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Southerland Reflects on the History of Police Violence and Offers Possible Solutions

In the aftermath of the Ferguson grand jury decision not to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Black teenager Michael Brown, LDF Senior Counsel Vincent Southerland puts police violence in historical context and offers ways to break free from its persistence in law enforcement in an op-ed penned in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: […]

Southerland Discusses Sequester’s Devastating Effects on Federal Defender Programs

Justice Sequestered is Justice Denied Southerland Discusses Sequester’s Devastating Effects on Federal Defender Programs   Vincent M. Southerland, Senior Counsel in LDF’s Criminal Justice Project, weighed in on the devastating effects of sequestration, which has resulted in a $51 million shortfall for federal defender programs this fiscal year.  Because of sequestration, public defenders have been layed-off […]

South Carolina Voter Photo ID Trial to Begin on August 27 in Washington, D.C. NAACP Legal Defense Fund Warns Photo ID Law Will Disenfranchise Minority Voters

(Washington, D.C.) The week-long trial before a three-judge federal court begins on Monday, August 27th in South Carolina v. United States, a case involving South Carolina’s restrictive photo identification law.  The trial begins at 9 a.m. in Courtroom 28A (6th Floor) at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., […]

South Carolina Voter ID Law Barred From 2012 Implementation, But Pre-Cleared For 2013

WASHINGTON — A three-judge panel barred South Carolina’s voter ID law from going into effect before the 2012 election on Wednesday, but said it could be implemented in elections beginning in 2013. “Act R54 as interpreted thus satisfies Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, and we grant pre-clearance for South Carolina to implement Act […]

South Carolina v. United States

The State of South Carolina filed South Carolina v. United States in federal court in Washington, D.C. under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, seeking approval of its proposed restrictive voter ID law.  The Department of Justice had already rejected implementation of the law after finding that it would be harmful to minority voters. Because the proposed voter ID law would […]

South Carolina Pro-Truth

South Carolina Passes New Redistricting Maps Following Civil Rights Legal Challenge

In a victory for voting rights, South Carolina has passed maps adjusting South Carolina state House district lines in some of the most historically significant areas of the state for Black voters by passing new maps this session in response to a lawsuit. The move stems from the private settlement of a lawsuit filed by […]

South Carolina for Truth in Education

South Carolina for Truth in Education Every student deserves to receive a quality education that is comprehensive and accurate — not to have their histories or heritage revised or erased entirely from the classroom. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda/The Press-Enterprise via Getty Images) The right to free expression is a cornerstone of our democracy—and a fundamental […]

South Carolina Elections: How Early and Curbside Voting Make the Polls More Accessible

Prepared to Vote Voting in South Carolina’s Primaries: How Early and Curbside Voting Make the Polls More Accessible By Christina M. Das Attorney, Prepared to Vote and Voting Rights Defender Projects The passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 was a critical moment for Black South Carolinians. In 1964, before the act’s passage, only […]

South Carolina Educators, Students and Renowned Author Challenge State’s Racially Discriminatory Censorship Law

Today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and Tyler Bailey of Bailey Law Firm, LLC filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, South Carolina educators, students, and author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi to challenge South Carolina Budget Proviso 1.79’s censorship of certain subject matter concerning racial […]