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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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Tennessee Coronavirus Fears Are Valid Excuses for Mail-In Voting, Motion Could Give Millions Their Vote and Preserve Their Health
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a motion today in the District Court for Tennessee urging the court to rule in its favor and uphold a judge’s earlier order allowing mail-in voting for those concerned about in-person voting during the COVID-19...
Nonpartisan Groups File Intervention Motion to Protect Voters in California During COVID-19
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – Today, California Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of California and the L.A.-based organization, Community Coalition, filed a motion to intervene in Republican National Committee v. Newsom and Issa v. Newsom (both related cases). These...
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Responds to Minneapolis Police Chief’s Plans to Cease Union Contract Negotiations
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced his decision to postpone contract negotiations with the police union representing the city’s officers in order to conduct a more thorough review of the proposed contract and its provisions....
Civil Rights Leaders’ Statement on Justice in Policing Act
WASHINGTON — Leading national racial justice organizational leaders today issued a joint statement on the bicameral introduction of the Justice in Policing Act: “This nation is facing another crisis of police killing Black people. While these killings underscore...
Alarming Georgia Election Difficulties Show Voters Encountering Problems That Could Have Been Addressed Months Ago
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Alarm bells have been sounded in Georgia’s presidential primary and down-ballot elections today as state and local officials reacted to the chaos as voters faced long lines and confusion as they attempted to cast their votes in-person. The...
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Remembers James Byrd Jr.
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today is the 22-year mark of the horrific hate crime that took the life of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas. On June 7, 1998, Mr. Byrd, a Black 49-year-old father of three, had just left a friend’s anniversary party and was walking home, when a...
Civil Rights Groups Sue Trump, Barr for Tear-Gassing Peaceful Protesters Outside White House
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Protesters who were attacked by federal troops in front of the White House Monday night as they were demonstrating nonviolently against police brutality sued President Donald Trump, Attorney General William Barr, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper,...
Rand Paul’s Indifference to Lynching Seen In His Continued Delay of Vital Legislation
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) acknowledged Wednesday that he is the final U.S. Senator holding up passage of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act. The following is a statement from Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee...
CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS CALL FOR NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING; DEMAND FEDERAL ACTION TO REFORM POLICE
(NEW YORK, N.Y.) — The leaders of the nation’s leading civil rights and racial justice organizations have issued a joint statement in response to the unrest ravaging America’s cities. These leaders and their organizations are: Kristen Clarke, President and Executive...
The Militarized Looming Presence of Police and the National Guard Could Make Matters and Voting Worse on Election Day
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will monitor elections across the country on Tuesday through its national Election Protection program with a focus on Pennsylvania, Missouri (municipal elections), New Mexico, Maryland, Indiana,...
Absentee Voting Will Be Expanded in Virginia During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Court Rules
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Eastern District of Virginia Judge Rossie D. Alston, Jr. ruled today that Virginia voters may utilize expanded access to voting by absentee ballot when he denied a complaint challenging state election officials who proposed relaxing absentee...
Trump’s Social Media Punishment Executive Order Should Be Rejected
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – During the middle of a pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and cost millions more jobs, President Donald Trump issued an executive order designed to have a chilling effect on certain social media companies that...
Groups File Federal Lawsuit Challenging Kentucky Requirements That Put Voters in Harm’s Way During COVID-19 Pandemic
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Kentucky and Covington & Burling filed a federal lawsuit today over Kentucky’s failure to take appropriate action to ensure...
As African-American Communities Bear the Brunt of the Coronavirus Pandemic, HHS Continues Providing Limited Race and Ethnic Demographic Data
Last month, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sent two letters to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex Azar, requesting comprehensive national race and ethnic demographic data for tests, cases and fatalities related to COVID-19. The...
Lawyers’ Committee Intervenes to Stop Baseless Lawsuit From Stripping Virginia Voters of Their Absentee Ballot Rights
Virginia officials are attempting to do right by its voters by increasing access to mail ballots for the upcoming primary. Elderly and immune-compromised voters should not have to choose between risking their health and exercising their constitutional right to vote.”