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South Carolina 2018 Prepared to Vote

South Carolina 2018 Felony Disenfranchisement Card

Sotomayor Scorches Prosecutor for Use of Racial Stereotype in Conviction

United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a sharp rebuke to Texas federal prosecutors for racially charged remarks made during the trial of Bongani Charles Calhoun, an African-American man accused of participating in a drug conspiracy.  Justice Sotomayor, in a statement joined by Justice Stephen Breyer, recounted the racially inflammatory remarks made by the […]

Some Seek Agreement before Fayette Voting Dispute Heads to Court

Some seek agreement before Fayette voting dispute heads to court With the prospects of a costly trial looming, pressure is growing in Fayette County over whether to end the protracted legal fight over how the county elects its officials. Two prominent businessmen recently weighed in with an ad in a local paper asking county leaders […]

Software Helps Municipality Redistrict City Council Boundaries

As city populations rise and fall, and shift – trends reflected in U.S. Census Bureau data – municipalities are tasked with redistricting their city council boundaries. And in one Arkansas city,  new software helps with the process.  Redistricting determines how a city’s local school board, city council, state legislative and congressional districts are drawn, according to a […]

Smith-Evans, in Joint Op-ed Piece in USA Today, Confronts Racial Bias in School Discipline

In a USA Today column, LDF Interim Director of the Education Practice Leticia Smith-Evans and Russell Skiba argue school disicpline should be included in the topical discussion of racial bias and stereotypes in schools:  Race debate should include school discipline In wake of Garner and Brown, discussion should also focus on racial bias in schools.   […]

Smith v. New York

Case: Criminal Justice, Policing Smith v. City of New York Protecting Protestors From Police Violence Filed: June 1, 2021 Settled: March 11, 2024 Case Details On June 1, 2021, Andrew Smith – who is represented by LDF, Massena Law, P.C., The Vessup Law Firm, and the Initiative for a Just Society – sued the City […]

Smith v. City of Philadelphia

Case: Criminal Justice, Policing Smith v. City of Philadelphia Protecting protestors and West Philadelphia residents from excessive police violence and militaristic force. Filed: July 14, 2020 On July 14 2020, LDF, the Abolitionist Law Center, and the law firm of Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing, Feinberg & Lin LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of residents in […]

Slate.com: Can You Hear Them Now? The Supreme Court reads the fine print on your cell phone contract.

Every Supreme Court reporter waits—often in vain and for decades—for a case like AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion. It is a case at the white-hot epicenter of three almost completely inexplicable doctrines: federal preemption, federal arbitration policy, and class action. (I can hear the clamor now from all of you who want me to skip right […]

Sixty Civil Rights Organizations Call On U.S. Department of Education to Rescind “Dear Colleague” Letter, Cite Severe Inaccuracies and Threats to Equal Opportunity

On March 17, 2025, a group of more than sixty civil rights organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education calling on the federal agency to rescind its “Dear Colleague” letter issued on February 14, 2025, and the subsequent Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to preschool, K-12 schools, and higher education institutions. The organizations […]