BayLegal’s Advocacy

Bay Area Legal Aid works both on our own and in partnership with a broad array of other advocacy organizations and public systems to address the systemic inequities facing our clients and their communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic this work has grown along with the need to help mitigate the pandemic’s disproportionate impacts on low-income families and communities in areas of housing, economic security, healthcare and public benefits access, and other issues. Public health should mean all of us!

The list on this page is dynamically updated, so check back frequently.

California Judicial Council Sued for Illegal Scheme to Fund Courts through Late Fees; San Mateo Court Stops Collecting Millions in Outstanding Debts and Waits for Governor and Legislature to Act.

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, Litigation, News
MEDIA UPDATES “San Mateo court agrees to stop collecting debt from unpaid fees in light of lawsuit,” Maria Dinzeo for Courthouse News Service, 5/25/2022 “San Mateo Courts Pause Late Fees in Response to Suit,” Dave Simpson for Law360, 5/25/2022 (requires paid subscription) “Civil Rights, Legal Aid Groups Pause Lawsuit Over $300 Civil Assessments,” The Recorder, …

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Bay Area Legal Aid files suit against junk debt buyer for fraudulent collection practices

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, Attorneys, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
March 16, 2022 For Immediate Release Bay Area Legal Aid files suit against junk debt buyer for fraudulent collection practices. Press Contacts: Noah Zinner, Regional Managing Attorney, Bay Area Legal Aid, (510) 250-5266, nzinner@baylegal.org Kai Haswell, Senior Attorney, Bay Area Legal Aid, (510) 250-5205, khaswell@baylegal.org Oakland, CA- Today, Bay Area Legal Aid (BayLegal) filed a …

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BayLegal Joins Lawsuit to Stop Exorbitant Late Fees Used to Fund Court Systems in San Mateo County

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, Attorneys, Homepage, Litigation, News
Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area Legal Aid, and Fenwick & West LLP filed a lawsuit challenging San Mateo County Superior Court’s unlawful practice of automatically imposing a $300 charge every time an individual misses a payment or court deadline in their traffic …

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New Resources for Equal Opportunity Hiring: Impact Fund’s Advocacy Guide for School Districts After the Killian Settlement

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News, Resources
Five people stand smiling in front of brick wall
In 2019, Bay Area Legal Aid, the Impact Fund, and the Safe Return Project reached a settlement in Killian v. West Contra Costa Unified School District. The settlement led to changes in the way the school district asked questions about applicants’ contacts with the criminal justice system, removing the use of background checks as a “gatekeeping” …

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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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