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Juvenile Court Presiding Judge Michael Nash and Public Counsel's Laura Faer at City Hall
LA City Council Votes 14-0 to Fix Law That Led to $1,000 Tickets for Late Students The Los Angeles City Council voted 14-0 on Feb. 22 to fix the city’s broken student curfew law, culminating years of action by Public Counsel and other groups across the city.

Shocking Case Puts Patient Dumping Back in the Spotlight Public Counsel helped expose the problem of patient dumping by Los Angeles hospitals and change it. But a new case featured in the Los Angeles Times puts the issue back in the spotlight.

LA County Takes Major Step to Combat Section 8 Discrimination in the Antelope Valley A Public Counsel lawsuit last year exposed a frightening fact: For years, black and Latino families who are part of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale faced harassment from officials. Now Los Angeles County has approved a breakthrough agreement that that will combat discrimination and help heal the divisions in the community.

Big Step Toward Justice for Immigrants with Mental Disabilities: Court Clears Way for Class Action Lawsuit In 2010 a Public Counsel lawsuit exposed a harsh fact: Immigrants with severe mental disabilities are held in U.S. detention centers, sometimes for years, without access to attorneys. Now a federal court has cleared the way for a class action lawsuit on behalf of people detained with no way to resolve their cases.

02/06/2012
Patient Dumped by Los Angeles Hospital and Lost in Skid Row Sues Over Negligence In the latest case of Southern California patient dumping, Public Counsel and attorney Steven D. Archer of Kiesel, Boucher & Larson LLP filed a lawsuit on Friday, February 3, against White Memorial Medical Center and Dr. Michael Hernandez. The lawsuit centers on Jesse Bravo, a married father of four who discharged him without his consent or his family’s knowledge. He was lost on Los Angeles' Skid Row for two days.

02/02/2012
City of Palmdale Agrees to Resolve Lawsuit and Promote Fair Housing for Section 8 Participants Public Counsel announces an agreement between the City of Palmdale and residents, The Community Action League and the California State Conference of the NAACP that will prevent discrimination in its community. The agreement was approved by the Palmdale City Council on Feb. 1 and settles a lawsuit filed in June 2011 on behalf of families who are part of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program and faced harassment and intimidation in Antelope Valley cities for many years. The action comes a week after Los Angeles County Supervisors voted on Tuesday, Jan. 24, to institute new protocols for Section 8 program investigators and Sheriff’s Department personnel.

02/02/2012
Los Angeles Civil Rights Organizations Applaud Adoption of School Attendance Reform Recommendations by Education Coordinating Council Public Counsel and other groups release a statement of support as Los Angeles County law enforcement, agencies, courts and others call for significant reforms to every county agency that interacts with youth who struggle with attendance, including courts, police, and schools.

01/25/2012
Los Angeles County Agrees to Take Major Step to Combat Section 8 Discrimination in the Antelope Valley For years, Antelope Valley families who are part of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program faced harassment in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale. Now Los Angeles County has sent a powerful message to these and other cities: County programs and departments will no longer be used as tools for intimidation and discrimination. County Supervisors approved an agreement late Tuesday with attorneys representing Antelope Valley residents and the NAACP that takes away many of the tools that have been used to inspire fear in the more than 11,000 Section 8 participants in the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale who moved to the area seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

More Press Releases

01/01/2012

ABA Journal: Force for Good: Public Counsel Law Center's New App Connects Lawyers, Clients ABA Journal The American Bar Assn. Journal writes about Public Counsel's new smartphone app, Force for Good, which lets users refer cases, and allows volunteer lawyers to take a case and provide updates.

12/21/2011
National Law Journal: Judge certifies class of immigration detainees suffering mental problems National Law Journal A federal judge in California has certified a class of hundreds of undocumented immigrant detainees with mental disabilities who have alleged that they were unable to obtain legal counsel in violation of their due process rights.

12/22/2011
Daily Journal: Working to avert bankruptcy crisis Daily Journal The Daily Journal profiles Public Counsel's self-help bankruptcy clinic, which is a "lifeline for a court deluged with debtors who are unrepresented."

10/20/2011
Daily Journal: Obama adminstration deports record number of illegal immigrants The Daily Journal As the U.S. sets a new record by deporting nearly 400,000 people who were in the country illegally during fiscal 2011, Public Counsel's Judy London responded to the Daily Journal.

President Bill Clinton and Barbra Streisand Celebrate With Public Counsel
Public Counsel's Power of 1+1
CBS Stars Shine for Public Counsel
Public Counsel: We're a Force for Equality
We're Driving for Dignity to Keep Youth in Schools
KTLA Spotlights Public Counsel's Run for Justice at the 2011 LA Marathon