Fleeing Felons

Follow the link to read class certification order, class action complaint, and fed court opinion in  Clark v. Astrue, 602 F.3d 140 (2nd Cir. 2010). Justice in Aging was previously called the  National Senior Citizens Law Center and was one of the class counsel in this…

On March 19, 2010, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a decision in Clark v. Astrue, concluding that the agency’s practice of relying solely on outstanding probation or parole violation arrest warrants to suspend or deny benefits conflicted with the plain meaning of the Social…

>Emergency Message:  EM-11032 Clark Court Case: Stopping Suspensions and Denials Based Solely on Federal or State Probation or Parole Violation Warrants – POMS instructions will follow On 3/19/2010, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a decision in Clark v. Astrue, finding…

From the Justice in Aging (formerly the National Senior Citizens Law Center): The settlement of a class action lawsuit (Martinez v. Astrue) has ended the Social Security Administration's policy of denying or suspending benefits for "fleeing to avoid prosecution," based solely on the…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) policy of suspending Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits whenever someone has an outstanding warrant for an alleged violation of probation or parole is…

Official SSA Martinez page with links to court documents and a summary of the key points of the settlement. On September 24, 2009, the United States District Court in the Northern District of California approved a nationwide class action settlement agreement in the case of Martinez v. Astrue. The…

Update from the National Senior Citizen's Law Center (NSCLC) (now called Jusitice in Aging)  on the settlement implementation in Martinez v. Astrue. Did Social Security Stop Your Benefits Because You Had an Arrest Warrant? You may be able to start your benefits…

  UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT   NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA   OAKLAND DIVISION   ROSA MARTINEZ, JIMMY HOWARD,    )       CASE NO.  08-CV-4735 CW ROBERTA DOBBS, BRENT RODERICK  ) SHARON ROZIER, and JOSEPH                )       ORDER DENYING MOTION T0SUTRYNOWICZ, on behalf of…

The Urban Justice Center and the National Senior Citizens Law Center are in the process of identifying individuals who have had their SSI, SSDI, or RSDI suspended because SSA determined that there is an outstanding warrant for the person's arrest. This is an open letter to advocates seeking examples…

As a result of the suspension of benefits to fugitive felons, OIG estimates SSA saved the Title II program about $404.3 million through March 2008. This includes (1) $47.3 million in fugitive felon overpayments that were recovered; (2) $218.6 million in ongoing monthly benefits that were withheld…

Another federal district court has rejected the SSA's policy of using the mere existence of an outstanding warrant to terminate benefits under its "fugitive felon" provisions. The case is Cambero v. Commissioner, No. 1:06 CV 551 (W.D. Mich., S. Div. Sept. 10, 2007)(attached). The court…

Committee for Public Counsel Services website: https://www.publiccounsel.net/ Contact CPCS for assistance with clearing up Massachusetts-based default warrants and probation violations. Clients must meet indigency standards in SJC Rule 3:10 (see…

Fleeing Felon Denials and Suspensions of SSI Benefits Require Showing of the Intent to Flee. The so-called fugitive or fleeing felon provision of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C.