2010 January-February Clearinghouse Review

Why should advocates frame their arguments in a manner that recognizes biases, emotions, and unconscious constructs in their audience's minds? How do frames arise and influence perception, and how can frames be used to promote race equity in the varied contexts encountered by legal advocates? This topic and more are covered in the latest issue of Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy.

Copies of the articles published in this issue are available for purchase online for $15 apiece.

Letter from the President

By John Bouman
Case Note: Family Law Judges May Not Order Welfare Recipients to Seek Full Time Work, California Appellate Court Holds

By Richard A. Rothschild, Nu Usaha, Robert Capistrano, and Adam Zapala
Case Note: “This Court Will Not Close Duroville”: Balancing Tribal Sovereignty and Residents’ Rights in United States v. Duro

By Megan Beaman Carlson, Arturo Rodriguez, and Ilene J. Jacobs
How the "Improvement Standard" Improperly Denies Coverage to Medicare Patients with Chronic Conditions
Advocates working on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries should be aware of the so-called improvement standard and how it denies those suffering from chronic conditions the Medicare coverage to which they are otherwise entitled. The standard is found solely in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services manual and has no basis in Medicare statutes or regulations, yet it is routinely applied by Medicare contractors. Litigation has proven to be effective when dealing with this issue, and advocates can benefit from understanding the legal strategies involved.
Copies of this article are available for purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Elaine Wong Eakin and David Lipschutz, The ABCD's of Medicare for Low-Income Beneficiaries (March-April 2009)
- Rochelle Bobroff and Jane Perkins, Recent Developments in Court Access for Medicaid and Medicare Cases (Sept.-Oct. 2008)
- Mary A. Ashkar, Vicki Gottlich, and Patricia Nemore, Medicare Advantage: What's the Advantage If You've Got Medicaid, Too? (Sept.-Oct. 2008)
By Gill Deford, Margaret Murphy, and Judith Stein
Framing in Race-Conscious, Antipoverty Advocacy: A Science-Based Guide to Delivering Your Most Persuasive Message
Advances in the science of cognition show that successfully advocating a position or issue cannot be based on logical analysis and strong facts alone. Today’s legal advocates, particularly those working on race equity matters, must understand how to frame their arguments in a manner that recognizes biases, emotions, and unconscious constructs in their audience’s mind. How do frames arise and influence perception, and how can frames be used to promote race equity in the varied contexts encountered by legal advocates?
Copies of this article are available for purchase online for $15 apiece.
Related Articles
- Tammi Wong, Race-Conscious Community Lawyering: Practicing Outside the Box (July-Aug. 2008)
- Mona Tawatao, Colin Bailey, Gary Smith, and Bill Kennedy, Instituting a Race-Conscious Practice in Legal Aid: One Program's Effort (May-June 2008)
- Charles Elsesser and JoNel Newman, Encouraging Race-Based Advocacy in Legal Services Practice (May - June 2002)
By Bill Kennedy, Emily Fisher, and Colin Bailey
Improving Remote Communication Between Public Benefits Agencies and Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Individuals
The ability of public benefit applicants and recipients to communicate with public benefits agencies through other than face-to-face communication is critical. Advocates should be aware of potential communication barriers, legal requirements, and best practices for effective remote communication and should take on communication-access issues in their advocacy efforts.
Copies of this article are available for purchase online for $15 apiece.
Related Articles
- Mary R. Mannix, Cary LaCheen, Henry A. Freedman, and Marc Cohan, Public Benefits Privatization and Modernization: Recent Developments and Advocacy (May-June 2008)
- Arlene Mayerson, Disability Rights Law: Roots, Present Challenges, and Future Collaboration (September-October 2007)
By Cary LaCheen
Social Security Administration Retreats from “Unknowing Flight” Doctrine and Will Pay Hundreds of Millions in Back Benefits
The Social Security Administration’s interpretation of the federal statutory “fugitive felon” provision deprived hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities of benefits for which they were eligible. Recent settlement of a nationwide class action in Martinez v. Astrue will restore these benefits and pay more than $500 million in retroactive benefits to a portion of the class. Outreach by advocates will be critical to ensure that the terms of the settlement are fully realized and clients receive the benefits promised.
Copies of this article are available for purchase online for $15 apiece.
