Articles Posted in Civil Rights

First Circuit Court of Appeals Sides With Harvard University in Affirmative Action Lawsuit Updated: Published by:

On Thursday, November 12, 2020, a panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, ruled in favor of Harvard University in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. The panel ruled that Harvard's race-conscious undergraduate admissions process does not violate Title VI of the…

Oregon Attorney General Files Complaint Against U.S. Federal Agencies Over Civil Rights Violations Updated: Published by:

On Friday, July 17, 2020, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court, District of Oregon, against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Federal Protective Service. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of Oregon citizens…

Transgender Women File Class Action Lawsuit Against Colorado Prisons Updated: Published by:

Seven transgender women who are inmates in Colorado men's state prisons have filed a class action lawsuit against multiple government defendants, alleging that abuse occurring in those prisons violates state anti-discrimination law, and that state prison officials are discriminating against them on the basis of gender identity. The case was…

Lawsuit Against Far Right Organizers Continues in Wake of Charlottesville Violence Updated: Published by:

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the organizers of a 2017 white power rally in Charlottesville, Virginia are seeking to invoke a Civil War-era statute in utilizing the defendants' online statements to prove that they engaged in an illegal conspiracy to commit racially motivated violence. Defendants insist that their actions are…

Detroit Police Commissioners Approve Use of Facial Recognition Technology Updated: Published by:

Detroit police plan to use facial recognition technology to help investigate allegations of home invasions and certain violent crimes, despite concerns over accuracy and fairness.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Rules Against Lawyer Challenging Mandatory Bar Association Dues in North Dakota Updated: Published by:

On Friday, August 30, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit rejected lawyer Arnold Fleck's challenge to the State Bar Association of North Dakota's collection of mandatory bar association dues. Fleck v. Wetch, No. 16-4564 (8th Cir. 2019), was remanded to the Eighth Circuit from the…

Federal District Court Rules Against Missouri State Representative Who Blocked Critical Constituent on Twitter Updated: Published by:

On Friday, August 16, 2019, Judge Brian C. Wimes of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri ruled that Mike Campbell was deprived of his constitutional right to free speech when Missouri Representative Cheri Toalson Reisch blocked Campbell from her Twitter page after Campbell retweeted a comment…

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Rules That Handcuffing a Seven Year Old Boy for Twenty Minutes did not Violate His Constitutional Rights Updated: Published by:

On Monday, August 1, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that KWP, a seven year old boy attending the Kansas City Public Schools system, did not have his constitutional rights violated by Officer Brandon Craddock or the school's principal, Anne Wallace, when KWP was…

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Holds President Donald J. Trump Violated First Amendment by Blocking Users From Accessing Twitter Account Updated: Published by:

On Tuesday, July 9, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that President Donald J. Trump engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, in violation of the First Amendment, by blocking certain users' access to his Twitter account based on those users' speech on Twitter. The Knight…

United States Supreme Court Rules That Lanham Act’s Prohibition on Registration of Immoral or Scandalous Trademarks Violates the First Amendment Updated: Published by:

On Monday, June 24, 2019, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Iancu v. Brunetti, 588 U.S. ___ (2019), holding that the Lanham Act's bar on registration of immoral or scandalous trademarks violates the First Amendment. At issue in the case is the trademark FUCT, pronounced as four…