Amicus Blog
Extending the Franchise for “Americans in Waiting”: Municipal Voting Rights for Noncitizens
By Guest Contributor Fatoumata Waggeh Fatoumata Waggeh, Esq. is a Litigation Associate. She is a recipient of her firm’s “Pro-Bono All-Star Award” for her energetic commitment to pro-bono work for justice. Fatoumata completed her undergraduate education at New York...
read moreThis Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This week, experts weigh in on the future of Roe in the Supreme Court, New York City mandates vaccines for private companies, two election workers who were targeted for defamation by right-wing media sue, and more.
read moreRoe May Be the First Domino to Fall in the Series of Fundamental Rights
Photo Credit: AP The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Dec. 1 in a case that legal observers predict will be the nail in Roe v. Wade’s gradually hollowed coffin. A majority of justices seemed poised to rule for the plaintiff-appellees in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s...
read moreThis Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This week, three white men were found guilty in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on pre-viability prohibitions to elective abortion, a Texas Appeals Court affirms the ban on...
read moreThe Danger of Flirtations with First Amendment Violations
Photo Credit: Zimmytws/iStock, via Getty Images Plus Respect for the Constitution used to be a basic qualification for elected officials. These days, some voters are giddy about campaign promises that would blatantly defy it. More troublingly, some politicians and...
read moreDOJ Sues Uber for ADA Violations
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Uber, alleging that the ridesharing company violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by charging fees to passengers who, because of their disabilities, take more time to enter a...
read moreThis Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments upon whether Puerto Ricans should be constitutionally entitled to federal benefit programs, the California Supreme Court will decide whether a law prohibiting eldercare workers from misgendering transgender residents violates free speech protections, the US Department of Justice launched a historic equity probe in Alabama, and much more.
read morePretrial Transformation and Abolition
Carceral pretrial approaches lack evidence of effectiveness—in fact, research identifies that commonplace strategies such as money bail, detention, and even mandatory drug testing hamper pretrial success. In addition, these strategies are racially discriminatory while also contributing to harmful collateral consequences for individuals and communities. As jurisdictions across the country are beginning to confront these findings and explore alternatives, the pretrial space offers a unique opportunity for abolitionist transformations.
read moreThis Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Photo credit: Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press. Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This week, lawsuits continue over Biden’s vaccine mandate, the murder trial of Ahmaud Arbery continues, backlash arises against the University of Florida over...
read moreRemote Work as a Reasonable Accommodation: Implications from the COVID-19 Pandemic
In Moncrief v. ISS Facility Services, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) argues that ISS Facility Services’ denial of an employee’s reasonable accommodation request to work remotely part-time violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Filed on September 7, 2021, Moncrief marks the EEOC’s first ever lawsuit claiming an employer violated the ADA by failing to provide accommodations related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
read moreSupreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Two Challenges to Texas Abortion Law
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument on two challenges to S.B. 8, the Texas law that effectively bans all abortions six weeks after a pregnant person’s missed period. The law went into effect on September 1st, after the Supreme Court declined to vacate the...
read moreThis Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This week, civil rights hero Claudette Colvin seeks expungement for resisting segregation laws, immigration authorities announced they would “limit” arrests at protected areas, two officers were indicted for murder for shooting Jamarion Robinson 76 times, two people were executed and experienced severe suffering during the process, passports will now reflect more gender identities, and more.
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