2012's Scales of Justice Awards

Pro Bono Scales of Justice Awards are presented annually to recognize teams and individual lawyers across the firm who have participated in substantial Pro Bono projects in the previous year. This year's Scales of Justice Award recipients included three teams and two individuals: 

• American Immigration Council FOIA Team
• Election Protection Team
• McCarthy Team
• Jay Lindgren
• Kristin Stastny

100% Participation Offices: Anchorage, Missoula, and Palo Alto

This award is given each year to the offices that achieve 100 percent participation in pro bono work by our lawyers. This year, we have three winning offices. Anchorage, Missoula and Palo Alto all achieved 100 percent lawyer participation in pro bono work in 2012. Congratulations to our colleagues in these offices.

American Immigration Council FOIA Team:

Our team is led by trial partners Michelle Grant and Theresa Bevilacqua, and team members include Andrew Brantingham, Erin Davenport and Mike Stinson.

In March 2011, the AIC submitted FOIA requests to Customs and Immigration Service. The requests sought records regarding the role of lawyers in immigration proceedings before these agencies. The FOIA requests were designed to shed light on agency policies about lawyers. After waiting almost a year for a response to the requests, Dorsey, along with the AIC’s Legal Action Center, filed suit, alleging that agencies had failed to turn over records responsive to the FOIA requests. After the suit was filed, the agencies said they had over 2040 pages of documents responsive to the requests. 1169 pages were withheld and the 418 pages provided were heavily redacted. The agencies claimed FOIA exemptions protected the records from disclosure. The agencies then moved for summary judgment. We argued that the agencies had not demonstrated the adequacy of the search and had improperly withheld numerous documents not protected under the FOIA exemptions.

The court agreed finding that “[t]he affidavit meant to demonstrate the adequacy of…… search for responsive records discloses almost nothing about the search itself.” Further, the agencies’ attempted justification for withholding records “oscillates between sloppy and misleading.” The court concluded that “the agencies must do better.” It ordered the agencies to turn over the improperly withheld records and submit a new affidavit to demonstrate the adequacy of the search for records. The agencies were ordered to produce PowerPoint slides used to train employees on how to interact with private attorneys and a memorandum establishing agency policy on the right to counsel for individuals seeking admission as refugees.

In a related suit against Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP”), CBP filed a motion for summary judgment asserting that it had conducted a reasonable search, but was unable to uncover any records responsive to AIC’s FOIA requests. We opposed CBP’s motion on the grounds that the agency failed to demonstrate that it had conducted an adequate search for responsive documents. In support of our opposition, we submitted a significant number of responsive documents that CBP had failed to produce.

After receiving our opposition to the motion for summary judgment, CBP voluntarily agreed to withdraw its motion and to conduct a nationwide search for responsive records that would involve over 300 Ports of Entry, approximately 130 Border Patrol Stations and 20 Border Patrol Sectors, CBP Field Operations Offices as well as a number of additional offices at CBP headquarters.

These have provided responsive information and we are currently negotiating with them to provide even further information and data. We are also negotiating to eliminate the claimed use of certain exemptions under FOIA, including the overuse of the privileged and government investigative data exemptions. We also sought publication of the District Court’s order because it was extremely thorough and provides an excellent roadmap for both “sides” in a FOIA case – those initiating the request for information and those government agencies and employees tasked with responding to the request.

As icing on the cake, the government paid $45,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs. Nice work!

Team Members:

• Erin Davenport
• Michelle Grant
• Andrew Brantingham
• Mike Stinson
• Chip Magid
• Theresa Bevilacqua

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Election Protection Team:

In 2012 Dorsey once again played a leading role in Election Protection, the largest nationwide nonpartisan voter protection program. Like our work in 2008 and 2010, in the 2012 election Dorsey represented the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the lead coalition member for Election Protection, which includes over 100 other coalition partners, ranging from the American Bar Association and the National Bar Association to Rock the Vote, the Brennan Center for Justice and Native Vote. Election Protection helps all American voters (including traditionally disenfranchised groups) gain access to the polls and overcome obstacles to voting, offering live assistance through OUR-VOTE hotline (1-866-687-8683) and field program. For three election cycles, our lawyers have led lawyer volunteers from the Twin Cities metro area in the Election Protection project, including preparing voting law manuals, recruiting and training volunteers and hosting and staffing both a call-in center and field program.

