A2JC Dispatch – October 2024 Issue

The October Issue
In this month’s Dispatch, we highlight the work of Reena Shah, Executive Director of the Access to Justice Commission and Chair of the Access to Counsel in Evictions Task Force, as she leads the annual hearings to advance tenant protections and housing access across Maryland. We also report on new state and national initiatives, including Maryland’s recent efforts to seal eviction records to help tenants secure housing without the stigma of past filings and Fresh Leaf Maryland’s campaign encouraging individuals to expunge cannabis possession records. Nationally, Maryland advocates joined the ABA’s National Justice for All Conference to discuss key themes like expanding the role of allied legal professionals, AI in the justice system, and innovative ways to address legal service deserts. You can find all these stories and more in this month’s dispatch.
A2J Commission News
- Access to Counsel in Evictions Task Force Holds Annual Hearings Reena Shah, ED of the Access to Justice Commission, also serves as the Chair of the statutorily mandated Access to Counsel in Eviction Task Force. Task Force reports must be delivered to the General Assembly and Governor by January 1 of each year. Past reports have laid out the roadmap for ACE implementation and made policy and law reform recommendations to improve and effectuate successful implementation. The Task Force hears from civil legal aid organizations, MLSC, outreach providers, United Way, DHCD, the judiciary, the sheriff’s association, public housing authorities, national organizations, and more to help inform its work. The Task Force meetings are open to the public.
- Innovations in Tiered Legal Services Task Force Explores Community Justice Workers The Innovations in Tiered Legal Services Task Force is a joint effort of the Maryland Judiciary, MSBA and A2JC. The Task Force will explore the movement in other states to create different tiers within the legal profession that would allow allied legal professionals to offer legal assistance in specified and limited ways. One of the innovations that is taking hold around the country relates to community justice workers. CJWs are generally embedded and trusted members within communities or community organizations who are upskilled to provide limited legal help to community members. The Task Force heard from national experts from Innovation for Justice, Frontline Justice and from other states who have implemented similar programs, including Alaska, Utah and Arizona.
- A2JC Attends ABA’s National Justice for All Conference ABA’s annual Forum on Building Justice for All highlighted several broadbased themes that resonate in Maryland. Core themes included considering how allied legal professionals can help fill the access to justice gap; the crisis of attracting and retaining talent to work for civil legal aid organizations; AI and Access to Justice; and understanding legal deserts and gaps in service delivery through data and mapping.
Tips from Maryland Judiciary’s Access to Justice Department. We are pleased to offer recurring content from the Maryland Judiciary’s Access to Justice Department as part of the A2J Dispatch.
- Circuit Court for Baltimore County Announces Merger of Law Library and Self-Help Office into Access to Justice Resource Center The Circuit Court for Baltimore County’s Law Library, Self-Help Office, and Language Services department, which share the common goal of increasing access to justice, have been operating as separate departments within the courthouse. After considering ways to promote access to justice and to optimize the support the court provides to self-represented parties, the county administrative judge and court administration decided to implement a plan to merge these departments.
Local A2J News
- Fresh Leaf Maryland Launches Statewide Campaign to Encourage Expungement of Cannabis-Related Records Fresh Leaf Maryland is excited to announce the launch of a statewide media campaign to inform Marylanders about new laws allowing for the expungement of almost all cannabis possession criminal records in the state and to encourage individuals to expunge cannabis possession arrests, charges, and convictions with assistance from free and low-cost legal aid services.
- Catholic Charities Will Open Bilingual Center in Dundalk to Support Those Affected by Key Bridge Collapse Catholic Charities of Baltimore announced plans on Sept. 5 to open and operate a new bilingual support center to provide a range of services to communities affected by the Key Bridge collapse and its aftermath. The center will open later this month and be located in the Dundalk historic district, just a short distance from the bridge location.
- Advocates, Families Rattled by Mistaken Termination of Medicaid Program Participation Nearly 300 people with developmental disabilities received letters earlier this year informing them they were no longer eligible for certain Medicaid programs and would be booted from their health insurance and community-based services.
- Maryland to Begin Sealing Eviction Records from the Public The bill to seal eviction records became law starting in October. This means courts must shield records within 60 days of a resolution that doesn’t end in a tenant losing possession of their home. The bill was a compromise between landlord and tenant advocates to help ensure tenants can relocate, without the tenant being harmed by an eviction filing alone.
- Amtrak’s Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program Raises Concern from West Baltimore Residents Amtrak’s multibillion Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program is in progress with the intention of modernizing a 10-mile section of the bustling Northeast Corridor and eliminate a rail bottleneck between D.C. and New Jersey. A civil legal aid organization, the Community Law Center is representing 10 community groups to speak with one voice to raise issues related to above and below ground property rights issues and environmental issues.
National A2J News
- DACA Recipients Defend Access to Affordable Health Care in Court CASA, on behalf of its members, and Dania Quezada, a third-year law student with DACA at the University of Washington are seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s regulation allowing DACA recipients to access health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
- How Can Legal Aid Hold On to Good Attorneys? Legal aid directors from Minnesota and Arkansas discuss their multi-faceted efforts to attract and retain high-quality attorneys and other staff on Talk Justice. It’s no secret that legal aid does not lead to the highest potential salaries in the profession. While legal aid has much to offer in terms of opportunities for high-impact, rewarding work, program directors must be creative to attract and retain staff with their limited resources.
- The State of Civil Gideon 60 Years On On September 24, the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy hosted a panel, Civil Gideon: Re-Examining Equal Access to Justice in Family Law, Housing, Immigration, and Juvenile Law, on the Boston College Law campus to discuss how that movement has fared in the intervening years.
- Dispute over Attorney’s Fees in Civil Rights Cases Comes before Justice Although the issue in Lackey v. Stinnie may sound like a technical one, it has drawn considerable attention, with lawyers on both sides of the case telling the justices that their decision could have a significant impact on how civil rights cases are litigated and resolved going forward.
- Meet Rouba and Lisa, the Duo Steering Asylum Access Forward Since stepping into their roles as Interim Co-CEOs in March, Rouba Anka and Lisa D’Annunzio have brought experience, passion, and a steadfast commitment to advancing refugee rights through their leadership at Asylum Access.
- Increasing Access to Justice: Innovations Now Happening in the Nation’s Court System Some legal professionals may have hesitancy around generative AI, but the tools are already at work, transforming court operations while expanding access to justice.