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Recent News & Articles

BayLegal’s Observance of Cesar Chavez Day 2022

| By BayLegal
Categories: Announcements, Homepage, News
"History will judge societies and governments—and their institutions—not by how big they are or how well they serve the rich and the powerful, but by how effectively they respond to the needs of the poor and the helpless." – César Chávez
In keeping with both our longstanding policy and our commitment to celebrate and support the self-determination struggles of Black and Brown communities, workers, poor people and those excluded from institutional power, BayLegal offices and phone lines will be closed tomorrow, March 31, in observance of Cesar Chavez Day. During the day of observance, BayLegal would …

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Apply to the CA COVID-19 Rent Relief Program before March 31st, 2022!

| By BayLegal
Categories: Announcements, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News, Resources
The last day to apply to the California COVID-19 Rent Relief Program is March 31, 2022. Apply now! What tenants should know about the rent relief program: If you experienced financial hardship during the pandemic and have unpaid rent, you can apply at housingiskey.com to get up to 18 months of free rent and utilities …

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As Black History Month ends, and Women’s History Month begins, BayLegal congratulates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court

| By BayLegal
Categories: Announcements, Homepage, News
Last week the White House announced that President Joe Biden has selected Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, as his nominee for the United States Supreme Court seat being vacated by the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer. If confirmed, Judge Jackson will become the …

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BayLegal Statement on SFPD’s Use of Sexual Assault Survivor DNA Evidence in Criminal Suspect Databases

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News, Other
Last week Bay Area Legal Aid was shocked and appalled to learn from multiple media sources – with confirmation from San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin – that the San Francisco Police Department used DNA from a survivor’s sexual assault examination several years ago to allege her link to a recent property crime. It is …

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BayLegal Remembers Robert Planthold

| By BayLegal
Categories: Announcements, eNewsletter Story, Executive Director blog, Homepage, News
Bay Area Legal Aid joins with friends, colleagues, and allies in the access to justice, disability, and tenant rights communities in our shared grief for the loss of our dear friend and long-serving member of our Board of Directors, Robert “Bob” Planthold who passed away unexpectedly on January 27th. BayLegal’s Board Chair Rob Goodin spoke …

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An Opportunity to Transform Medi-Cal — and the Need for Legal Services in Whole Person Care

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
An in-depth February 14th story by Kristin Hwang at CalMatters details the sweeping changes coming to Medi-Cal under the Cal-AIM (California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal) initiative launched this January. Cal-AIM seeks to implement a “whole person care” model to improve health outcomes for low-income Medi-Cal recipients in high-risk populations facing complex health problems compounded by …

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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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Relieving Traffic Debt, Removing Barriers to Housing and Stability

| By BayLegal
Categories: Attorneys, Client Story, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
Congratulations to BayLegal Senior Staff Attorney Andrea Crider and her client, who just secured $48,000 in traffic debt relief through BayLegal’s representation in Contra Costa County Homeless Court. Andrea reports that over the course of extensive advocacy in homeless court and traffic court, this is the largest amount of debt she has seen relieved for …

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BayLegal Statement on the Verdict in the Rittenhouse Trial

| By BayLegal
Categories: Announcements, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
Today’s verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse repeats a far too familiar pattern in which paramilitary violence directed against Black people struggling for liberation and their allies operates with state sanction. At Bay Area Legal Aid, we stand in the firm conviction that regardless of the outcome of this case, non-state racial terror cannot …

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Napa County Women Lawyers (NCWL) launches 2021 fundraiser for Bay Area Legal Aid

| By BayLegal
Categories: Announcements, eNewsletter Story, Fundraising, Homepage, News
BayLegal’s gratitude goes out to Napa County Women Lawyers (NCWL), who today launched an online fundraising page in support of Bay Area Legal Aid. For many years NCWL and its members have provided community partnership, volunteer support, advocacy, and fundraising support for legal services in Napa County, first in partnership with Legal Aid of Napa …

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Guide for tenants being sued for pandemic rent debt

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, News
An article by Noah Arroyo published yesterday in the San Francisco Public Press provides a useful overview of critical first steps and frequently asked questions for tenants facing lawsuits in small claims court for unpaid rent during the pandemic. Starting November 1st, landlords seeking to recover unpaid rent will be permitted to sue tenants in …

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