Legal Issues - General - Patricia E. Kefalas Dudek

Civil Rights Issues:

Alliance for Justice
A national association of civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organizations.

American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU's mission is to preserve all of the Constitution's protections and guarantees.

Annual Report to Congress of the Office for Civil Rights (Fiscal year 2006)

Civil Rights and the American Bar Association (Human Rights Magazine - Winter 2007)
The roots of the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities (IRR) lie in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The Section’s future is tied to the civil rights movements that will emerge in the coming decades and beyond

NAACP
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization.

Protecting Students with Disabilities (U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights)
Frequently asked questions about Section 504.

Capital Punishment Issues:

ABA Calls for National Execution Moratorium (ABA Journal - October 2007)
After a three-year study on state capital punishment systems, the American Bar Association is calling for a nationwide moratorium on executions until an unfair and sometimes inaccurate application of the death penalty is corrected.

Amnesty International
The death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights. By working towards the abolition of the death penalty worldwide, Amnesty International USA's Death Penalty Abolition Campaign looks to end the cycle of violence created by a system riddled with economic and racial bias and tainted by human error.

Human Rights Magazine (American Bar Association - Spring 2007)
The issue linked above has several interesting articles on the subject of Capital Punishment.

Human Rights Magazine (American Bar Association - Summer 2001)
The issue linked above has several interesting articles on the Death Penalty.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
The nation's oldest organization dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules that criminal defendants with "mental impairments" can be executed
In a decision that may prove to be a lightning rod in the debate over Pennsylvania's use of the death penalty, the state Supreme Court has ruled that any criminal defendant with mental impairments, short of being legally defined as "mentally retarded," can be executed for capital offenses.

Consumer Law Issues:

National Consumer Law Center
Protecting consumers and promoting marketplace justice.

National Assn. of Consumer Advocates
A nationwide organization of attorneys who represent consumers victimized by fraudulent business practices.

Criminal Law:

Criminal Defense & Indigent Defense Links

Resources on Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions (Michigan Bar Journal)
The failure to recognize the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction can spell disaster for the uninformed defendant.

Freedom of Information Act:

Freedom of Information Act - Carry a Big Stick
An article from the Michigan Bar Journal

GovernmentDocs.org: A new online government document database that will house Freedom of Information Act responses and other government documents from a number of organizations that can be browsed, searched and reviewed.

Let the Sunshine In: How Public are our Public Records? A report on Wayne State University students' requests for public records and the resulting compliance.

Michigan's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (Office of Attorney General - July 2007)
The FOIA regulates and sets requirements for the disclosure of public records by all public bodies in the state. This is a summary of the basic provisions of the Act, including the actual text of the statute.

State Public Record Laws (FOIA Advocates)
All 50 states also have public records laws which allow the public to obtain documents and other public records from state and local government bodies. State public records laws are not identical to FOIA nor are state court interpretations of similar language in state statutes necessarily the same as federal court interpretation of FOIA (though many were modeled upon the federal FOIA). Search for your state's public records laws here.

Indian Law:

Native American Rights Fund
The oldest and largest nonprofit law firm dedicated to asserting and defending rights of Indian tribes, organizations and individuals.

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs had been in existence since the early 19th century.

Tribal Court Clearinghouse
The Tribal Court Clearinghouse is a comprehensive website established in June 1997 to serve as a resource for American Indian and Alaska Native Nations, American Indian and Alaska Native people, tribal justice systems, victims services providers, tribal service providers, and others involved in the improvement of justice in Indian country.

Legal (General):

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations

Legal Services Links

Making a Difference: A Role for Lawyers in Economic Development

National Center for Law and Economic Justice

National Legal Center for the Public Interest

Prosecuting Attorneys, District Attorneys, Attorneys General & U.S. Attorneys

Trial Lawyers for Public Justice

United States Code

Legislative Updates: Elder Justice Act

Elder Justice Act (Open Congress.org)
H.R. 1783 - To amend the Social Security Act to enhance the social security of the Nation by ensuring adequate public-private infrastructure and to resolve to prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, and prosecute elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, and for other purposes.

Elder Justice Act (ABA.net)
Summary of S.1070 and H.R. 1783. Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish an Elder Justice program under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services)

President Obama Signs Elder Justice Bill Into Law (Int'l Federation on Aging - 3-24-10)
As part of the new US health care system plan, Congress and President Obama have approved the Elder Justice Act and the Patient Safety Abuse Prevention Act. This will include Adult Protective Services (APS) funding that will provide $400 million in first-time dedicated funding for adult protection services. It will also provide $100 million in state demonstration grants in order to test many different methods that will improve APS. The Elder Justice Bill will establish what is being referred to as the Elder Justice Coordinating Council that will make recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the coordination of activities of federal, state, local and private agencies.

Legislative Updates: Services

Legislative Research, Inc.
This is a service that researches that researches legislative history. It is based in California and primarily does California law. However, they will search to see if a research firm in your state does research like they do (this services is free) and if not, they will do the research for you at hourly rates.

Library of Congress - THOMAS
THOMAS was launched in January of 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress, which directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. Since that time THOMAS has expanded the scope of its offerings to include features and content such as Bills, Resolutions Activity in Congress, Congressional Record and more. Also provides links to U.S. House of Representatives legislative resources. Find a bill, amendment or debate by bill text or humber, congressional record or legislative archive, or see what's currently on the house floor.

Legislative Updates (Learning Disabilities of America)
Timely updates on events and activities in the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government plus related news.