are hurt when poor people can’t obtain Medicaid payments for their treatment.

A special commission named by Judge Lippman is readying a report that will assess the unmet needs for civil legal services and suggest cost-effective steps to meet them. Even in hard times, progress should be possible. New York’s State Legislature already has approved a measure that would allow borrowers who prevail against banks in foreclosure actions to recover their attorneys’ fees. Gov. David Paterson needs to sign it.

After the election recess, Congress must approve the extra financing to provide legal services for struggling homeowners authorized in the financial reform law. It must also approve a substantial budget increase for the federal Legal Services Corporation, which helps finance these critical programs, and ditch senseless restrictions hampering its mission.

Fred Armisen as Gov. David Patterson on Saturday Night Live

Another book to consider

Inspired by my sister-in-law Robin and mother-in-law Beverly, here is a new book worthy of consideration.  I especially like the title.

Van Jones - Always Inspiring

Why is it that every time I hear Van Jones speak, I am immediately energized and motivated?  He is smart, funny, articulate and quite handsome.  I'd love to have lunch with him!  Until then, I'll have to be content to see him at Bioneers or hear him on the radio. 

I heard him on a weekly radio broadcast of the Commonwealth Club (heard on KPBX 91.1 in Spokane, WA Thursdays from noon until 1:00 p.m.).

I was very disappointed when Van resigned from the Obama administration and didn't understand why he didn't stay and "duke" it out in DC.  Now I understand.  He didn't want to be a distraction and wisely determined that if he left the post, more green collar jobs would be created and the programs he has been so passionate about would go forward.  He didn't say this on the radio and I didn't read the coverage when the Van scan(dal) blew apart.  I didn't have the heart to listen to people run him down.

Van suggested that the American people ask the "banksters" for their money back.  I agree.  WTF?  They did pay back the bail out money which was swell, but filled with self-interest.  The banksters just wanted to go back to doing whatever they heck they want to, loan money (or not), fleece people, just business as usual without dreaded "government oversight."  Not a fan of Wall Street.  I'm keeping it real on Main Street.

Read Van's book and get inspired too.  The Green movement is here to stay.  Green energy is America's next industrial revolution.  So Sarah Palin can drill baby drill her ass right to the bottom of the ocean along with BP.  Oil is the past.  Electricity, wind and new inventions are the future. 

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Collar-Economy-Solution-Problems/dp/B003GAN3FK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279953913&sr=8-1-catcorr

Caregiving and Author Gail Sheehy

I keep reading reviews about this book by Gail Sheehy.  I plan to purchase two copies--one to read and the other to send to my sister-in-law Robin who both roommate and caregiver for her mother (and my mother-in-law) Beverly.

I heard Gail speak in 1983 when she visited the College of Idaho campus and I have long enjoyed her books, most notably Passages.

I also want to try the link from this blog to Amazon to order the books (and potentially earn a few dollars.  Paying myself.)

The Aroma in Tacoma-Washington State Boys 4A Basketball Tournament

Attending the WIAA state boys 4A double elimination basketball tournament held in Tacoma, WA March 3-6, 2010 has been insightful especially as compared to the unified State B tournament of yesteryear, held in Spokane before the WIAA got ahold of that winning concept and destroyed it by splitting the B's into two parts-one B in Yakima one B in Spokane.

Well, Tacoma the city has been a delightful surprise. The aroma from pulp mills of the past is gone. However, in its place is the unmistakable smell of middle- aged tournament officials and a less than enthusiastic host facility, the Tacoma Dome. This is a Dome that can't be bothered to fully illuminate the scoreboard for the daytime games so spectators do not have to keep their own stats to track player fouls. And, what about large reader boards listing tournament brackets and game pairings scattered throughout the venue? I had a hard time locating the two 8-1/2 by 11 sheets of paper taped to the exit door. Maybe I forgot my reader glasses.

When the boys of Wilson High School of Tacoma or the girls from Garfield High School from Seattle enter the arena, suddenly the scoreboard is fully lit. Never mind some of us drove across the state of Washington to cheer for our boys, the polite, well-mannered scholar athletes of Gonzaga Prep High School from Spokane.

We didn't really need to know the foul breakdown in our 1 point overtime game against Federal Way. We could get a hearing aid to assist us in interpreting what the announcer was saying or offer to contribute towards the cost of another speaker to be pointed towards our side of the arena.

We also enjoyed the verbal abuse the Gonzaga Prep boys took from the "homies" from Federal Way and the refs. I hate to call it what it was. I think the word starts with an "R" and to hear the chatter on the court was ugly.

And why do teams from Eastern Washington tolerate this tournament set-up? I maintain that we shouldn't. Let the Westside have their own state crown and let us have ours. Let the Cascade mountains provide the natural boundary.

