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LatinoJustice and MALDEF Join LDF and The Ordinary People Society in Lawsuit Challenging EIC

Read a PDF of our statement here.  LatinoJustice and MALDEF Join LDF and The Ordinary People Society in Lawsuit Challenging the President’s Election Integrity Commission Yesterday, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) in challenging the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election […]

Latest Admissions Data Re-Ignites Debate Over Access to Opportunity In NYC’s Specialized High Schools

The results for the latest round of admissions to New York’s eight Specialized High Schools have been released, and the news is not good for Black and Latino students.  This year’s admission numbers represent the continuation of a trend of unfairness and acute racial disparities in admissions that has been going on for years.  Despite the City’s […]

Landmark: Smith v. Allwright

Smith v. Allwright: Challenging All White Primary Elections In Smith v. Allwright, Thurgood Marshall rose in front of the United States Supreme Court to argue that Texas’s Democratic primary system allowed whites to structurally dominate the politics of the one-party South. Specifically, the case presented the question of whether the Texas Democratic Party’s policy of […]

Landmark: McCleskey v. Kemp

What Was the McCleskey v. Kemp Case? McCleskey v. Kemp was a historic case in Georgia that showed how racial discrimination perpetuates unfair sentences for black defendants. Few cases involving the intersection of race, criminal law, and procedure have had the reach and impact of McCleskey v. Kemp.  The Supreme Court’s decision in McCleskey protected […]

Landmark: Furman v. Georgia

Furman v. Georgia was a landmark case argued by LDF that ended the death penalty in the United States in 1972. In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in LDF’s favor and found the death penalty as then administered constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.   […]

Landmark Voting Rights Bill Moves Forward in NY Senate as More Than 70 Groups Announce Support

Media contacts: Chris Ford: media@naacpldf.org Ben Schaefer: media@nyclu.org Monica Garcia: press@standupamerica.com  Today, civil and voting rights groups praised members of the Senate Elections Committee for voting to move the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York (NYVRA / S1046B) out of committee, setting the stage for passage in the full Senate where the […]

Landmark Ruling Declares NYPD’s Stop-and-Frisk Tactics Violate Rights

Today, United States District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin issued a groundbreaking  decision declaring that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) implements its  controversial stop-and-frisk policy in an unconstitutional manner and violates the rights  of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. Judge Scheindlin ordered sweeping reforms – including an independent monitor to oversee the NYPD […]

Landmark ruling declares NYPD’s Stop-and-Frisk tactics violate rights

Today, United States District Court Judge Shira A. Scheindlin issued a groundbreaking  decision declaring that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) implements its  controversial stop-and-frisk policy in an unconstitutional manner and violates the rights  of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. Judge Scheindlin ordered sweeping reforms – including an independent monitor to oversee the NYPD […]

Lakisha Belizaire

Lady of the Last Chance: Lawyer Makes Her Mark Getting Convicts off Death Row

In what seems her natural state, Christina Swarns is as sweetly plainspoken and easygoing as a kindergarten teacher, which, decidedly, she is not. Seated across a conference table in a corner-view meeting room on the 16th floor of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund offices in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood, Swarns brightens another 100 watts […]