Neighborhood Legal Services
Executive Director of Neighborhood Legal Services, which represents low-income residents
PROFILE
Neal Dudovitz
Guest
FROM Neal Dudovitz
Which Way, L.A.?
California Courts Face Financial Starvation The judiciary is California's third branch of government, but the courts now get just one percent of the total state budget. During the past five years, the courts claimed they've lost 65 percent of their funding. This week, Chief Justice Tani Cantil Sakauye delivered her address on the state of the judiciary . "To have your day in court, you need a courtroom and I will say that what we once counted on…is no longer true in California." Starting next Monday, anybody headed to small claims court may have a lot longer trip to make, and that's just one of the changes. Traffic tickets, domestic abuse cases — even adoptions -- could be affected. Are Angelenos ready for the new, smaller court system? Who will be hit hardest?
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To the Point
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.