Civil Rights

Second groundbreaking ABA AI and economic justice webinar set for April 26

On April 26, the ABA, in partnership with the National Association of Consumer Advocates, will host “AI and Consumers: The Invisible Impact on Economic Justice”—the ABA’s second webinar in an ongoing series on artificial intelligence and economic justice issues.

Apr 23, 2024 8:53 AM CDT

Supreme Court divided over homeless ban and rights of the unhoused

Supreme Court justices expressed concern on Monday about punishing homeless people for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go, while also struggling with how to ensure local and state leaders have flexibility to deal with the growing number of unhoused individuals nationwide.

Apr 22, 2024 2:35 PM CDT

DEI ‘lives on’ after Supreme Court ruling, but critics see an opening

The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision this week in favor of a St. Louis police sergeant was almost universally cast as a win for workers, who now have a lower bar for proving discrimination claims. But it’s also being held up by conservative activists intent on dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, who say it will give them added firepower to quash workplace programs reserved for minorities, women and other underrepresented groups.

Apr 22, 2024 10:00 AM CDT

Biden Title IX rules set to protect trans students, survivors of abuse

The Biden administration on Friday finalized sweeping new rules barring schools from discriminating against transgender students and ordering significant changes for how schools adjudicate claims of sexual harassment and assault on campus.

Apr 19, 2024 2:45 PM CDT

Supreme Court will consider whether criminalizing homelessness violates Eighth Amendment

Few doubt that the court’s decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson will be consequential for the nation’s homeless population and for those trying to help. “This case is really about whether the Constitution protects unhoused people against punishment when there is no shelter or housing available to them.”

Apr 18, 2024 1:00 PM CDT

Netflix’s ‘The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker’ smashes the circumstantial evidence argument

Netflix’s The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker tells the story of a man experiencing homelessness, whose rise and fall overshadowed what may have been telltale signs of someone suffering from mental health issues.

Apr 18, 2024 10:08 AM CDT

4th Circuit allows transgender girl to stay on West Virginia track team

A transgender middle-schooler in West Virginia cannot be barred from participating in cross-country running and track with other girls, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has ruled.

Apr 17, 2024 8:30 AM CDT

SCOTUS declines to stay Idaho ban on gender-affirming care for minors

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Idaho to broadly enforce a ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors, the first time the justices have intervened on the contentious issue of transgender health treatments.

Apr 16, 2024 9:45 AM CDT

Could privacy laws be changing? Here’s what’s brewing in Congress

Congressional negotiations over data privacy and children’s online safety took a notable step forward this week as House and Senate leaders unveiled bipartisan proposals and started ramping up their consideration of the measures.

Apr 15, 2024 2:30 PM CDT

Chemerinsky: Will SCOTUS consider it cruel and unusual punishment to prosecute homeless people for sleeping in public?

Can a city make it a crime for unhoused people to sleep in public if there are no other places for them to go? On April 22, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on this issue in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, a case of enormous interest to the many cities that are struggling with burgeoning populations of unhoused people.

Apr 15, 2024 9:00 AM CDT

Recruiter Major Lindsey blackballed associate for suing law firm, showing ‘bogus’ commitment to diversity, suit alleges

A Black associate who sued a BigLaw firm for alleged discrimination and retaliation has now filed a second lawsuit claiming that legal recruiter Major, Lindsey & Africa blackballed her as a result.

Apr 3, 2024 10:36 AM CDT

Judge refuses to toss suit claiming lawyer, a Civil War buff, played ‘Dixie’ and watched disturbing racist videos at work

A fired office manager for Brooklyn, New York City, law firm Wenig Saltiel can proceed with her claim that she was subjected to a hostile work environment because of the alleged actions of a Civil War buff who was formerly a name partner, a federal judge has ruled.

Apr 2, 2024 3:30 PM CDT

Weekly performance meetings in glass room visible to others were retaliatory, plaintiff says in suit against Morgan Lewis

A Black patent prosecution specialist born in 1962 alleges that Morgan, Lewis & Bockius gave better opportunities to white, younger co-workers and retaliated when she complained by holding weekly performance meetings in a glass-walled conference room visible to colleagues.

Apr 1, 2024 3:37 PM CDT

Relying on ‘secret evidence’ to deny visa for spouse violates due process, ABA says in SCOTUS amicus brief

The U.S. Supreme Court should rule that the government can’t deny visas for noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens without explaining the reason and disclosing the evidence that was the basis for the decision, the ABA has said in an amicus brief.

Apr 1, 2024 1:08 PM CDT

New California law placing unhoused individuals with addictions in conservatorships faces questions

Anyone deemed to be “gravely disabled” or suffering from a significant substance abuse disorder can be placed into a conservatorship and institutionalized for an initial 72-hour hold. Longer placements can also happen.

Apr 1, 2024 12:40 AM CDT