Winning at State isn't what it used to be. So we should vote with our feet and tell the WIAA to stuff it. They can sanction a tournament in our area, east of the Cascades in Spokane or the Tri-Cities, both cities demonstrating that they are able to be genial, gracious hosts and appreciate the hard work and impact a tournament has on our local ecomony. People come from great distances for Hoopfest in Spokane. Why? Because it is fun!

Let the big city boys come to our house-- the Spokane Arena or Gonzaga's Kennel. It would be a fine education in how the other half lives and behaves on and off the court. This could possibly reduce the crime rate and increase college admissions.

Before you chalk my opinion up as that of a parent of one of the senior basketball playerw, please be advised that my child was not one of the Gonzaga Prep players on the floor at the Tacoma Dome. The dollars I spent going to this tournament were pure economic stimulus dollars. Quite frankly, I'd prefer to spend my money locally than to support the WIAA in this poorly attended, poorly executed display of a state basketball tournament. It is a blight on all the the kids, teams and the WIAA to continue to tolerate this half-baked attempt to honor the best basketball teams in the State.

Even the parents from several of the local Westside high schools could not be bothered to attend to watch their kids play basketball. Interesting problem to have in the tournament's backyard.

Here is a viable solution. Move this yearly tournament to a smaller venue on the Westside and rotate the location of the tournament throughout the state on a yearly basis. Then allow more teams across the state to participate. There are more cities in state of Washington than solely on the I-5 corridor running north and south.

Otherwise, call it the current state chamionship tournament what it is, the SeaTac State Championship Tournament so we can all save gas, reduce our carbon footprint, stay home, cheer for our own kids, and our favorite local and regional teams. We can bypass the 5 to 6 hour drive to Tacoma, the display of poor sportsmanship on the part of so many associated with the current tournament set-up and create an event that has more value and certainly will provide a more satisfying way to cap off a high school basketball career.

Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms-Just Say No to Genetically Engineered Crops

The U.S. Supreme Court to Hear First Genetically Engineered Crop Case


Posted on January 15, 2010 by Heather from Center for Food Safety

Monsanto Takes Center for Food Safety Legal Victory to Highest Court

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear a first-time case about the risks of genetically engineered crops. Named Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms, No. 09-475, the case before the high court will be yet another step in an ongoing battle waged by the Center for Food Safety to protect consumers and the environment from potentially harmful effects of genetically engineered (GE) crops.

The modified alfalfa seed at the heart of the dispute has been engineered to be immune to Monsanto's flagship herbicide Roundup. Monsanto intervened in a 2007 federal district court ruling that the Department of Agriculture's approval of GE alfalfa was illegal. The Center for Food Safety (CFS) filed a 2006 lawsuit on behalf of a coalition of non-profits and farmers who wished to retain the choice to plant non-GE alfalfa. CFS was victorious in this case.  In addition CFS has won two appeals by Monsanto in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: in 2008 and again in 2009. Now, upon Monsanto's insistence, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

This is truly a "David versus Goliath" struggle, between public interest non-profits and a corporation bent on nothing less than domination of our food system," said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety. That Monsanto has pushed this case all the way to the Supreme Court, even though USDA's court-ordered analysis is now complete, and the U.S. government actively opposed further litigation in this matter, underscores the great lengths that Monsanto will go to further its mission of patent control of our food system and selling more pesticides.

The federal district court required the Department of Agriculture to undertake an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) assessing the impacts of the crop on the environment and on farmers; the first time the U.S. government had ever undertaken such analysis for any GE crop. The court permitted farmers that had already planted to continue, but halted any further planting pending the agency's re-assessment. That the EIS was required is not in dispute; the legal issue is only the scope of relief while USDA analyzed the impacts of the crop for the first time.

In October 2009 Monsanto asked the Supreme Court to hear further arguments. In response, the Center and the U.S. government separately opposed that request the following December. USDA completed the first draft of the EIS in December 2009.

"Although we believe a further hearing is unnecessary, we are confident we will again prevail, as the lower courts have already three times determined," continued Kimbrell. "We hope that this grand stage will further inform the public, policymakers and the media about the significant risks of genetically engineered crops and the vital need to protect farmers and the environment."

Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop in the U.S. and a key source of dairy forage. It is the first perennial crop to be genetically engineered. It is open-pollinated by bees, which can cross-pollinate at distances of several miles, spreading the patented, foreign DNA to conventional and organic crops. Such biological contamination threatens the livelihood of organic farmers and dairies, since the U.S. Organic standard prohibits genetic engineering, and alfalfa exporters, since most overseas governments also reject GE-contaminated crops.

"We trust the Supreme Court will uphold farmers right to choose their crop of choice and protect us from the constant fear of contamination from GE crops," said Phil Geertson, an alfalfa farmer based in Idaho.


Related:

A 2009 study showed that the use of genetically modified crops, the vast majority Monsanto's "roundup ready" crops, has caused over the last 13 years a dramatic increase in herbicide use, by 383 million pounds, and concomitant harms to the environment and human health.

