Amicus Blog
The 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...
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DOJ 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...
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This 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.
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Pretrial 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.
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This 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...
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Remote 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.
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Supreme 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...
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This 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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This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This week, activists support Ahmaud Arbery’s family as the jury selection continues in the trial of his alleged killers, the Supreme Court fast tracks a hearing on Texas’s abortion law, Howard University...
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Alternatives to Incarceration: A Focus on Drug Courts
Alternatives to incarceration, which entail any form of punishment except jail or prison time, have been a large (and necessary) element of criminal justice reform. Focusing on rehabilitating and treating offenders through diversionary programs such as drug and mental...
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Participatory Defense: What It Is and Why It Deserves Our Attention
For decades now, directly impacted communities, organizers, public defenders, academics, and others have sounded the alarm on the crisis of mass incarceration in the United States and its devastating effects on people of color and low-income communities, particularly...
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This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This week, indigenous activists marched to the White House to demand action on climate change, California will begin requiring free menstrual products in public schools, workers are striking across the country for fair pay and access to rights, redistricting maps in Texas decrease the voting power of people of color, Julius Jones is now on “death watch,” and more.
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If you read nothing else today, read this by @NotesFromHeL. What these children & grandparents are enduring should not be. We need a sane & urgent plan to address gun violence. But Terrez McCleary’s determination & the love of these grandparents… https://www.inquirer.com/news/columnists/inq2/gun-violence-trauma-kids-kalahari-resorts-waterpark-poconos-20211122.html
I wrote about the 1st Amendment for @HarvardCRCL! Grateful for the opportunity! "Fidelity to the Constitution should not be optional for lawmakers... It is the bare minimum credential for public service." https://tinyurl.com/nxxtb2aw