A Courts-Focused Research Agenda for the Department of Justice
The title of this post is the title of this notable new Brennan Center report. Here is its introduction:
Millions of individuals interact with the U.S. criminal and civil legal system every year. Many of them look to the courts to defend their rights and ensure fair outcomes and all too often, courts are falling short.
As a candidate, President Biden committed to combatting mass incarceration, ending the criminalization of poverty, rooting out racial disparities, and refocusing our criminal and civil legal systems on the key principles of equality, equity, and justice. State and federal courts are critical to achieving these goals, but there is much that we don’t know about how they currently function and where reform is most acutely needed.
Feds, state double down on secrecy of data on in-custody deaths Breaking down CMPD s release of body cam video in death of Harold Easter By Nick Ochsner | April 22, 2021 at 10:55 AM EDT - Updated April 22 at 10:55 AM
As communities across the nation continue to grapple with high-profile police killings, North Carolina officials have again refused to release information on the deaths of people who died in custody, citing guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The congressman who wrote the law requiring states to collect that information says both North Carolina and the U.S. DOJ are getting it wrong.
Jason deBruyn
Specifically,
Madan wrote, the law “would forbid the North Carolina Department of Public Safety” from revealing information from the collected forms.
U.S. DOJ cited that same statute
in its denial last week of a federal Freedom of Information Act request from the Watchdog Reporting Network for the same data.
And in an email this week, the Governor’s Crime Commission, the North Carolina agency responsible for collecting data under the federal law, again said it was prohibited from releasing its own version of the information – regardless of format.
“Information regarding deaths in custody of local law enforcement is not collected or maintained by GCC independently of the DCR-1A or BJA spreadsheets,” commission spokesperson Margaret Ekam said in an email. “Therefore, we do not have any public documents responsive to your request.”
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
The Hays County Commissioners Court approved a Request For Proposal for administrative services for a new Emergency Rental Assistance Program in its meeting Tuesday.
After receiving funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to provide financial rent and utility assistance, the county is soliciting proposals for a firm to manage the program. The program will provide financial assistance to income eligible households that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic including loss of employment.
Emergency Services Director Mike Jones announced a First Med Response COVID-19 vaccine clinic that will be operational starting in May where residents can receive first doses on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and second doses on Thursdays and Fridays.
County prepares for new rental assistance program sanmarcosrecord.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sanmarcosrecord.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.