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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.
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FBI’s Newly Released 2019 Hate Crime Report May Be Missing Thousands of Untracked Hate Crimes
(Washington, D.C.) – According to the FBI’s newly released 2019 Uniform Crime Reporting hate crimes data (UCR), not only are hate crimes in the United States increasing, but hundreds of law enforcement agencies nationwide failed to participate in the...
Michigan Legal Motion Insists That Black Voters’ Voices Be Heard in Battle Against Trump Allegations
(DETROIT) - The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law joined Detroit, Michigan attorney Eugene Driker today, to intervene on behalf of the NAACP of Michigan in a lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign against the state of Michigan seeking to block the state’s...
New York City Police Unions Continue to Fight Disclosure of Misconduct Information
New York City Police officers’ misconduct records should be released immediately, argues a brief filed last week by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and Law for Black Lives. ...
Circuit Court Upholds Harvard’s Race-Conscious Admissions Policy, Groups Are Likely Headed to the Supreme Court
(Cambridge, Mass.) - The U.S. Circuit Court for the First Circuit in Massachusetts ruled in a 2-0 decision today in SFFA v. Harvard that Harvard University’s race-conscious admissions policy must be upheld. The court found that Harvard’s policy is consistent with...
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Responds to Attorney General Barr’s Post-Election Memo
(Washington, D.C.) – Attorney General Barr issued a memo today to U.S. Attorneys calling for investigations into alleged vote fraud prior to the certification of election results. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued the following statement in...
Trial Begins in SFFA v. UNC-Chapel Hill, Civil Rights Groups Look to Uphold Race-Conscious Admissions Policy
(Charlotte, N.C.) - The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law presented opening statements today in SFFA v. UNC, a federal lawsuit challenging the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s limited consideration of race in admissions to promote diversity....
Civil Rights Organziations Stand Up for Pennsylvania Voters Against Attempt To Block Valid Ballots
(Washington, D.C) — Voting rights organizations are fighting back against an attempt by operatives in Pennsylvania to invalidate valid ballots cast by eligible voters. State representative candidate Joseph Hamm and U.S. Representative Mike Kelly, along with four...
Ballot Intimidation in Michigan is Dangerous, Unlawful
(Washington, D.C.) - Citizens gathered outside the TCF Center in Detroit, Michigan today chanting and trying to enter the ballot counting area while poll workers continued to count ballots. The Detroit Police Department dispatched officers in response to control...
New Lawyers’ Committee Public Hotline Map Publicizes Hotline Usage and Voter Protection Efforts
(Washington, D.C.) - The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, in partnership with VoteAmerica and U.S. Digital Response, has published a new 866-OUR-VOTE Hotline map, enabling the public to track calls received by the Election Protection national hotline in...
N.C. Protesters Will Need Protections on Eve of the Election, Lawsuit Contends
(Greensboro, N.C.) - The constitutional rights of pre-Election Day protesters must be protected from the Alamance County Sheriff’s department and the Graham, N.C. police department, a lawsuit filed in federal court today claims. Protestors...
Graham, NC. Assault on Peaceful Voting Rights March is Voter Suppression
(Washington, D.C.) - Alamance community leaders in Graham, North Carolina led the: “I am Change: March to the Polls.” During the march, peaceful demonstrators, including children, were assaulted by Alamance County Sheriff’s deputies. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil...
11th Anniversary of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act
(Washington, D.C.) - The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed by President Barack Obama 11 years ago this month, was a milestone hate crime law which increased the jurisdiction of the FBI and Department of Justice to investigate...
Court Issues Temporary Restraining Order Blocking Voter Intimidation Robocalls, Orders Remedial Action
(NEW YORK) – Two U.S. citizens who made robocalls to purposefully disenfranchise Black voters are now prohibited from sending any more robocalls, text messages, or similar forms of mass communication before the Election Day, and must notify all recipients of the first...
Victory! Federal Judge Grants Emergency Injunction Prohibiting Rejection of Absentee Ballots Due To Alleged Signature Mismatches in South Carolina
(Charleston, S.C.) – South Carolina election officials must count absentee ballots that election officials had been planning on rejecting due to an alleged mismatched signature, ensuring voters will not be disenfranchised for this reason in the upcoming November...
Barrett Confirmation Presents Grave Threat to Civil Rights, Illegitimate Process Ruins Supreme Court Integrity
(Washington, D.C.) - The United States Senate voted 52-47 to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court tonight. Barrett is the first justice to be confirmed while a presidential election was underway. The following is a statement from Kristen Clarke,...