Working for Change
Our work in the courts and alongside partners can turn individual cases into lasting protections for low-income people across Washington.
Every NJP case begins with one person who needs help, but the impact often reaches much further.
Through appellate advocacy, statewide collaboration, and a commitment to racial and language justice, we work to make Washington’s justice system fairer for everyone.
Without legal aid, due process has no meaning. With it, an individual case can become a springboard for far-reaching change.
Abby Daquiz, Executive Director, NJP, 2026
Appellate Work
Appellate cases ask a higher court to review a lower court’s decision. A single appellate ruling can set precedent that protects people across the state.
In 2025 alone, NJP filed 14 appeals and argued before every state and federal appellate court in Washington as well as tribal courts of appeal. Far-reaching outcomes included:
- Protecting tenants facing wrongful eviction
- Strengthening the use of gun surrender orders for perpetrators of domestic violence
- Protecting the privacy rights of survivors of violent crime
14
Appeals argued in Washington courts in 2025
Case Study
Saving Lives with Gun Surrender Orders
Washington law requires courts to order abusers to surrender their firearms in many protection order cases. But starting in 2023, confusion over whether the law was constitutional led judges in a counties across the state to stop enforcing it, with deadly consequences for some survivors. NJP filed a series of appeals to change that. In the most recent, brought on behalf of Ilana Hernandez, the Court of Appeals confirmed in 2025 that the law is constitutional and that courts must apply it.
Initiatives & Partnerships
National Language Rights Campaign
Language should never be a barrier to justice, healthcare, or education. Join our Language Rights Campaign and champion language services, in spoken and sign languages, for all.
Statewide Task Forces
NJP coordinates statewide Task Forces that bring together legal advocates from dozens of legal aid organizations across the state to address issues affecting low-income communities. More than a dozen population- and topic-based Task Forces work to identify trends, develop legal strategies, provide training, and share expertise. Topics cover everything from Consumer Law to Youth Law.
The Task Forces are an initiative of Washington’s Alliance for Equal Justice.
Race Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI)
NJP endorses the principles and commitments of the Race Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI), a Washington-based alliance of people, communities, and organizations working for racial fairness and justice in the law, the legal profession, and the justice system.
REJI members collaborate to challenge the racial bias that has been built into our societal fabric and is guided by and works in solidarity with communities of color.
Civil legal aid is the last best hope for the rule of law. In the deepest sense, the rule of law means there are no kings, no one is above the law. The rule of law is right there in that individual case. If you pass that person over, you’ve failed the rule of law.
Patrick “Mac” McIntyre
NJP Founder and first Executive Director
Recent News & Stories
Updates from current cases and victories won for Washington.
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An opinion piece by Washington State Supreme Court Justice Salvador A. Mungia; Bill Pickett, co-chair of the Washington Equal Justice Coalition; and Ronald Flagg, president of the Legal Services Corporation argues against a proposal in Congress to defund the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in the 2026 appropriations bill. The authors highlight the impact in Washington…
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When a 42-unit apartment building for seniors in Arlington, Washington, was going to be sold and lose its low-rent status, lawyers with NJP stepped in to protect elderly residents. The new owners wanted to remove the building, called Stilly II, from a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program that capped rent levels and required good…
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Following legal advocacy by Northwest Justice Project (NJP), the Housing Authority of Grant County (HAGC) removed improper attorney fees from the accounts of tenants in subsidized and public housing — a small but significant victory amid growing housing crisis. Scott Crain, NJP Attorney and Acting Director of Advocacy, first discovered HAGC was unlawfully charging attorney…
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