SFMTA Changes Debt Towing Policies in Response to Lawsuit, Promising New Protections for Vehicularly Housed San Franciscans (re-posted from LCCRSF)

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
Car being towed
SFMTA Changes Debt Towing Policies in Response to Lawsuit, Promising New Protections for Vehicularly Housed San Franciscans Posted: October 6, 2021 by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area Shared by BayLegal: October 7, 2021 Media updates: Bay Area CBS affiliate KPIX covered the story October 6, 2021. LCCRSF’s Zal Shroff will …

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Know Your Rights! Youth Interactions with Law Enforcement

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News, Resources
BayLegal’s Youth Justice practice has produced a helpful guide to youth interactions with police, ICE, and other law enforcement. It is important that young people know their rights and how to assert and protect them in encounters with law enforcement—especially for black or brown youth, who are more often mistreated by police. The guide includes …

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Joint statement from East Bay legal services providers on the Alameda County eviction moratorium

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News, Resources
Gavel And Small Model House On Wooden Table
With the statewide eviction moratorium due to expire at the end of this month, many tenants have been left wondering what happens next. For those who rent in Alameda County, it is important to remember that the countywide moratorium will continue to protect you from most evictions beyond September 30, 2021. The Alameda County Eviction …

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BayLegal’s Economic Justice advocacy during the COVID-19 pandemic

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy
BayLegal and our partners engaged in significant successful advocacy during the pandemic to enhance access to county, state, and federal safety net benefits. This included advocacy with the California Department of Social Services impacting low-income people who rely on CalWORKs, CalFresh, CAPI,  and other state benefits, with the Social Security Administration regarding access to SSI/SSDI …

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National Spotlight on the Tech Divide in Remote Eviction Proceedings

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, News
Gavel And Small Model House On Wooden Table
March 30, 2021 Reuters today carries a story by Carey L. Biron which examines some of the impacts of pandemic-related remote court proceedings on low-income litigants, particularly tenants defending against evictions. Unequal resources, vastly different levels of access to computer technology and internet connectivity between landlords and tenants, and inconsistent or inaccessible procedures for filing …

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Executive Director’s Blog, March 2021

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Executive Director blog, Homepage, News
Genevieve Richardson, Executive Director
Dear friends of Bay Area Legal Aid, The lives taken from us over a full year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the hugely disproportionate share of trauma and loss that has fallen to low-income families, Black families, Indigenous families, other families of color, and immigrant families—these demand that we enter the second year of the …

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BayLegal and Our Legal Aid Colleagues Call for Lawmakers to Establish Safe, Equitable, and Consistent Pandemic Response in California’s Courts

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, News
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Bay Area Legal Aid has advocated within county superior court systems in our own direct service area, and on a statewide level in support of clear, equitable, and science-supported safeguards against the spread of  Covid-19 in the courts. On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, BayLegal Executive Director Genevieve Richardson joined our legal …

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CalMatters Highlights BayLegal’s Work to End Unfair Traffic Court Practices

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, Litigation, News, Other
Person driving car
CalMatters highlighted BayLegal’s work to end traffic court practices that disproportionately affect low-income individuals and Black and Latinx drivers. The latter groups are more likely to be pulled over due to racial profiling. The article describes the work BayLegal did with Western Center and other partner organizations in Hernandez v. CA DMV. In this case, …

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Advocating for the Rights of the Formerly Incarcerated Under the Fair Chance Act

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, News
someone's hand holding a pen over a job application
Bay Area Legal Aid attorneys submitted public comments this month on the Fair Chance Act, a California law that prevents employers from asking about a person’s conviction history during the job application process. BayLegal applauded the protections the Act extends to formerly incarcerated individuals while also urging the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) …

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Advocacy Win for MUNI Riders in San Francisco

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, News
Update: As follow up to last week’s great news on creation of the SF Access Pass, BayLegal attorney Raegan Joern gave public comment to the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) thanking it for the Access Pass and asking that it to go further by extending the moratorium on fare evasion citations until shelter in place …

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BayLegal’s Systems Advocacy During the Pandemic: An Overview and Update

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
group of lawyers or corporate businessmen and businesswomen crossing two cliffs with the help of a justice scale acting as a bridge to legal services
Our expertise in advocating for clients’ individual legal needs while simultaneously identifying and pursuing opportunities for broader systemic change has been critical in response to the pandemic. I hope you will read more about our specific advocacy initiatives since the world changed in March 2020 and anticipated needs – it is because of your support that we are able to …

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BayLegal Opposes the City of Oakland’s Proposed “Homeless Encampment Management Policy”

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, News
On Friday, October 16, Bay Area Legal Aid attorneys submitted public comment strongly opposing the City of Oakland’s proposed “Homeless Encampment Management Policy.” Implementation of the policy as written would result in unconstitutional seizures of property and denial of due process rights to those living unsheltered in Oakland. It would needlessly increase policing, accelerate the …

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