Author: Northwest Justice Project

Federal and state offices join King County in two-year collaboration to improve coordination
Four of every ten veterans say they have little or no knowledge of the benefits they have earned, or how to access them. King County Executive Dow Constantine today said his 2014/2015 County budget will call for support of a King County Veterans Service Network – to embark on the first-ever comprehensive mapping of the labyrinth of federal, state and local services for veterans.

Washington State doesn't provide or require legal representation for juveniles. But it should.

More than 33 million workers qualify to have their student loans forgiven because they work in schools, hospitals or city halls, but too few take advantage of the options because the programs are overly complicated and often confusing, the government’s consumer advocate said Wednesday.

Virla Spencer is so effective in her work because she’s lived the struggle. Herself an ex-offender, Virla Spencer now helps convicts get their driver’s licenses back.

The Urban Indian Legal Clinic provides advice and referrals for a range of legal issues to Native Americans. In Seattle, with one of the highest populations of so-called “urban Indians” in the U.S., the clinic provides a needed service for an often overlooked community, organizers say.

In the coming months, my colleagues and I will share stories with Wenatchee World readers about how low-income residents of North Central Washington are achieving justice in our communities.

Washington’s judicial system abolished court fees for poor people in 2010, but county courts sought ways around the rule. Now in a unanimous decision, the Washington State Supreme Court has reaffirmed that if someone qualifies as indigent, courts need to give them access for free.

The Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) announced that a security breach occurred on its public website potentially involving social security numbers for more than 160,000 persons incarcerated in 2011 and 2012; and names and driver’s licenses of up to a one million people. Call the Administrative Office of the Courts Hotline to check if your Social Security Number or Driver License Number may have been accessed: 1 (800) 448-5584 Monday through Saturday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. PDT

A federal judge in California has ordered immigration courts in three states to provide legal representation for immigrants with mental disabilities who are in detention and facing deportation, if they cannot represent themselves. The decision is the first time a court has required the government to provide legal assistance for any group of people before the nation’s immigration courts.

“Most Americans don’t realize that you can have your home taken away, your children taken away and you can be a victim of domestic violence but you have no constitutional right to a lawyer to protect you.”
JAMES J. SANDMAN, president of the Legal Services Corporation.