Legal Services Opposes Deportation of Sexual Abuser
In line with its long-standing practice, the federally funded Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago (LAFC) has gone on record in court opposing the deportation of a convicted criminal alien living in the U.S. In this case, LAFC filed a ‘friend of the court’ brief opposing the deportation of Jaime Saucedo-Tellez as a result of his conviction in this country for aggravated criminal sexual abuse. With the help of LAFC’s brief, this convicted violent criminal was released from custody while the INS fights to deport him, which will undoubtedly make it extremely difficult to expel him from the country if the INS is successful in its court fight.
See Saucedo-Tellez v. Perryman, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10629 (N.D. Ill.
July 2, 1999)
Legal Services Lawsuit Destroys Farmer’s Family
Texas Rural Legal Aid (TRLA), which receives money from the Legal Services Corporation, has pursued a destructive lawsuit against the owner of a small Kentucky farm that has resulted in the breakup of the farmer’s marriage and could result in the loss of his farm if he loses the suit. The farmer, Billy Wyatt, was sued by TRLA on behalf of three migrant workers from Texas who, despite showing up at Wyatt’s farm to work in 1996, spent most of their days at a local country store. After a week of this, Wyatt drove the men back to Texas himself, only to be sued by TRLA two years later on claims of housing violations and discrimination. Wyatt may have to settle his case even though he disputes TRLA’s claims, simply because it would cost him over $60,000 to fight the suit, which was filed in a Texas court. Unfortunately, the stress caused by the suit resulted in the breakup of Wyatt’s marriage.
See James Malone, “Farmer Decries Suit By Migrant Workers,”
Louisville Courier-Journal, June 28, 1999
Legal Services Claims Pesticide Use Violates Civil Rights
Using the controversial theory of “environmental justice,” federal taxpayer-supported California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA), along with several other statewide groups, has filed a complaint with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The complaint makes the amazing allegation that state pesticide regulators are violating the civil rights of Hispanic Californians by permitting the use of pesticides on agricultural fields near schools in the Oxnard area with high percentages of Hispanic students. Interestingly, California already has the most stringent pesticide regulations in the nation. CRLA’s cry of “environmental racism” shows how the organization continues to pursue controversial political ends even though the practical result could be decreased employment opportunites for the very poor that they are ostensibly supposed to be helping.
See Fred Alvarez, “Parents Allege Agency Bias Over Use of Pesticides,”
Los Angeles Times, July 1, 1999
Legal Services Seeks Benefits For Nonprofit Agency Manager
In a strange case, Legal Assistance of North Dakota, supported through federal taxpayer dollars, pursued an employment benefits case all the way to the state Supreme Court on behalf of Lynda Johnson, the fired executive director of the North Dakota Fair Housing Council. After an audit revealed numerous financial improprieties and the possibility that Johnson was withholding information, the Council’s board of directors fired Johnson in September 1997 after she refused to answer questions at a board hearing concerning the audit. Afterwards, Johnson filed for unemployment benefits that, while initially granted, were overturned both on administrative appeal and by the state Supreme Court. The involvement of legal services in this case is mystifying, given how questionable it is that a former executive director would qualify under federal maximum income guidelines, and how little such a case would seem to contribute to the legal needs of the poor in North Dakota.
See Johnson v. Job Service North Dakota, 590 N.W. 2d 877 (N.D. 1999).