The Justice Gap: Strategies for Securing the Delivery of Equal Justice in American Courts April 16, 2012 Spring 2012 Syllabus David Udell

It has long been recognized that many people face barriers to full participation in our system of justice that call into question the fundamental fairness of the system. The course will examine these barriers, weigh pros and cons of proposed solutions, and evaluate reform campaigns. Students will be introduced to the tools of public policy advocacy, including impact litigation, research, policy analysis, lobbying, coalition building, and communications. Justice system reform movements to be considered will include the civil legal services reform movement, the civil right to counsel movement, the indigent defense reform movement, and tort reform. An understanding of advocacy will develop and deepen as knowledge is gained about how particular tools are being used to advance particular campaigns. Three writing assignments and a more substantial final paper will be required.

Reading materials will be distributed electronically via Angel.

Students must submit three discussion questions in advance of each class, complete assigned readings before the class, and participate in the class discussion. Three brief writing assignments and one final paper will be required. Students will prepare a final paper on a reform initiative of their choice in which they will analyze the viability of a campaign to achieve specific reform in a specific context.  Students unable to attend a class must inform the instructors in advance by e-mail. See the assignment memo for additional details.

Grades for The Justice Gap will be based on the following criteria: classroom participation (30%); final paper (70%). See the assignment memo for additional details.

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  Speakers
  
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    David Udell (bio, http://www.ncforaj.org/home/staff)
    
  • 
    Laura Abel (bio, http://www.ncforaj.org/home/staff)
    
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  Readings
  
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    Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
    
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    Turner v. Rogers, 131 S. Ct. 2507 (2011)
    
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    Deborah Rhode, Whatever Happened to Access to Justice?, 42 Loyola of L.A. Law Review 869 (2009)
    

2. January 31, 2012 – Nonprofits & Advocacy

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  Speaker
  

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  Gara LaMarche, Senior Fellow, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University (bio, http://wagner.nyu.edu/lamarche)
  

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  Readings
  

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  Atlantic Philanthropies, Why Supporting Advocacy Makes Sense for Foundations (2008), http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/sites/default/files/uploads/ATLP_advocacy_report.pdf
  
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  Gara LaMarche, Making the Moral Case for Change, Huffington Post, April 18, 2011, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gara-lamarche/making-the-moral-case-for_b_850753.html
  
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  Gara LaMarche, Philanthropy Can be Made to Measure, Financial Times, April 19, 2008, http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/news/philanthropy-can-be-made-measure
  
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  Michael Schulman, Why Do Progressive Foundations Give Too Little to Too Many, Transnational Institute (July 2005), http://www.tni.org/archives/archives_shuman_nation.
  

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  Speaker
  

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  Kristen Grimm, President, Spitfire Strategies
  

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  Readings
  

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  Spitfire Strategies, The Just Enough Planning Guide, A Roadmap to Help Nonprofits Reach their Campaign Goals, http://www.justenoughplanning.org/pdf/Spitfire%20Campaign%20Guide%20final.pdf
  
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  Spitfire Strategies, Planning Tool, The Just Enough Planning Guide (hard copy to be distributed in class; also on line, at http://www.justenoughplanning.org/pdf/Spitfire%20Fillin%20Tool.pdf)
  
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  Chris Mooney, Breaking the Frame, American Prospect (2003) http://prospect.org/article/breaking-frame.
  

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  Optional reading
  

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  Spitfire Strategies, Discovering the Activation Point (2006)
  

4. February 14, 2012 – Lobbying

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  Speaker
  

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  Robert Raben, The Raben Group, LLC (bio, http://www.rabengroup.com/our-people/rraben)
  

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  Readings
  

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  Robert Raben, The ABA Ratings and Minority Nominees: Shedding Light on Disparate Impact, ACSblog, Nov. 28, 2011, http://www.acslaw.org/acsblog/the-aba-ratings-and-minority-nominees-shedding-light-on-disparate-impact
  
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  Manuel Roig-Franzia, A Battle of Goliaths: Michael Bloomberg and His Gun Control Group Take on the NRA, Washington Post, Aug. 5, 2009, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/04/AR2009080403132.html?sid=ST2009080502296
  
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  Laura Abel, Keeping Families Together, Saving Money, and Other Motivations Behind New Civil Right to Counsel Laws, 42 Loyola of LA L. Rev.1087 (2009), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1503007
  

5. February 21, 2012 – Systemic Litigation (fixing indigent defense services in New York State)

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  Speaker
  

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  Corey Stoughton, Staff Attorney, New York Civil Liberties Union (bio, http://www.nyclu.org/content/nyclu-staff)
  
