legalocitiespodcast: Recent Episodes
Jacqueline Crosby
Contrary to what you may hear on the nightly news, the political divide in the U.S. may not be as terminal as what it may appear.
Surveys conducted by the University of Maryland's Program for Public Consultation (PPC) indicate that the majority of American Republicans and Democrats commonly supported 65 recent Congressional legislative proposals.
Unlike traditional political polls, these online surveys provided participants with briefings on the proposals, and arguments both for and against each proposal.
For more information about how you can participate in this new kind of civic discourse, listen to this podcast interview with Founder and President of Voice of the People Steven Kull conducted September 2020.
https://vop.org https://commongroundsolutions.org/ https://legalocities.com/
Justice Revival is a Christian non-profit organization working to inspire, educate, and mobilize Christian faith communities who wish to put their religious values into practice to create a more just society.
For more information, listen to a podcast interview with Justice Revival’s Founder and Director Allyson McKinney Timm in a conversation about her background as a human rights lawyer, how her spiritual path lead to the formation of Justice Revival, as well as opportunities for connection and collaboration for those inspired to respond to the call of justice.
https://justicerevival.org/
Thought Partnerships is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing non-violent, just, and inclusive societies. It seeks to create collective impact by building effective Communities of Practice.
Listen to this podcast interview with Sadia Hameed, Founder and Executive Director of Thought Partnerships, to find out more about the inspiration for Thought Partnerships, the work the organization is doing, and opportunities for connection and collaboration for those inspired to join the movement to put an end to hate and division.
https://thoughtpartnerships.org/
Have you ever wondered about the explanation for why there are black urban ghettos surrounded by white suburbs? If you think its simply a matter of personal preference, white flight and private prejudice, think again.
In his groundbreaking book, The Color of Law: The Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, author Richard Rothstein details the unconstitutional and racist government policies that determined where white and black Americans could live, and what the author believes can be done to remedy the situation.
To order a copy of the book online, you can go to https://www.epi.org/publication/the-color-of-law-a-forgotten-history-of-how-our-government-segregated-america/
To learn about some solutions to the affordable housing shortage, check out our blog at https://legalocities.com/2020/02/12/finding-solutions-to-the-affordable-housing-shortage/
Justice Now is a non-profit social justice organization based in California that envisions a world without prisons and provides advocacy and support to incarcerated women.
Listen to this podcast of a recorded phone conversation with Justice Now's Interim Executive Director Sabine Crochette and other staff members to find out more about the organization and the people who work there.
https://www.justicenow.org/
The Justice Arts Coalition (JAC) is a non-profit organization that unites institutions and individuals that believe in the power of the arts to ignite change by supporting artists in and around the justice system. In addition to serving as an online network and archive for resources, JAC hosts in-person trainings, workshops and conferences. Listen to this podcast conversation with Wendy Jason, Managing Director at the Justice Arts Coalition to find out more information. https://thejusticeartscoalition.org/
Therapeutic Justice Courts (TJCs), also called Problem Solving Courts, Specialty Courts, Recovery Courts, Treatment Courts or Collaborative Justice Courts, focus on education, healing, and restoration for criminal offenders, their victims, and the community.
Mental health courts are a common type of TJC with hundreds all across the nation. Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren has presided over the first mental health court in the country since 1997 and has written a book about it. Listen to a podcast review of Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren's book, A Court of Refuge: Stories from the Bench of America's First Mental Health Court. https://acourtofrefuge.com/
The conventional contract model pits the parties to a contract against one another as adversaries, rather than collaborators and co-creators of their own legally binding agreements.
Conscious contracting, on the other hand, is a means by which people can empower themselves by consciously co-creating contractual relationships that are aligned with their shared visions, missions, principles and values, as well as co-design alternative dispute resolution plans for addressing change and engaging disagreement in the future.
Linda Alvarez is a lawyer, legal innovator and author of Discovering Agreement - Contracts that Turn Conflict in to Creativity. In her book, Linda proposes that there is a better, more effective and realistic method of contracting. To find out more, listen to a podcast about Linda's book.
The Age Discrimination and Employment Act protects certain applicants and employees 40 years of age and older from discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, or terms, conditions or privileges of employment.
All 50 states have enacted their own employment discrimination laws, many of which are similar to federal law, but offer additional prohibitions against job discrimination based on marital status, sexual preference, or disability.
The ADEA is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Employees cannot file an employment discrimination lawsuit without first receiving written permission from the EEOC.
For advice on finding employment over 50, listen to this podcast with Janet Logan from My Coaching Services (www,mycoachingservices.com)
According to findings published by Princeton's Eviction Lab, in 2016 there were nearly a million evictions nationally. That amounts to 2.3 million people, 6,300 people a day that were evicted, many of them children.
Statistics from the National Low Income Housing Coalition reveal that the U.S. has a shortage of 7.2 million affordable rental homes available to extremely low income renters (income at or below the poverty guideline or 30% of their area median income).
Nationally, there are only 35 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 households with extremely low income. There is an affordable housing shortage in every state and major metropolitan area, including the District of Columbia.
From 2008 through 2009 Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond followed eight low-income families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and wrote a book about their experiences of poverty, eviction and homelessness.
Listen to a podcast review of 2017 Pulitzer Prize winning author Matthew Desmond’s book titled "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City".
If you are facing eviction and are seeking assistance with back rent or homeless shelter, contact 211.
