Civil Litigation

Evaluating Massachusetts’ Tax Lien Foreclosure Laws Post Tyler v. Hennepin County

in Civil Litigation, Housing Law, Legislation in Court, State Legislation

Last term, in Tyler v. Hennepin County, the Supreme Court ruled Minnesota’s tax lien foreclosure scheme unconstitutional, in violation of both the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause and the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause. Minnesota is one of twelve states, in addition to the District of Columbia, with tax lien foreclosure statutes. Sometimes referred to as […]

Right to Counsel in Eviction Cases: A California Case Study

in Analysis, Civil Litigation, Housing Law, State Legislation

Housing courts are overburdened. Tenants do not know their rights and are rarely represented. And as a consequence, many people lose their homes. To address these failings, some advocates call for “Civil Gideon.” The famous Supreme Court case, Gideon v. Wainwright held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel requires the government to appoint counsel […]