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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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Today: Harvard’s Race-Conscious Admissions Policy Is On Trial
Today, before the First Circuit Court of Appeals, civil rights lawyers, led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, will argue that Harvard University’s race-conscious admissions policy must be upheld. If not, the groups may be headed to...
Minnesota Anti-Eviction Project Launched to Address Looming Housing Crisis
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has launched the Minnesota anti-eviction project, which will recruit and train pro bono lawyers and law students to provide tenants facing eviction during this uncertain time with direct legal...
Judge Orders Immediate Expansion of Vote-by-Mail in Tennessee
(Nashville, Tenn.)- A federal judge in Tennessee blocked a law that prevented first-time registered voters from using an absentee ballot Wednesday night, expanding vote-by-mail to tens of thousands of residents. Any Tennessee voter who...
HUD’s New Fair Housing Rule Strongly Opposed By Civil Rights Groups Who Call on the Agency to Reinstate the 2015 AFFH Regulation
(Washington, D.C.) –The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s new Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice rule goes into effect today, marking a major step backwards in the ongoing fight for fair housing in the United...
Lawsuit Challenges Constitutionality of Alaska’s Witness Requirement on Absentee Ballots
(Anchorage, Alaska) - Alaska’s witness signature requirement for casting an absentee ballot is unconstitutional, and immediate injunctive and declaratory relief must be granted, a state lawsuit filed today against Lieutenant Governor Kevin...
Civil Rights Groups Secure Court Order to Stop Trump’s Rushed and Incomplete Census Count
(SAN FRANCISCO) – The Trump administration’s last-minute move to terminate 2020 census operations would likely lead to a massive undercount of millions of people in the United States – many of them African-American, immigrants and other people of color – a federal...
Preliminary Injunction Filed Against LaRose Directive on Ballot Drop Boxes, Increased Accessibility Must Be Guaranteed Now
(CLEVELAND) – To immediately expand the accessibility of ballot drop boxes to Ohio voters and protect the fundamental right to vote, a preliminary junction was filed today against Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s Directive 2020-16....
Trump OMB Director’s Elimination of Anti-Racism Trainings Serves as Both a Denial and Perpetuation of White Supremacy
(Washington, D.C.) – The Office of Management and Budget’s Sept. 4 directive eliminating support for federal government-sponsored employee training which examines American society through categorizations of race, ethnicity, law and power will...
Lawyers’ Committee Applauds CDC’s National Eviction Moratorium Through the End of 2020
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a surprising temporary national eviction moratorium on Tuesday that will begin on Sept. 4 and last through the end of the year. This moratorium will protect renters from...
U.S. District Court Rejects DeKalb County Officials’ Efforts to Stop Federal Voting Rights Lawsuit, Won’t Order Dismissal
(Washington, D.C.) – A federal district court judge in Georgia denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against DeKalb County officials in a case where officials have been accused of illegally purging voters from the...
Voter Engagement Campaign Seeks to Encourage Black Student Voter Turnout and Mobilize Campuses
(Washington, D.C.) – Yesterday, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law launched the HBCU’s Vote campaign, which will provide financial, educational, and organizing support to student leaders at historically black...
The 65-Year Mark of the Abduction and Lynching of Emmett Till is a Reminder: His Life Mattered
“White supremacy and police violence inflict horror on the psyche of our nation that Black people often can’t escape. Whether walking away from the police in Wisconsin, sleeping in our homes in Louisville, or entertaining our...
New Lawsuit Challenges Mississippi’s Burdensome, Unconstitutional Absentee Ballot Requirements during COVID-19 Pandemic
(Jackson, Miss.)- A lawsuit filed in federal court today against Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson and Attorney General Lynn Fitch challenges the constitutionality of Mississippi’s absentee ballot requirements, including the state’s Excuse Requirement,...
Civil Rights Group Challenges Constitutionality of NC Legislature’s Pro-Pollution and Anti-Citizen Farm Bill
(Raleigh, N.C.) – Amendments to the “Right to Farm” Act adopted by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2017 (HB 467) and 2018 (SB 711) violate the state constitution by restricting fundamental property rights of residents...
Voting Groups Sue Ohio Secretary of State, Seek to Expand the Availability of Ballot Drop Boxes for November Election
(CLEVELAND) – Ohio’s requirement that each of its counties are permitted only one secure ballot drop box is unconstitutional, a federal lawsuit filed last night against Secretary of State Frank LaRose argues. The suit challenges an August 12 directive to permit only...