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Welcome to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Newsroom. This page contains our press releases, news clips and blog posts.
We have subject matter experts on civil rights issues ready to handle inquiries from journalists on such issues as voting rights, criminal justice, economic justice, fair housing, educational opportunity, racial justice matters and more.
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Voting Rights Advocates Move to Intervene in Suit to Protect 5,000 Georgia Voters at Risk of Removal from the November Election Rolls
Suit by the DeKalb County Republican Party Seeks to Force the Dekalb Board of Elections to conduct voter challenge hearings in violation of federal law DeKalb, Georgia – Today, the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, New Georgia Project, Georgia Coalition for the...
Lawyers’ Committee Honored with EPIC’s 2024 Privacy Champion Award
Washington, D.C., September 25, 2024 — The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is proud to announce that its President and Executive Director, Damon Hewitt, accepted the Privacy Champion Award on behalf of the Lawyers' Committee at Electronic Privacy...
Lawyers’ Committee Defends Anti-Discrimination Rules that Expand Broadband Access to Low Income Families Before Federal Appeals Court
St. LOUIS, MO — Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the FCC argued Wednesday before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in defense of new rules prohibiting discrimination by broadband providers. The rules, issued by the Federal Communications Commission,...
Civil Rights Groups File Lawsuit to Stop Georgia Law’s Outrageous New Pathway to Purging Eligible Voters
S.B. 189 Opens Door to Purge Requests for Voters Who Live in College Dorms, Nursing Homes, Shelters, and Creates New Barriers to Voting for Unhoused People ATLANTA - The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU of Georgia, and Dechert LLP filed a...
Georgia Election Board Order to Hand-Count Election Day Ballots Cast at Georgia’s Polling Places is a Ploy that Endangers Democracy
Contact: Lacy Crawford, lcrawford@lawyerscommittee.org, 252-292-6088 WASHINGTON—On Friday, the Georgia State Election Board voted to hand-count all ballots cast at polling places across Georgia’s 159 counties on Election Day, contrary to the legal opinion of the...
Staff of Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Ratify First Collective Bargaining Agreement
Washington, DC— The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU), IFPTE Local 70, are proud to announce the ratification of their first collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The agreement marks a new...
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Honors Congressional Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Fearless Fund’s CEO Arian Simone, and Arkansas Teacher Ruthie Walls During Annual Higginbotham Leadership Awards Gala
(NEW YORK)---The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law announced the winners of its annual Higginbotham Leadership Awards. This year marks the organization’s 61st year fighting for racial justice since its founding in 1963 at a meeting convened by President...
What Students Need To Know About Classroom Censorship Laws in Arkansas
In April 2024, a group of students and teachers from Little Rock Central High School, along with the NAACP Arkansas State Conference, filed a federal lawsuit challenging Section 16 of the LEARNS Act. Plaintiffs argued that the LEARNS Act’s prohibition on...
Lawyers’ Committee and Other Civil Rights Organizations File Amicus Brief Against Georgia State Elections Board’s Rule Changes
ATLANTA, GA — Yesterday, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), ACLU of Georgia, and ACLU National Voting Rights Project filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit challenging two new rules passed by the Georgia State...
Civil Rights Groups Challenge RNC’s, NC Republican Party’s Baseless Voter Purge Request
DURHAM, N.C. (Sept. 5, 2024) — The North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and an impacted North Carolina voter are requesting to intervene in a case to protect nearly a quarter of a million voters from the Republican National Committee’s and...
Lawyers’ Committee Settles Class Action Lawsuit for Shooting Victims and Families with Baltimore Police Department Over Illegal Property Seizures
New Policy Will Affect Future Victims and Can Be a Model for Other Cities Washington, DC – Today, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, alongside co-counsel at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, announced the settlement of a class action...
Lawyers’ Committee Mourns the Passing of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, ‘One of the Greatest Champions of Civil Rights in Congress’
WASHINGTON— Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a member of Congress from Texas and a leading voice for racial justice and civil rights, passed away on Friday. During her three decades of service in the House, she championed the rights of the nation’s most marginalized...
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Announces Settlement with Town of Valley Brook Over Debtors’ Prison
Groundbreaking Agreement That Should Be Replicated Elsewhere Ends Practice of Imprisoning People for Arbitrary Unpaid Fines Valley Brook, Oklahoma– The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law announced a settlement agreement with the Town of...
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Helps Repel SFFA’s Attempts to Expand Harvard Ruling After Courts’ Dismissal of Admissions Lawsuit against UT-Austin
WASHINGTON—A federal court dismissed SFFA v. UT-Austin, a lawsuit initiated in 2019 by Edward Blum and his anti-civil rights group Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA). The case initially challenged the University of Texas at Austin's (UT-Austin)...
New Voting Rights Campaign to Launch at EssenceFest Called Ojo Asé: Black Women Answering the Call Campaign Aims to Recruit Black Women to Be Poll Monitors
NEW ORLEANS— This weekend will mark the launch of a new, intergenerational voting rights campaign at EssenceFest 2024 called Ojo Asé: Black Women Answering the Call. Recognizing the ongoing central role that Black women play in defending our democracy, the campaign is...