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  Daniel Greenberg, Special Counsel, Schulte Roth & Zabel, LLP (bio, http://www.srz.com/daniel_l_greenberg)
  

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  Readings
  

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  Aryeh Neier, Further Thoughts on Legitimacy, Only Judgment, The Limits of Litigation in Social Change, pp. 236-44 (Wesleyan University Press,1982)
  
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  Dennis Jacobs, Speech to the Federalist Society (2008)(on line, http://www.fed-soc.org/publications/pubid.1178/pub_detail.asp)
  
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  Hurrell-Harring v. New York State, 15 N.Y.3d 8, 904 NYS2d 296 (2010)(denying NYS’s motion to dismiss)
  
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  William Glaberson, Two New York Times pieces on Hurrell-Harring (2010)
  

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  Optional reading
  

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  Report of the National Right to Counsel Committee, Justice Denied, The Constitution Project, pp. 1-15 (2009)
  
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  Hurrell-Harring v. New York State, N.Y. A.D. 3 Dept, 914 NYS2d 367 (2011)(certifying plaintiff class)
  

6. February 28, 2012 – Communications

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  Speakers
  

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  Dorothy Samuels, Editorial Writer, The New York Times (bio, http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/opinion/editorialboard.html)
  
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  John Denatale, Director of Communications, Cardozo Law School
  

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  Readings
  

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  David Shipley, And Now a Word from Op Ed, The New York Times (February 1, 2004), http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/01/opinion/and-now-a-word-from-op-ed.html?scp=1&sq=and%20now%20a%20word%20from%20op%20ed%20shipley&st=cse
  
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  Bradford Plumer, The Republican Noise Machine, Mother Jones (Aug. 31, 2004), http://motherjones.com/politics/2004/09/republican-noise-machine
  
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  Michael Fincher, Seattle: A New Media Case Study, State of the News Media 2011, http://stateofthemedia.org/2011/mobile-survey/seattle-a-new-media-case-study/
  
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  George Lakoff, What Conservatives Really Want, Huffington Post (2-24-11), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lakoff/what-conservatives-really_b_825504.html
  
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  Editorial, Another Kind of Foreclosure Crisis, The New York Times (Oct. 8, 2009), http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/opinion/09fri2.html
  

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  Optional reading
  

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  Clark & Weinstock, A Brief Introduction to Speaking with the News Media (1998)
  
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  David Udell, Writing Well, National Center for Access to Justice (2012)
  

7. March 6, 2012 – Language Access in the Courts

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  Speakers
  

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  David Udell (bio, http://www.ncforaj.org/home/staff)
  
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  Laura Abel (bio, http://www.ncforaj.org/home/staff)
  

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  Readings
  

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  American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants, Resolution 113 and Report
  
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  ABA Standards for Language Access in Courts (note: please read Table of Contents & pp. 1-21)
  
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  Conference of Chief Justice & Conference of State Court Administrators, Resolution 1 (July 2011)
  
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  John Schwartz, Study Finds Gaps in Aid for Non-English Speakers in State Civil Courts, N.Y. Times, July 3, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/04/us/04interpret.html
  

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  Optional reading:
  

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  Laura Abel, Language Access in State Courts (2009), http://brennan.3cdn.net/684c3cdaaa2bfc8ebc_6pm6iywsd.pdf
  

8. March 13, 2012 – Power & Organizing, Language Rights in Welfare Centers

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  Speaker
  

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  Andrew Friedman, Co-Executive Director & Co-Founder, Make the Road New York
  

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  Readings & Film
  

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  Andrew Friedman, Power & Power Analysis, derived from Power Tools: A Manual for Organizations Fighting for Justice, Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education, http://www.scopela.org/section.php?id=66
  
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  Robert Fisher, Let the People Decide: Neighborhood Organizing in America, Updated Edition (1994)
  
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  Salt of the Earth (1954)(1.5hours), free stream at http://www.archive.org/details/clacinonl_SaltOfTheEarth
  

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  Speaker
  

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  Adam Skaggs, Staff Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice (bio, http://www.brennancenter.org/people/skaggs_adam)
  

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  Readings
  

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  Adam Skaggs & Bert Brandenberg, Campaign Cash Finds Its Way to the Courtroom, http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2011/12/14/campaign-cash-finds-its-way-to-the-courtroom/
  
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  Adam Skaggs, Judging for Dollars, http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/judging-dollars
  
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  New Politics of Judicial Elections, 2009-2010 http://newpoliticsreport.org/   (anyone highly motivated for additional data on judicial election spending could see also New Politics:  Decade of Change, 2000-2009, at http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/the_new_politics_of_judicial_elections )
  
