#2017inReview: Fighting for Civil Rights
The year 2017 brought with it some of the greatest challenges to the fight for civil rights, from the undoing of core civil rights protections at the Departments of Justice and Education to the formation of a taxpayer-funded election commission that threatens to purge millions of voters from the rolls.
The challenges have been great. But the dedicated staff and board of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is bringing new energy to the fight for civil rights in the Trump-Sessions era. Read about the highlights from our work in 2017 as we prepare to continue the fight in 2018.
Civil Rights Group Rebukes Trump Justice Dept. Over Case Delays (New York Times, 1/24/17)
A leading civil rights group on Tuesday denounced the Trump administration’s delay of legal cases to overhaul the Baltimore Police Department and challenge a voter ID law in Texas — two lawsuits that were major efforts of the Obama-era Justice Department… Just hours after President Trump was inaugurated, the Justice Department on Friday filed requests to delay scheduled hearings in the two cases. Kristen Clarke, the executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, called the requests “astonishing.”
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Files Federal Lawsuit Against Trump’s Discriminatory Travel Ban Executive Order (Release, 2/9/17)
The lawsuit seeks to protect and defend the Iranian-American community in the United States and abroad from the harmful and discriminatory effects of the Administration’s executive order restricting travel to and from Iran and six other predominantly Muslim nations.
The complaint was filed on behalf of several individuals and four prominent Iranian-American organizations, and marks the first major legal challenge on behalf of organizational clients in the D.C. District Court.
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Presents Testimony at Hearing for U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch (Release, 3/23/17)
“Our nation deserves a Supreme Court justice who will be truly committed to interpreting the Constitution and federal civil rights laws in a way that recognizes that discrimination is both ongoing and a threat to democracy, and a justice who brings a commitment to ensuring equal justice under law for all,” Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law .
Federal Judge Says Texas Voter ID Law Intentionally Discriminates (New York Times, 4/10/17)
“A federal judge ruled on Monday that the voter identification law the Texas Legislature passed in 2011 was enacted with the intent to discriminate against black and Hispanic voters, raising the possibility that the state’s election procedures could be put back under federal oversight. In a long-running case over the legality of one of the toughest voter ID laws in the country, the judge found that the law violated the federal Voting Rights Act.”
Lawyers’ Committee Files Lawsuit Against Trump Election Integrity Panel (Talking Points Memo, 7/10/17)
Because of our lawsuit, the Commission was forced in October to publicly release records of its communications. The records revealed the Commission’s partisan work to substantiate unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election.
White supremacist forum site Stormfront seized by domain hosts (USA Today, 8/29/17)
Stormfront, an international supremacist web forum, appears to have been seized by its website host, Network Solutions, LLC. … The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has claimed responsibility for the site’s removal. Executive Director Kristen Clarke said in an email that the nonprofit group has “taken action against Stormfront.”
Is There a Constitutional Right to Cash in on the Poor? (The Marshall Project, 9/11/17)
To understand how the federal courts are likely to react, it’s important to get a better sense of what the company did and how its policies affected the lives of people in Craighead County. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a civil rights organization, has filed an amicus brief in the pending lawsuit. In it, lawyers portray a county virtually under siege by The Justice Network.
The Justice Department Is Investigating Harvard’s Admissions Practices (Buzzfeed, 10/4/17
The Trump administration is engaged in an ongoing investigation into admissions practices at Harvard University, BuzzFeed News has learned.
The US Department of Justice suggested the investigation’s active status in a letter, dated Sept. 29, that was sent in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by a government watchdog group and a civil rights organization seeking records about investigations into admissions practices at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Lawyers’ Committee president Kristen Clarke said [t]he Justice Department had “launched an unprecedented assault on efforts to promote racial diversity in higher education.” She said she hoped the Senate Judiciary Committee would look into the issue as it considers the nomination of Eric Dreiband to lead the department’s Civil Rights Division.
Hiring Those With Criminal Records: Glassdoor, Lawyers’ Committee & More Take a Stand (Blog post, 10/4/17)
Glassdoor will no longer post jobs by employers who attempt to discriminate against people with criminal backgrounds. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law worked with Glassdoor on its new policy, which is applicable to employers who advertise job postings on the website.
Courts side with Maryland HBCUs in long-standing case over disparities in state higher education (Washington Post, 11/9/17)
Arkansas town reaches settlement in ‘debtors’ prison’ lawsuit (Reuters, 11/14/17)
An Arkansas town has agreed not to jail defendants who cannot afford to pay court fees after it was sued by civil rights groups who charged it ran what amounted to a modern-day debtors’ prison… Groups including the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law … sued the town of about 30,000 people in August 2016, saying it had generated some $12 million over the past five years through an illegal system that targeted African-American residents.
Hate Crimes Training for Police Is Often Inadequate, Sometimes Nonexistent (ProPublica, 11/29/17)
“Training for law enforcement officials on identifying and investigating hate crimes is critical,” said Becky Monroe, a former federal prosecutor who now works for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Decent training, she added, can prepare officers for a pair of intertwined tasks: gathering the right evidence and calming the fears of community members who may feel frightened and vulnerable in the aftermath of an attack.
Federal Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Against U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Lawsuit Brought by Coalition of Civil Rights Organizations (12/26/17)
In an important decision for low-income renters nationwide, a federal judge rejected the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) move to suspend a rule designed to provide greater housing opportunities for low-income families. According to the judge’s ruling, HUD must immediately restore the carefully crafted rule to improve the Housing Choice Voucher program and empower low-income families to secure affordable housing in higher-opportunity areas. The lawsuit challenging HUD’s actions was filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and a coalition of civil rights organizations.
Former Federal Judge: Trump Is Packing the Courts With Unqualified Conservative Extremists (Democracy Now!, 12/27/17)
Judge Shira Scheindlin: “[W]e are seeing a rapid effort to pack the courts with what can only be termed very conservative judges and justices.”
