Reblaw2012

Taxis in Connecticut

RebLawger — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:45:00 GMT

The taxicab accessibility story in Connecticut:http://ctmirror.org/story/14587/wheelchair-accessible-cabs-be-deployed-advocates-still-fighting

Taxicab Accessibility in NYC

RebLawger — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:42:00 GMT

We hope you'll attend our RebLaw workshop on Taxicab Accessibility in NYC and New Haven! Hear about the advocacy that led to this exciting ruling from the advocates themselves. http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/12/24/judge-rules-that-nyc-cabs-must-be-wheelchair-accessible/

Eaters’ Guide to Fair Employment

RebLawger — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:21:00 GMT

Ariel Stevenson

Conscientious eaters are expert interrogators. They barrage their servers with well-meaning questions, like: Is it local? Is it organic? Is it fair trade? Did it descend from a proud heirloom lineage never sullied by human design? The server will smile, answer, perhaps even agree. It probably never crosses his mind that the saintly diner before him forgot one very important question: Are you being treated fairly?

Restaurant Opportunity Centers United is working to bring this issue to the front of eaters’ minds with the First Annual ROC Diners Guide. The Guide helps conscientious diners support restaurants with admirable labor policies, and avoid those that exploit workers. It looks at wages, paid sick leave policies, discrimination, and opportunities for workplace advancement. Though it isn’t comprehensive just yet—it focuses on restaurants in eight major cities and analyzes either national corporations or ROC partner restaurants—it’s a good start to raise awareness of what heretofore has gone all but unnoticed on the food justice movement agenda.

The end of the guide features “tip cards” that diners can leave on tables to promote labor rights among restaurant workers. The cards say things like, “You are entitled to… [o]vertime pay of 1½ times your regular pay for every hour worked over 40 hours in a given week.” That way, even if you’re forced to eat at a restaurant that doesn’t earn the highest ROC rating—which is inevitable since so few restaurants satisfy even a modicum of fair labor standards—you can advance workers’ rights by educating your server.

And don’t forget, a generous tip goes a long way.

Short Film about Thai Floods Provides Unique View of Everyday Impact of Climate Change

RebLawger — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:51:00 GMT

Ariel Stevenson

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change met in Uganda last week to discuss the current state of global climate change. The main conclusion of the meeting had a familiar ring: weather is changing, and it’s probably our fault (but we still need to conduct more research).

While the IPCC was debating the conclusiveness of the data, people in Thailand were wading through waist-deep water that has filled their shops, streets, and homes for months. The death toll of the Thailand floods has just topped six hundred, most from drowning. Economic growth is projected to be stunted at 2.4%.

This short film by photojournalist Gideon Mendel documents the everyday impact of these floods on the people of Thailand. It is a spellbinding image of perseverance in the face of hardship and adaptation amidst profound strangeness.

Clarence Thomas Remains Silent for 5 Years of Oral Arguments

RebLawger — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 14:26:00 GMT

The New York Times writes "A week from Tuesday, when the Supreme Court returns from its midwinter break and hears arguments in two criminal cases, it will have been five years since Justice Clarence Thomas has spoken during a court argument. If he is true to form, Justice Thomas will spend the arguments as he always does: leaning back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, rubbing his eyes, whispering to Justice Stephen G. Breyer, consulting papers and looking a little irritated and a little bored. He will ask no questions."

New Frontiers in Fair Housing Litigation

RebLawger — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:03:00 GMT

In August 2009, Westchester County in New York signed an agreement to spend over $50 million to construct hundreds of affordable housing units for moderate-income people. The agreement, brokered by the US Department for Housing and Urban Development, settled a suit brought by the Anti-Discrimination Center, which argued that Westchester had falsely certified that it would encourage fair housing when applying for federal grants. The agreement stipulates that the housing is to be built in overwhelmingly white communities and aggressively marketed to nonwhites in Westchester and New York City. This was a landmark agreement in housing desegregation and one example of innovative litigation strategies currently being adopted by advocacy groups and legal organizations across the country.

Come hear about the Westchester case and other cutting-edge legal strategies being implemented to combat housing segregation at the “New Frontiers in Fair Housing Litigation” panel at 4pm on Friday, February 18.