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  Caperton v. Massey, 129 S. Ct. 2252 (2009), http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-22.ZS.html
  

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  Optional reading:
  

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  Equal Justice Initiative, The Death Penalty in Alabama:  Judge Override, http://eji.org/eji/files/Override_Report.pdf
  

10. March 27, 2012 – Overincarceration

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  Speaker
  

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  Vanita Gupta, Deputy Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union (bio, http://www.aclu.org/blog/author/vanita-gupta)
  

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  Readings
  
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    ACLU, Smart Reform is Possible, States Reducing Incarceration Rates and Costs while Protecting Communities (August 2011), http://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/smart-reform-possible-states-reducing-incarceration-rates-and-costs-while
    
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    Vanita Gupta, From Incredible to Inevitable: How the Politics of Criminal Justice Reform May Be Shifting, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanita-gupta/from-incredible-to-inevit_b_670782.html
    
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    Newt Gingrich & Pat Nolan, Prison reform: A smart way for states to save money and live, The Washington Post (Jan. 7, 2011), http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/06/AR2011010604386.html
    
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    ACLU, Parole for the Elderly, http://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/parole-elderly (please view video)
    
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    Texas Public Policy Foundation, Prison Fellowship, Right on Crime, The Conservative case for reform: Fighting Crime, Prioritizing Victims, and Protecting Taxpayers. http://www.rightoncrime.com (please skim web site)
    
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    ACLU, Safe Communities, Fair Sentences. http://www.aclu.org/safe-communities-fair-sentences-0 (please skim web site)
    

11. April 3, 2012 – Class Action Reform

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  Speakers
  

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  Myriam Gilles, Professor of Law, Cardozo Law School (bio, http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/MemberContentDisplay.aspx?ccmd=ContentDisplay&ucmd=UserDisplay&userid=10498)
  
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  Gary Friedman, Partner, Friedman Law Group (bio, http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2009/02/litigator-of-the-week-tk-tk-of-tk-tk-tk.html)
  

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  Readings
  

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  Myriam Gilles, Gary Friedman, After Class: Aggregate Litigation in the Wake of AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 79 U. Chi. L. Rev ___ (2012), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1928071.
  
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  David Arkush, U.S. Supreme Court to Major Corporations: You Write the Rules, Huffington Post (April 28, 2011), http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-arkush/us-supreme-court-to-major_b_854714.html
  
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  Deborah J. La Fetra, Consumers win as Supreme Court Upholds Freedom of Contract, http://plf.typepad.com/plf/2011/04/consumers-win-as-supreme-court-upholds-freedom-of-contract.html
  
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  S.987, Arbitration Fairness Act of 2011, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:S.987
  
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  Christopher Drahozal, Concepcion and the Arbitration Fairness Act, Scotus Blug (Sept. 13, 2011), http://www.scotusblog.com/2011/09/concepcion-and-the-arbitration-fairness-act/
  
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  Skim web sites
  
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    Public Citizen Web Site, http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=183
    

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  Access to Courts & Court Remedies, http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=384
  
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  Forced Arbitration Key Reports, http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=2371
  
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  Fair Arbitration Now, http://www.fairarbitrationnow.org/
  
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  Email to Congress, http://action.citizen.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4150
  

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  Public Justice Web Site, http://www.publicjustice.net/
  

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  Class Action Preservation, http://www.publicjustice.net/Key-Issues-Cases/Access-To-Justice/Class-Action-Preservation.aspx
  
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  Class Action Preservation Project Highlights, http://www.publicjustice.net/Key-Issues-Cases/Access-To-Justice/Class-Action-Preservation/Class-Action-Preservation-Project-Highlights.aspx
  
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  Pacific Legal Foundation, http://www.pacificlegal.org/page.aspx?pid=183
  
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    Individual Rights Litigation, http://www.pacificlegal.org/page.aspx?pid=273
    

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  Optional Reading
  
  • 
    AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, 131 S.Ct. 1740 (2011)
    
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    Collected Readings, SCOTUSblog, http://www.scotusblog.com/category/special-features/arbitration/
    

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  Speakers
  

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  David Udell (bio, http://www.ncforaj.org/home/staff)
  
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  Laura Abel (bio, http://www.ncforaj.org/home/staff)
  

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  Readings
  

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  The Civil Right to Counsel Initiative: A Collaborative Project to Establish an Enforceable Right to Counsel for Low-Income People in High-Stakes Civil Proceedings, A Proposal for Funding Submitted to The Open Society Institute (2006)
  