Related Articles
- Dale A. Hauser III, What the Fowlkes? How Fleeing Felon Rules Apply to Veterans (Sept.-Oct. 2009)
- Gerald McIntyre, Have You Seen a Fleeing Felon? Social Security Administration Targets SSI Recipients with Outstanding Warrants (Jan.-Feb. 2003)
By Gerald McIntyre, Kevin Prindiville, and Anna Rich
News & Notes
Lassiter Notwithstanding: The Right to Counsel in Foreclosure Actions
Representation by counsel is especially important in foreclosure actions due to their complexity. Despite the presumption against a right to counsel where liberty is not at stake, as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Lassiter v. Department of Social Services, advocates can make a strong argument that the national epidemic of foreclosure actions passes the Lassiter test. The factors that the U.S. Supreme Court set forth in Matthews v. Eldridge—the private interest at stake, the state’s interest, and the risk of erroneous deprivation of rights—should require assignment of counsel in many foreclosure cases.
Copies of this article are available for purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Paul Marvy, Advocacy for a Civil Right to Counsel: An Update (March-April 2008)
- A Right to a Lawyer? Momentum Grows (July-Aug. 2006)
By John Pollock
Going Public: The State-Action Requirement of Due Process in Foreclosure Litigation
Demonstrating “state action” is a threshold requirement in arguing for the appointment of counsel in foreclosure-related judicial proceedings under the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause. In states where lenders must file an action to foreclose, the state judicial process arguably constitutes state action. In nonjudicial-foreclosure states, the argument for state action is less clear. State constitutions may have less stringent state-action requirements than the federal constitution or none at all. The elements needed to show state action, which can be argued under federal or state law, continue to evolve.
Copies of this article are available for purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Clare Pastore, Life After Lassiter: An Overview of State-Court Right-to-Counsel Decisions (July-August 2006)
- Robert Capistrano, Using Section 1983 Raise Constitutional Claims in Garden-Variety Cases (March-April 2005)
- Paula Roberts, If You Don't Know There's a Problem, How Can You Find a Solution?: The Need for Notice and Hearing Rights in Child Support Distribution Cases (November – December 2002)
By John Pollock
Recovering Sargent Shriver’s Vision for Poverty Law: The Illinois FamilyCare Campaign and the Insight Approach to Conflict Resolution and Collaboration
Sargent Shriver hoped that legal services for the poor would entail more than “lawyer-made remedies.” He saw legal services as a way to bring about “workable justice.” The FamilyCare campaign of United Power for Action and Justice and the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law exemplifies Shriver’s vision of attorneys collaborating with a community organization to bring about change through legislation, not the courts. The insight approach facilitates more such collaborations.
Copies of this article are available for purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- John Bouman, The Power of Working with Community Organizations: The Illinois FamilyCare Campaign--Effective Results Through Collaboration (January-February 2005);
- John Bouman, Growing the Toolbox: Diverse Strategies for Public Interest Lawyers in Campaigns to Expand Access to Health Care for Low-Income People (July-August 2009)
By Jamie Price and Kenneth R. Melchin
Assessing the Ad Hoc Nature of Financial Obligations Arising in the Illinois Criminal Justice System
Involvement in the criminal justice system today often results in not only punishment for a particular offense but also the imposition of an array of financial fines, fees, and penalties that increasingly bear little rational relationship to the offense itself. These financial obligations do, however, directly affect how former offenders leaving the corrections system can successfully reintegrate into society since the financial burdens weigh most heavily on low-income defendants. As cash-strapped legislatures may be tempted to increase revenues by increasing these financial obligations, advocates should know how to oppose those fiscal policies that punish offenders long after they have served their time.
Copies of this article are available for purchase online for $15 apiece.

Related Articles
- Sharon M. Dietrich, When "Your Permanent Record" Is a Permanent Barrier: Helping Legal Aid Clients (July-Aug. 2007)
- Amy E. Hirsch, Civil Consequences of Women's Criminal Records: Strategies for Advocates (July-Aug. 2007)
- Cynthia Works, Reentry—the Tie That Binds Civil Legal Aid Attorneys and Public Defenders (Sept.-Oct. 2003)
By Marie Claire Tran-Leung

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