2009-2010 Alpharetta High (GA) - Rucha Shrotriya & Navya Nadimpalli
From NDCA Wiki
Chelsea Ashworth and Rucha Shrotriya- Harvard 1AC- See Alpharetta SS Harvard Aff
Wake- 1AC Contention 1: Inherency
While the House has approved an increase in LSC funding, the Senate bill faces numerous hurdles. Even if additional funding is offered, the bill maintains crippling restrictions on the way they are used Baltimore Sun 6/26/09 [“Congress must lift restrictions on legal aid,” 11:25 AM EDT, June 26, 2009, pg. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-legalaidpreview0626,0,4374050.story]
For the first time in...their rights under the law.
80% of civil legal aid needs go unmet. Funding shortages and restrictions are responsible Diller & Savner 09 – Deputy Director of the NYU Brennan Center’s Justice Program & Research Associate in the NYU Brennan Center’s Justice Program [Rebekah Diller (J.D. from New York University School of Law) & Emily Savner, “A call to end federal restrictions on legal aid for the poor,” Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, 2009]
As the economic crisis pushes …work simply is not done.
Contention 2: Predatory Lending
First, The global economy is damned to further decline ---- the stimulus package is insufficient Stiglitz, March 2009 (Joseph E., professor of economics at Columbia University, and recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics, How to fail to Recover, http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/stiglitz110) NEW YORK – Some people thought that Barack Obama’s election …requires a strong American economy.
The plan enhances the efficacy of the stimulus package --- vital to economic recovery Savner, 9 ( Emily, the Brennan Center as a Research Associate with the Justice Program, 2/17, “A Little Representation Would Go a Long Way,” http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/archives/a_little_representation_would_go_a_long_way/) Signed into law today, the $787 billion stimulus…up through our economy gets into the hands of those for whom it was meant.
Independently, ending predatory lending is critical to prevent further economic decline Georgia, 6/19/09 (Jacque, Senior Loan Officer/Partner at 1st Financial Mortgage of WI, Georgia Green Bay Press-Gazette “Jobs, good lending practices key to recovery: Lenders should return to 4 C's”) When consumers have jobs, they make money. …the sidelines when things are not so swell.
Restrictions devastate efforts to stop predatory lending Rebekah and Savner, 6/18/09 (Diller coordinates the Brennan Center's legislative and public education campaign to eliminate the private money restriction on legal services programs and works on other initiatives in the Center's Access to Justice Project. Emily joined the Brennan Center as a Research Associate with the Justice Program in June of 2008. She assists the Access to Justice Project. “A Call to End Federal Restrictions on Legal Aid of for the Poor”, http://brennan.3cdn.net/941339ac7ffd67694e_q8m6ivwxi.pdf)
Notwithstanding the restrictions, legal services…bill being passed by the Legislature.
We control the internal link to conflict escalation ---- the economic crises encourages increased aggression across the globe Shearing, 9 (Peter, Former Royal Air Force Intelligence Analyst, writer, World Economic Outlook 2009: Threat to International Stability Implicit in Slow Economic Recovery, Jan 6, http://international politics.suite101.com/article.cfm/world_economic_outlook_2009#ixzz0JTrbG2M2&C) The world economic crisis could …of an economic crisis both at home and overseas.
The terminal impact is global WMD conflict Kerpen 10/28/08 (Phil, policy director of Americans for Prosperity, http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OWQ3ZGYzZTQyZGY4ZWFiZWUxNmYwZTJiNWVkMTIxMmU=) It’s important that we avoid all these policy …armed conflicts on an even greater scale.
Contention 3: Free Speech
The prohibition on class action lawsuits ultimately results in poor legal claims never being resolved and compromises the integrity of justice dispensed in the legal system Bornstein, Senior Fellow at the Wilmerhale Legal Services Center at Harvard Law School, 2003 (Ilisabeth Smith, Master in Public Policy, Juris Doctor, COMMENT: From the Viewpoint of the Poor: An Analysis of the Constitutionality of the Restriction on Class Action Involvement by Legal Services Attorneys, University of Chicago Legal Forum, search by Lexis Nexis, sparikh)
The Velazquez analysis can be applied to…change rarely results from individual suits. n112
Repealing the class action ban would open ears for the political voice of the poor Blank, Associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. B.A., New York University, 1999; J.D., Harvard Law School, 2002. And Zacks, Associate at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP. B.A., University of Michigan, 1998; J.D., Harvard Law School, 2002. 2005 (Joshua B. and Eric A., “Dismissing the Class: A Practical Approach to the Class Action Restriction on the Legal Services Corporation”, Penn State Law Review, 110 Penn St. L. Rev. 1, LEXIS, rsaenz) Common harms inspire collective action… an effort to comply with the 1996 Restrictions.
Specifically, the class action restriction upholds the division between the “qualified” and “unqualified” and upholds stigma further perpetuating the ideology of otherization. Weissman, Associate Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs, University of North Carolina School of Law. The author gratefully acknowledges Marion Crain, Maxine Eicher, William Marshall, Gene Nichol, and Louis Perez, Jr. for their support and insightful comments and suggestions. Amanda Harmon, Tally Hobson, and William Keyser provided excellent research assistance, 2002 (Deborah M., “Law as Largess: Shifting Paradigms of Law for the Poor” William and Mary Law Review, 44 Wm and Mary L. Rev. 737, LEXIS RS)
Policies shaped by the ideological …against the current political and economic agenda.