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  D. James Greiner & Cassandra Wolos Pattanayak, What Difference Representation? (draft Nov. 9, 2010)
  
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  David Udell, What Difference Presentation?, Concurring Opinions Blog, March 28, 2011, http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2011/03/what-difference-presentation.html
  
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  James Greiner & Cassandra Wolos Pattanayak, The Centrality of Abstracts? A Response to Bob Sable’s and David Udell’s Comments on “What Difference Representation?” Concurring Opinions Blog, March 28, 2011, http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2011/03/the-centrality-of-abstracts-a-response-to-bob-sables-and-david-udells-comments-on-what-difference-representation-offers-actual-use-and-the-need-for-randomization.html
  

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  You may want to review these relevant readings from prior classes
  

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  Turner v. Rogers, 131 S. Ct. 2507 (2011)
  
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  Laura Abel, Keeping Families Together, Saving Money, and Other Motivations Behind New Civil Right to Counsel Laws, 42 Loyola of LA L. Rev.1087 (2009), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1503007
  
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  Editorial, Another Kind of Foreclosure Crisis, The New York Times (Oct. 8, 2009), http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/opinion/09fri2.html
  
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  Optional Reading
  
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    D. James Greiner & Cassandra Wolos Pattanayak, Randomized Evaluation in Legal Assistance: What Difference Does Representation (Offer and Actual Use) Make?, Yale Law Journal (forthcoming 2012), available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1708664
    

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  Speakers
  

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  Kate Rubin, Policy Director, Bronx Defenders (bio, http://www.bronxdefenders.org/my-account/kater?format=simple)
  
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  Udi Ofer, Advocacy Director, New York Civil Liberties Union (bio, http://www.nyclu.org/content/nyclu-staff)
  

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  Readings
  

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  Communities United for Police Reform, campaign planning document Note: this is an internal document, so please do not share outside of class  
  
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  Communities United for Police Reform Supports Legislation to Combat Discrimination in Policing (one-pager describing proposed City Council legislation)
  

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  Complaint, Floyd, et al. v. City of New York, et al. (federal class action lawsuit challenging the NYPD’s practices of racial profiling and unconstitutional stop-and frisks, filed by Center for Constitutional Rights 1/31/08), http://ccrjustice.org/files/Floyd_Complaint_08.01.31.pdf
  
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  Stop, Question & Frisk Policing Practices in New York City: A Primer,
  
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  Nicholas Peart, Why Is the NYPD After Me?, NY Times (Dec. 18, 2011), http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/opinion/sunday/young-black-and-frisked-by-the-nypd.html?pagewanted=all
  
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  Optional Reading
  
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  Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968)  
  
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  Complaint, Ligon, et al. v. City of New York, et al., (federal class action lawsuit challenging NYPD’s Operation Clean Halls, filed by NYCLU, Bronx Defenders, & LatinoJustice 3/28/12), http://www.nyclu.org/files/releases/Clean_Halls_complaint_3.28.12.PDF
  
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  Additional information about Ligon v. City of New York, http://www.nyclu.org/news/class-action-lawsuit-challenges-nypd-patrols-of-private-apartment-buildings
  
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  City Council legislation (Intros 799, 800, 801)
  
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  Bronx Defenders, Press Release: Marijuana Arrest Project, March 29, 2012  
  
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  Marijuana Arrest Crusade: Racial Bias and Police Policy in New York City, 1997-2007,  http://www.nyclu.org/files/MARIJUANA-ARREST-CRUSADE_Final.pdf
  
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  Additional information on Floyd, et al. v. City of New York, et al., http://ccrjustice.org/floyd
  
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  Stop & Frisk Press Clips, March 2, 2012
  

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  Speakers
  

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  David Udell (bio, http://www.ncforaj.org/home/staff)
  
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  Laura Abel (bio, http://www.ncforaj.org/home/staff)
  

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  Readings
  

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  Cara Anna & David Udell, We Need a Justice Index, National Law Journal (Dec. 5, 2011), http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202534218778&We_need_a_national_Justice_Index&slreturn=1
  
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  Excerpts from the World Justice Project’s 2011 Rule of Law Index (read methodology pp. 1-14 and regional profiles pp. 21-36), http://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/wjproli2011_0.pdf
  
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  American Bar Foundation, Access Across America: First Report of the Civil Justice Infrastructure Mapping Project (read narrative pp. 9-29, & skim state reports), http://www.americanbarfoundation.org/uploads/cms/documents/access_across_america_first_report_of_the_civil_justice_infrastructure_mapping_project.pdf
  
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  National Center for Access to Justice, Overview