Major developments

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh announced the creation of an access to justice task force and that right to counsel would be considered.

A bill passed in 2020 will allow the public defender to appoint counsel for parents prior to formal dependency proceedings.

A new study explains how COVID-19, the public health crisis, evictions, and the right to counsel are connected.

A statement from the NCCRC regarding the murder of George Floyd, the protests, and the connection to housing justice.

A report finds the majority of MA evictions suspended during COVID-19 are in communities of color, and calls for a right to counsel.

A report by a financial analysis company concludes Baltimore and Maryland would save a combined $36 million with a right to counsel for tenants.

A case about a right to counsel for a protected person to challenge an existing guardianship was sent back to the trial court.

U.S. House Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) and 14 cosponsors introduced a resolution to provide a right to counsel in civil cases.

A Michigan report outlines the state's high eviction filing rate as well as the representational imbalance between tenants and landlords.

A University of Delaware report flags the low rate of tenant representation and the small dollars involved in some eviction actions.

There is a right to counsel for a person diagnosed as "affected with a communicable disease" who has been detained and petitions for discharge.

The NCCRC status map now includes full information about the right to counsel when subject to quarantine or isolation.

The 2019 World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index ranked the U.S. 108th in the world on access to civil justice.

A PA appellate court broadly held that the right to counsel attaches when incarceration is threatened in civil matters.

The PA Superior Court held that counsel must be appointed where there is a likelihood of imprisonment for contempt over failure to pay a cost.

New federal legislation would address flaws in the statute governing discretionary appointment of counsel in federal civil cases.

Bills filed in the U.S. House and Senate would fund cities/states expanding eviction defense and prioritize those with a right to counsel.

The Supreme Court of Nebraska held= the Indian Child Welfare Act and its right to counsel provisions appliy to private guardianship disputes.

The D.C. Court of Appeals held delinquent children have a right to counsel in proceedings run by the Dept' of Youth Rehabilitation Services.

A Shriver Center webinar tackled the question of the race equity implications of an eviction right to counsel, as well as funding questions.

A statewide bill in NY would provide a right to counsel for both detained and non-detained immigrants in removal proceedings.

The Wall Street Journal took a look at how cities are adopting an eviction right to counsel as a way of combating rising rents.

The Supreme Court of Texas reversed a termination of parental rights because a parent was not advised of her right to appointed counsel.

The MA Court of Appeals remanded a case to determine whether children in an eviction case needed representation separate from their mother.

A bill by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) would expand housing representation and encourage state/local governments to provide a right to counsel.

Detroit has taken several steps to explore a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction.

Stout, a financial analysis company that has produced right to counsel cost/benefit reports, has new articles on the right to counsel movement.

A new issue brief from the Center for American Progress explains the importance of providing a right to counsel for tenants.

A new report out of Pennsylvania finds that few are represented in immigration court and calls for counsel to be provided by the state.

A bill by U.S. House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would fund states establishing or pursuing a right to counsel in eviction cases.