In the 2012 election, we greatly expanded our effort to help cover the shortfall in volunteer organization election protection resources displaced due to Superstorm Sandy. Under the leadership of our team, the Minnesota call-in center expanded its coverage to cover Missouri and serve as back up for other states, responding to over 1900 calls just on November 5th and 6th. In addition, the volunteer team responded to hundreds of voicemails that were left on the national hotline. Taking on these additional states played a pivotal role in ensuring that voters received necessary information and assistance to vote. To meet this challenge, over 300 volunteers, including over 75 Dorsey lawyers from 7 of our offices, participated in this effort. Dorsey lawyers contributed well over 1,200 pro bono hours to Election Protection.

Dorsey’s efforts also included the drafting of election manuals for seven states: Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Utah and Washington. The manuals were used by Election Protection’s dedicated team of legal experts and trained volunteers staffing the hotline and serving in the field program. This project required a firm-wide effort.

Team Members:

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McCarthy Team:

Lawyers from our Seattle office, along with the ACLU of Washington State, represented plaintiffs against the Tacoma Police Department for its actions against peace protestors in opposition to the United States military use of the Port of Tacoma to load and ship military vehicles for deployment to the Middle East. The case started in 2007 and ended with a trial in 2013.

In March of 2007, at the peak of the protest, approximately 150 protestors demonstrated. Six Plaintiffs from that protest challenged the Tacoma Police Department’s restrictions on lawful, peaceful protests and the rule they attempted to impose to prevent protesters from bringing backpacks into a designated protest area. Protestors were tear gassed, pepper sprayed and arrested. (The Tacoma Municipal Court dismissed the charges against each of the plaintiffs on their motions to dismiss for lack of probable cause, the City chose not to re-file charges against any of them.) The Tacoma Police monitored the protestor’s activities, using cameras, running checks on license plates, following vehicles, using false identities to gain access to public list serves, and infiltrating political groups and meetings. After the protest, the Police continued surveillance against the protestors for two years without ever obtaining evidence the plaintiffs were engaging in or planning to commit criminal conduct.

The case involved extensive discovery, with depositions of over 40 fact witness and two expert witnesses. The City brought a 90 page summary judgment motion which we defeated, allowing the First and Fourth Amendment claims to proceed to trial. The case was tried in January 2013. After a 10 day trial, the jury ruled against our clients. We believe the suit will lead to changes in the Tacoma Police Department tactics.

As Woody Allen said: “If you are not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you are not doing anything very innovative.” Congratulations to the McCarthy trial team for their great effort to help change over reaching police tactics in Tacoma.

Team Members:

• Robert Mahler Nathan Alexander
• Amy Sterner
• Derek Bishop
• Ian Warner

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Jay Lindgren:

Jay stepped up to lead an important project for our pro bono client Northside Achievement Zone. NAZ was awarded a prestigious national education grant that increased its annual budget of $1 million to an annual budget of $8 million for the next four years. This was wonderful news for NAZ , but it now has to deal with the immense growth and regulation that came with receiving such a grant. The grant received much national attention and a number of leaders from the Twin Cities area were involved in making the decisions about how to best use the grant funds. Jay stepped in to guide NAZ through the entire process. Jay’s experience with government grants and regulations, and his connections with leaders in our community, served this project very well and NAZ greatly appreciates all that Jay has done to help it through this process.

Thank you Jay for your leadership and commitment to this important project!

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Kristin Stastny:

Kristin is being recognized for her overall dedication to our pro bono program. She has contributed substantial hours to various matters. In 2012 Kristin worked on five political asylum matters. She assisted a U. S. citizen, former asylee, with bringing her children to the United States, working with the US embassy staff regarding status of visa applications for the client’s children, and preparing the client for arrival of her children. Kristin assisted one of our asylum seekers with a permanent resident application, fee waiver, adjustment of status, and review of scholarship and grant information. In another asylum matter, Kristin worked with the client to renew his employment authorization, prepared forms for citizenship, reviewed and revised the supplement to pre-hearing brief, and prepared documents and exhibits for the hearing in immigration court. Kristin also helped a long time asylum client from Cameroon apply for permanent residence, and adjustment of status for his wife. Kristin is also a team member of the Oahe Landowners Association team.

Thank you Kristin for your devotion to pro bono work!

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