The Silencing of the Poor is a continuation scapegoating, dehumanization, and a genocide on the poor. This moral rejection under law must be rejected. Jacobs, Professor of Law, University of Florida, Frederic G. Levin College of Law; J.D., Rutgers University School of Law - Newark; A.B., Princeton University, 2001 (Michelle S, “Full Legal Representation for the Poor: The Clash Between Lawyer Values and Client Worthiness” , Howard Law Journal, 44 How. L.J. 257 , LEXIS, RS) Lawyers and law students are not immune …we seemed to have settled for business as usual.
Dehumanization through exclusion from democracy represents a bane to human existence, it is a plague that represents the worst possible fate that a human being can endure, a fate far more grave than extinction. Rogers 06 (James, Renowned Physiologist and author, The Accelerating Pace of Dehumanization, p.5-14) Dehumanization: a process that renders people …the school yard, if you don’t maintain them, they deteriorate.
Plan Text: The United States federal government should remove the existing restrictions and conditions on the Legal Services Corporations prohibiting Class Based Action.
Contention 4: Solvency
Class action lawsuits provide essential rights to the poor and deter future exploitations Katie Meinick 08; Katie is a J.D. Candidate at St. John’s University; “In Defense of the Class action lawsuit: and examination of the implicit advantages and a response to common criticisms” St. John’s Journal of Legal Commentary, http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T7006030731&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T7006030734&cisb=22_T7006030733&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=143887&docNo=11
Historically it has been the plaintiffs who have …from the increased regulation of the businesses world. n216
Federal class action lawsuits key Randal Jeffrey, Asst. Director New York Legal Assistance Group, Fall 2003 (“Article: Facilitating Welfare Rights Class Action Litigation: Putting Damages and Attorney’s Fees to Work.” Brooklyn Law Review. 69 Brooklyn L. Rev. 281 Lexis //ZE) In terms of scope, this Article concerns …and the federal courts remain the primary forum. 18
Lawmakers only concede to class action lawsuits – empirically proven The Virginia-Pilot, part of the Virginia Fair Trial Project, 2007 (“Overdue relief on attorney fees...?”, 3/1/2007, http://www.vafairtrialproject.org/News/virginia-pilot-070301.php)
After years of closed eyes and closed ears ...by at least $8.2 million to $58 million.
Federal funds are needed Moses 5/7/09 - Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress [Joy Moses, “Essential Legal Services: Funding the Legal Services Corporation,” Center for American Progress, | May 7, 2009, pg. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/05/legal_services.html
In this environment, federal funds take on a …while providing new federal funding for law school clinical programs.
Class action lawsuits increase public accountability and deterrence of future wrongdoing Henry Rose 07; Henry Rose is an Associate Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law; Franklin Pierce Law Center, Pierce Law Review; “Class actions and the Poor” Lexis, http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T7006030731&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T7006030734&cisb=22_T7006030733&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=291221&docNo=4
A class action case necessarily focuses the court, …to all of the victims of the wrongful conduct.
Impoverished people need class action lawsuits to increase socioeconomic status Kessler, Professor at Bates College, 2005 (Department of Political Science, April 2005, http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/harris405.htm) While the poverty lawyers who initiated the class …and is furthered by the stimulating analyses contained in this book.
Current restrictions on class actions severely limit the ability of the poor to use class action as a tool to get welfare reforms STEPHEN WIZNER (Professor Emeritus of Law, Professorial Lecturer in Law, and Supervising Attorney at Yale Law School) 1997: Rationing Justice. Lexis Finally, we need a strategy to confront and …practice of lawyers who serve the poor.
States can’t solve LSC – poison pill restriction Diller and Savner, staff writers for the Brennan Center For Justice, 2009 (Rebekah Diller and Emily Savner, Brennan Center For Justice at New York University School of Law, 6/22/09, http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/a_call_to_end_federal_restrictions_on_legal_aid_for_the_poor/) In a virtually unprecedented overreach, ..."unrestrict" at least a portion of their funds.
Class action restrictions on the LSC prevent the poor from speaking out against agencies and companies that take advantage of them on a day to day basis Joshua D. Blank (Associate at Harvard Law) and Eric A. Zacks (Associate at the University of Michigan) 2005: Dismissing the Class: A Practical Approach to the Class Action Restriction on the Legal Services Corporation. Penn State Law Review. Lexis Common harms inspire collective action. …that LSC-funded legal services programs can use to responsibly institute class actions.
Class actions are key to litigation for the poor – laundry list Joshua D. Blank (Associate at Harvard Law) and Eric A. Zacks (Associate at the University of Michigan) 2005: Dismissing the Class: A Practical Approach to the Class Action Restriction on the Legal Services Corporation. Penn State Law Review. Lexis In the past, the class action device has been used effectively …or private agency to change its behavior without engaging in [*14] litigation. n65