Join host Jacqueline Crosby and guest Jose Abreu, senior staff attorney at Central Jersey Legal Services, Inc., in a discussion about New Jersey tenant's rights and responsibilities, including:
What to do when your landlord won't make essential repairs What to do if your landlord is foreclosed on What your rights are as a tenant without a written lease Your rights as a rent paying tenant versus an occupant not paying rent
Resources for Legal Assistance:
Legal Services of New Jersey www.lsnj.org
County Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Services tcms.njsba.com/personifyebusines…Associations.aspx
New Jersey Courts www.njcourts.gov
LSNJLAW www.lsnjlaw.org/Housing/Landlord-…s=Landlord-Tenant
Ask a Lawyer https://legalocities.com/affiliate-advertisers/ask-a-lawyer-a-question/
Find a Lawyer https://legalocities.com/affiliate-advertisers/find-a-lawyer/
DisclaimerThe information presented in this recording is intended as general legal information only and should not form the basis of legal advice of any kind. Individuals seeking specific legal advice should consult a lawyer.
There is a growing social movement dedicated to finding more effective, empowering and balanced approaches to harm, problem-solving and violations of legal and human rights.
Restorative justice is an alternative to the traditional methods of justice, which often focus on retribution and punishment. Restorative justice focuses on the healing and rehabilitation of the victims, wrongdoers and community as a whole through processes that preserve the safety and dignity of everyone.
Guest Mika Dashman, attorney and founder of the Restorative Justice Initiative in NYC joins Legalocities host Jacqueline Crosby in a discussion about what restorative justice is, what the Restorative Justice Initiative does, and how people can get involved in the restorative justice movement.
For more information about the Restorative Justice Initiative, go to http://www.restorativejustice.nyc/
Additional links:
Project for Integrating Spirituality, Law and Politics http://www.spiritlawpolitics.org/
Insight Prison Project - A Restorative Justice Agency http://www.insightprisonproject.org/
Center for Justice and Reconciliation http://restorativejustice.org/
Are you interested in gaining a better understanding of current events, effectively advocate for your political rights and think legally?
If so, listen to Legalocities host Jacqueline Crosby interview guest attorney Mariam Morshedi, founder of Subscript Law, a nonprofit organization committed to enhancing the legal and political decision-making of Americans.
Subscript Law uses infographics and straight forward summaries to explain US Supreme Court decisions related to:
• Immigration • First Amendment • Civil Rights • Political Law • Employment Law • Discrimination • Electronic Data • Corporate Law • Criminal Law • Procedural Law
Additionally, you can learn about legal topics such as political gerrymandering, levels of scrutiny and burden shifting.
Go to http://www.subscriptlaw.com/
Over 4600 children are missing from foster care, and no one is looking for them.
Legalocities guest Shenandoah Chefalo, Author Speaker & Foster Care Advocate, checked herself into foster care at 13 only to find it was no better than the abusive home she left. She understood the reality of her situation and came to a point in her teens when she realized that no one cared if she lived or died. No one would come looking for her if she disappeared. No one would even know that she was gone.
Shenandoah made it through and has risen above her tragic childhood. Unfortunately, no one knows what has become of the thousands of children that have gone missing from foster care.
In response to this horrifying failure of the foster care system, Shenandoah and Homeless Youth Advocate Marnie Grundman are inspiring a revolution: ##4600AndCounting.
4600AndCounting represents the number of children we know are missing from "care." Most have no one looking for them; labeled as runaways. The danger they are in is discounted by the officials charged with protecting them.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 1 in 6 runaways end up being sex trafficked; 83% of children who run from social services make up that 1 in 6.
Within the first 48 hours on the street, a child WILL be approached by an exploiter/predator.
These children are EVERYONE's children. We need to step up and take responsibility for our missing children.
For more information about how you can help, go to https://www.gofundme.com/4600andcounting
In 2017, the Social Security Administration received 2,179,928 disability benefit applications, and 34.96% of those applications were approved. Consequently, its imperative that those seeking disability benefits know the insider tips to increasing their chances of getting their disability benefits approved.
Join host Jacqueline Crosby and guest attorney Sarah Dubinsky, Esquire in a discussion about SSD and SSI, the difference between the two types of disability benefits, and how to overcome some of the more common hurdles to disability application approval.
Sarah Dubinsky is a Social Security Disability attorney who represents disabled clients on initial claims and denials, at hearings and the Appeals Council, and in federal district court. Sarah is also a former Attorney Advisor for the Social Security Administration (SSA) and worked at Legal Services of New Jersey. She also trains social workers to improve their patient's chances of getting benefits in a free 2 credit CEU course at their location.
You may reach Sarah Dubinsky at:
Cell: 856-981-2732 Fax: 844-482-5119 dubinskylegal@gmail.com www.dubinskylegal.com www.linkedin.com/in/sarahdubinsky
Did you know nearly 50% of foster children end up incarcerated within two years of aging out of the foster care system?
During her nearly 20 years in Law Office Administration dealing with criminal defendants, Shenandoah Chefalo became unsettled by the ever-revolving door of the criminal justice system, and wanted to find a way to change it. She became a certified life coach and set out on a mission to tell her story to raise public awareness about the grim realities of the foster care system, how it is feeding many other social problems, and what can be done to solve this epidemic.
Host Jacqueline Crosby speaks with Shenandoah Chefalo, author of Garbage Bag Suitcase, for an insider's perspective on the broken foster care system and what can be done to fix it.
Shenandoah holds a B.A.in Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Science from Michigan State University. She is also a Core Essentials Graduate from Coach U, a Certified Law of Attraction Advanced Practitioner, and a member of the National Speakers Association.
To contact Shenandoah or buy her book Garbage Bag Suitcase, go to https://www.garbagebagsuitcase.com/.
(Interview May 2017)