The latest cash-bail reform plan: Give everyone a lawyer

Washington state is piloting an initiative to increase access to legal aid for low-income folks. For civil issues such as divorces or evictions, the state has “legal technicians,” which are licensed professionals who fall between attorneys and paralegals. Legal technicians offer services for a fraction of the cost. Other states are looking to scale the solution, such as Utah and Oregon, but there is also some pushback from attorneys’ groups.

GEDmatch started as a "casual side project," but investigators have been using the genealogy website to solve murder and sexual assault cases, opening a new set of both opportunity and ethical questions. The site is free to all, so investigators have used it to match DNA information and find suspects using family connections - a strategy that concerned the founders of the site at first, although they've come around to the idea after seeing the positive impact it has had.

In times of political gridlock, individuals have stepped up to make meaningful changes in their communities, with their solutions inspiring others around the world. From ground-up political action that decreased gerrymandering in Michigan to an accessible coding bootcamp to helping women’s health in many forms, it is clear that change can come from anywhere.

A growing number of U.S. schools are partnering with technology companies and using software programs to monitor students' social media for violent posts. However, some are expressing concern about how this practice and its algorithms may violate student privacy and lead to further discrimination against students of color.

In Columbus, Ohio, a team of police officers and mental health professionals responds together to police calls in an effort to promote community-oriented policing. The approach has reduced arrests and helped to connect residents with social services and medical help.

With the help of legal counsel, immigrants facing deportation are more likely to win their cases and keep their families together. The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project is one of several organizations in New York that provides lawyers free of charge to detained immigrants. The program is also a part of the broader Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) network, which includes 18 cities that have set up legal defense funds for immigrants.

Mehram, a woman-led collective in India, provides legal aid and counseling for survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Attorneys and activists in Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina used a multipronged approach to legalize abortion that included grassroots organizing, strategically initiating lawsuits, and changing cultural narratives. The last part was key to the movements’ successes because changing the laws without changing the cultural understanding of abortion as a normal part of healthcare can lead to laws not being implemented or being overturned, like what happened in the United States in 2022.

The Headfort Foundation provides free legal services to people who are unlawfully incarcerated in Nigeria. They reach those in need of help through phone calls, submissions on their mobile app, and visiting courthouses.

In an effort to diversify Arizona’s disproportionately white judiciary, legal professionals are volunteering in the state’s Legal Futures program to do outreach to high school and college students. The students spend face-to-face time with the professionals learning about career pathways and often leave with contact information to stay in touch.