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Newsroom

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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The Supreme Court just cleared the way for the mass disenfranchisement of voters

Jun 11, 2018 |

With the approval of the Supreme Court, more states are likely to begin discriminatory purges like Ohio’s, and more states will likely remove a disproportionate number minority, low-income, and housing-insecure voters — people who are more likely to support Democrats. “With the midterm election season now underway, we will remain vigilant as we expect that officials will read this ruling as a green light for purging the registration rolls in their community,” Kristen Clarke, president and executive director for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in a statement.

L.A. County registrar seeks independent review on thousands of people not listed on voter rosters

Jun 8, 2018 |

On Thursday, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a national nonprofit, also sent a letter to Logan expressing concerns about the [more than 118,000] missing names.
The letter asked [Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean C. ] Logan to provide detailed information, including what poll workers were told prior to election day regarding use of provisional ballots, and whether the affected voters have been informed that their names have been restored to the rosters.

Census urged to exclude undocumented immigrants in congressional seat count

Jun 8, 2018 |

Marcia Johnson-Blanco, co-director of the Voting Rights Project Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said Congress should focus on getting an accurate count.

“The constitutional mandate is to count everyone,’’ she said. “The focus of this administration and the Congress should be on addressing the factors that contribute to the under count of minorities rather than advocating for untested questions that undermine full participation in the Census.”

Bigoted customers make life hell for minority workers, but here’s how to fight back

Jun 7, 2018 |

“We’re seeing a rise in hate across our country, and that conduct sometimes spills over into … stores and work sites,’’ says Kristen Clarke, president and executive director for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “This is a moment that requires employers think about what actions they can take to make sure that all employers are aware of their rights.’’

Symposium: The Masterpiece ruling calls for increased vigilance of discrimination in the marketplace

Jun 7, 2018 |

Despite being narrow, the Masterpiece ruling will require vigilance to monitor challenges by religious business owners and to ensure that anti-discrimination laws are vigorously enforced on behalf of LGBT individuals in the localities and states that prohibit sexual orientation discrimination. Strong state and local public accommodation laws like CADA are vital in ensuring that LGBT individuals are treated with dignity and respect in the marketplace and that victims of discrimination obtain relief.

Federal Panel Says Ga. Injunction Not Warranted Despite Racial Gerrymandering Evidence

Jun 6, 2018 |

Despite citing “compelling evidence” that the Georgia General Assembly racially gerrymandered two metro Atlanta legislative districts to assure Republican wins in 2016, a federal three-judge panel has refused to enjoin the new lines as unconstitutional…The suit was filed last year in federal court in Atlanta by nearly a dozen attorneys working with the national nonprofit Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on behalf of the Georgia NAACP and voters in those districts.

Supreme court sides with baker who refused to make gay wedding cake

Jun 4, 2018 |

Court rules in favor of Masterpiece Cakeshop, but doesn’t address principle of whether a business can refuse to serve gay people…Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said the court had “missed an opportunity” to send “a strong message discouraging and dissuading discrimination by public accommodations against people based on their LGBT status”.