House Republicans Limit the Definition of Rape in Abortion Funding Exception

RebLawger — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 22:03:00 GMT

House Republicans' have introduced a new bill, the "No Taypayer Funding for Abortion Act" which would limit the exception to the federal abortion funding restrictions for rape to "forcible rape" only. Nick Baumann of Mother Jones explains "Other types of rapes that would no longer be covered by the exemption include rapes in which the woman was drugged or given excessive amounts of alcohol, rapes of women with limited mental capacity, and many date rapes." Is rape less so if done by drugging or otherwise? The bill reintroduces the "force" element of rape that reformers have fought against for decades.

Check out RebLaw's issue lunch on Sexual Violence & the Law on February 19th and discuss how such definitions impact the broader questions surrounding sexual violence.

The Rise of American Imprisonment

tyson — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 22:22:00 GMT

Panel: The Rise of American Imprisonment

February 19th, 9.30am

Over 2.3 million Americans are currently incarcerated and millions more are on probation or parole. While some incarceration is appropriate, America's current system is indefensible. In addition to the obvious toll unnecessary incarceration takes on those imprisoned, its impact on impoverished communities and racial minorities is unparalleled. For the most part,
there is no corresponding benefit in public safety. This panel aims to explore issues surrounding unnecessary incarceration and prison advocacy. Panelists include an academic expert on the history and rise of America's unique system of justice, one of the country's most experience prison advocates, and an expert advocate on sentencing policy. The ultimate goal of the panel is, as with all panels at RebLaw, to sustain outrage and stimulate advocacy.

The Future of the Labor Movement: What is the Lawyer’s Role?

RebLawger — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:24:00 GMT

Panel: The Future of the Labor Movement: What is the Lawyer’s Role?

Saturday, February 19^th, 2011, 9.30am

We’ve all seen the bumper stickers.

Unions gave us the weekend, the 8-hour day, the middle class, etc. etc. But in 2011, with median wages stagnant and unemployment at record highs, it’s easy to think of the labor movement as something from the past. In the words of The Wire’s Frank Sobotka:

But the panelists at the Saturday morning panel are proving Frank wrong. With innovative legal and organizing strategies, they are building worker power to address the pressing economic issues of the 21^st century. Join us as we discuss past campaigns they’ve worked on, and new opportunities for workplace justice.

REGISTRATION FOR 2011 IS OPEN! Go go go!

RebLawger — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 01:07:00 GMT

Check out our homepage here and the registration site here for RebLaw 2011: Feb. 18-20.

Our amazing/awesome/inspiring panels are listed here, in no particular order.

Also, as a bonus, check out this rooster. So metal.

Or maybe you like monkeys better?

Single-Sex Public Schools?

RebLawger — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:05:00 GMT

Single-sex public schools have become increasingly popular over the last decade. Should we worry about this? Are there equity concerns here? Or is this just a better and legally justifiable way to serve some low-income students?

Homeowners Struggle to Find Lawyers

RebLawger — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 20:02:00 GMT

An interesting instance of well-intentioned regulation creating unintended problems: here.

Is there a better way for the law to protect struggling homeowners?

Another Legal Challenge to DOMA

RebLawger — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:05:00 GMT

Legal forces are gathering, hoping to ensure all marriages are treated equally.

In Wake of Foreclosures, Homes for the Needy

RebLawger — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:53:00 GMT

Some innovative legal entrepreneurs are trying to use adverse possession to claim abandoned, foreclosed properties for the homeless--but is the law on their side?

Come debate housing policy, racial and socioeconomic integration efforts, and much more at this year's RebLaw Conference: February 18th-20th, 2011.

Prison Economics Drive SB 1070

RebLawger — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 15:53:00 GMT

On Friday, NPR unleashed a disturbing story on how the private prison industry influenced and drove Arizona's now-infamous immigration law (currently being challenged in the courts). NPR delved into the drafting bill and the lobbying and campaign contributions that followed. It found the private prison industry, an industry with much to gain from the law, involved at key stages.

"At the state Capitol, campaign donations started to appear.

Thirty of the 36 co-sponsors received donations over the next six months, from prison lobbyists or prison companies — Corrections Corporation of America, Management and Training Corporation and The Geo Group.

By April, the bill was on Gov. Jan Brewer's desk."

RebLaw is hosting a panel discussing overincarceration and the prison economics behind it.