AUSTIN, Texas - Legal Aid for the poor is, once again, in jeopardy. A measure that would have raised $20 million for the program that provides basic legal services to more than 104,000 low-income Texas families each year was quietly dropped in the final days of the regular legislative session.

Now, members of the Texas Supreme Court are urging lawmakers to restore the money during the current special session. Justice Nathan Hecht says the state's Legal Aid program is essential for people in poverty seeking fairness in civil matters.

"And most importantly, it supports the rule of law, because there's no point in having a legal system that the people that need it can't afford."

Among Legal Aid recipients: veterans pursuing benefits, renters fighting evictions, elderly Texans who have been denied healthcare, victims of natural disasters, and abused spouses in need of restraining orders.

Justice Hecht says many lawyers are willing to help those in need by either donating their services or working for well below their normal rates. Even so, he adds, some funds are required for them to navigate the system. A recent University of North Texas survey found Texas lawyers donate about two million hours each year to civil cases, adds Hecht.

"That's a lot of time. And it's not just the lawyers who need to be addressing legal services for the poor; it's a problem for all of us."

The Texas Supreme Court oversees the disbursement of funds through annual grants to Legal Aid organizations. It's a system that will be difficult to rebuild if it goes unfunded now, says Hecht.

For decades, Legal Aid was largely funded by interest from lawyer trust funds. But after interest rates plummeted, that money has largely dried up. The new plan would be paid for by court fees: $5 on misdemeanors, and $10 on District Court filings. It is fitting that revenues come from within the system, says Hecht.

"People who can use the system - who can afford it - are going be asked to pay really a very small amount to make it possible for people who can't have access to be able to get there."

He notes that even if the Legislature restores funding, about three-quarters of Texans who need and qualify for Legal Aid will be turned away. Hecht and fellow Supreme Court Justice Wallace Jefferson wrote a letter this week to Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) asking that the Legal Aid funding be restored during the current special session.



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The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas says it is monitoring protests at college campuses, after almost 60 students protesting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were arrested during a demonstration at the University of Texas in Austin.

State troopers on horses and in riot gear were called in to control the crowd. ACLU Staff Attorney Brian Klosterboer said students planning to participate in peaceful protests should know their rights.

"We encourage everyone to follow the guidance of law enforcement even if they believe that law enforcement might be violating their First Amendment or constitutional rights," said Klosterboer. "It's important that people try to stay safe. Remember, they also have a right to remain silent. You can ask if you are free to leave."

Charges were dropped against the protesters in Austin. Students also held a sit-in at the University of Texas in Dallas and a walkout was held at the University of Texas in Arlington.

Following the arrests of the protesters, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on the social media platform X that the students belonged in jail, and accused them of hate speech.

Klosterboer said when state officials attack free speech, they undermine the core of democracy.

"Texas public universities were specifically designated by Gov. Abbott as traditional public forums," said Klosterboer. "That's where students and others who are engaging in any kind of speech, whether it's passing out Bibles and religious literature or engaging in protests for human rights. That's where free speech is at its apex."

He added that if someone feels their civil liberties have been violated, they can file a complaint on the ACLU website.

The demonstrations in Texas are part of nationwide protests calling for a ceasefire between the Israeli forces and Hamas.





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The Montana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has filed class-action lawsuit challenging a measure barring people from listing a gender on their birth certificate other than the one they were born with.

Montana lawmakers passed Senate Bill 280 in 2021, which requires a court order to change gender on a birth certificate. A state court issued an injunction against the measure but now the state health department has put a total ban on changes to sex designations on birth certificates.

Akilah Deernose, executive director of the ACLU of Montana, called the measure part of a "concerted and unrelenting attack" on the civil rights of people who identify as transgender.

"We've previously sued on the birth certificate issue," Deernose pointed out. "Once again, we're seeing the state implement laws and rules and policies that unfairly target transgender people."

On the other side, some people argued birth certificates contain vital statistics and should be based on the facts at the time of birth. The suit awaits action in state court.

Deernose noted beyond privacy rights, the birth certificate measure has the potential to force a person to declare themselves to be someone other than who they are, based on their declared identity.

"And who they know themselves to be," Deernose observed. "That puts them at risk of discrimination and also forces them to out themselves every time they share those identity documents."

The suit also challenges a motor vehicle department policy forbidding changing sex designations on driver's licenses.

New York state lawmakers have appointed members to the Community Commission on Reparations Remedies, created through legislation Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in 2023.

Its goal is to examine the legacy of slavery and its continuing impacts on black New Yorkers. The commission will develop a report outlining recommendations for addressing these inequities.

Linda J. Mann, co-founder of the African American Redress Network, said there is one problem facing the commission: a lack of funds.

"It is absolutely imperative that funds for these types of task force, because of the amount of research that's going into it, is an imperative," Mann emphasized.

While the bill had plenty of Democratic support, it drew the ire of Republican lawmakers.

Many areas of the country are determining how to redress past disparities Black people face. A recent report found philanthropies have received millions in funds stemming from depriving Black people of opportunities to build wealth similar to those of their white counterparts.

The New York commission will have to present its findings in 2025.

A 2021 Pew Research survey showed three-quarters of Black Americans surveyed support reparations, while only 18% of white Americans support it.

Along with the U.S., countries worldwide are navigating reparations, with Mann noting they are not always compensatory.

"We're not talking about just altering economic wellness," Mann pointed out. "There's other ways in which historical harms have led to disparities in education, in health, in housing."

Beyond New York, California is the only other state to have created a reparations commission. California's reparations task force recommended some compensatory reparations based on factors such as health harms, mass incarceration and over-policing, housing discrimination and the devaluation of African American businesses. But, it wasn't certain how much all of this would amount to.