The U.S. Department of Justice has undertaken an investigation of Monsanto regarding violations of anti-trust and monopoly laws and is set to hold public hearings in spring 2010.

Another 2009 study showed that, despite decades of promises and hype, GE crops do not increase yields.

# # #

The Center for Food Safety is national, non-profit, membership organization, founded in 1997, that works to protect human health and the environment by curbing the use of harmful food production technologies and by promoting organic and other forms of sustainable agriculture. On the web at: http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org

Bioneers Store

Bioneers Store: "Beyond the Bar Code



Beyond the Bar Code: The Local Food Revolution
With Michael Pollan

Available on DVD, CD or as an mp3 download.
Priced from $4.95 - $14.95"

Creating Food Policy Councils-An Idea Whose Time is NOW

Here is an interesting link from Tim Crosby from the Washington Sustainable Food Network an article about Food Policy Councils written by Eric Holt Gimenez and published on the Huffington Post

Breaking Through the Asphalt: Food Policy Councils
The cold spells in the U.S. and in Europe signal higher food prices again. This is bad news for the billion hungry people on the planet... and for the billion that suffer from obesity and diet-related diseases. That's because a good many of the "stuffed" are also "starved", in the sense that they are poor and cannot afford healthy food. They must survive on cheap, fast food and the foodlike substances shoveled out by the agrifoods industry. While diet-related diseases cost the U.S. health care system billions each year, the true cost of this "cheap" food, to personal, family, community and national welfare--and to the environment--is incalculable.

The foundational asphalt for the global food system, amply described and decried by food analysts like Raj Patel, Michael Pollan, Tom Phillipot, and many others, is the U.S. Farm Bill. It's passage every 5 years or so is ferociously lobbied by the biggest and baddest global monopolies on the planet (ADM, Monsanto, Cargill, etc.) Eliminating the industrial pork from this reified hunk of law is harder than pulling the transfat out of chicken nuggets. As such--barring a national food revolt--the Farm Bill will set the rules for our food systems for some time to come.

For this reason, family farm organizations, foodies and food justice activists seeking to change the way our food is grown, processed, distributed and consumed, tend to work from the ground up and the inside out, rather than from the top down and outside in. They have their work cut out for them.

Abroad and at home, the food crisis marches on. The USDA recently reported over 49 million people in the U.S. are now "food insecure." Use of food stamps is growing rapidly, and food banks are unable to tend to the record numbers of people--many from working families --who can't make ends meet. Communities around the country are faced with the pressing issues of hunger at a time when city, county and state budgets are deeply in the red, and when the food industry itself is in recession.

What is to be done until the food revolution comes? Plenty.

A recent publication from Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy describes a promising and growing response to the political and economic impasse of our nation's food systems: Food Policy Councils.

According to "Food Policy Councils; Lessons Learned"

"As the food and financial crises bring fresh urgency to concerns over hunger, food access, public health, labor and economic development - citizens and governments are beginning to connect these issues back to the food system as a whole. Councils are springing up across North America to "connect the dots" between the growing number of neighborhood food initiatives and communities forging policies for just, healthy food systems."

Food Policy Councils, at the city, county and state level, inject a healthy dose of democracy in our local food systems by bringing citizens, non-profits, local business and government together. Councils have helped city and state transportation departments deter urban sprawl into local farmland and helped school districts purchase food from local farmers.

According food policy expert CFSC Food Policy Council Project Director Mark Winne, "Local governments are the testing grounds for innovative policy ideas. What state and local governments do, and don't do, has a profound effect on health and hunger. While many government departments, businesses, and advocates touch on these issues, Food Policy Councils can build platforms for coordinated action."

Some councils have sought to turn the local food system into an engine for local economic development by providing incentives for establishing healthy food outlets and food processing facilities in underserved communities. Others have encouraged health departments to promote healthier eating through menu labeling and community-wide education programs. Social service agencies have been supported in an effort to distribute nutrition benefits such as food stamps to needy households.

Though they have been around for nearly thirty years, the transformative potential of Food Policy Councils is just now being recognized. This has as much to do with the spreading food crisis as it does with the steady growth of the nation's food movements. As the report makes clear:

"What people refer to as "the food movement" is actually a collection of social movements: food justice, fair food, fair trade, organic food, slow food, food security, public health, food sovereignty, family farms... and local folks just trying to make things better... Food Policy Councils have a unique quality within this wide array of activists, advocates and practitioners: they create democratic spaces for convergence in diversity. The power of informed, democratic convergence--especially when linked to the specific places where people live, work and eat--has an additional, emergent quality: it can change the way we--and others--think."

New thinking is precisely what is needed to break through the asphalt of our failing food system.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-holt-gimenez/breaking-through-the-asph_b_421040.html
Eric Holt Gimenez
Executive Director, Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy

Posted: January 12, 2010 08:47 PM

There goes the neighborhood!
I'm up and running as a blogger. Stay tuned for more!