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Black Legacy Day: Michigan Takes a Stand to Honor History and Fuel the Future

This week, the State of Michigan officially designated May 29 as Black Legacy Day — a statewide observance aimed at honoring the cultural, historical, and …

Justice Denied: Federal Oversight of Louisville and Minneapolis Police Departments Quietly Dropped

In a deeply troubling turn, the U.S. Department of Justice has quietly dismissed its federal oversight agreements with the Louisville Metro Police Department and the …

The 14th Amendment on Trial: Supreme Court Takes Up Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Ban

This week, the United States Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in what could become one of the most consequential immigration cases in modern history. …

Civil Rights on the Agenda: Michigan Hosts 2025 Civil Rights Summit Amid Rising National Tensions

This week, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights hosted the 2025 Civil Rights Summit in Detroit—a three-day event that brought together legal experts, policymakers, activists, …

The 50501 Movement: Protests Erupt Nationwide Over Immigration and DEI Rollbacks

On International Workers’ Day—historically a day of solidarity with laborers and marginalized communities—the streets of over 100 U.S. cities were flooded with protestors waving signs, …

Executive Overreach: Trump’s New Order Strips Civil Rights Protections from the Inside Out

In a sweeping executive order signed this week, President Trump has removed “disparate impact” liability from all federal civil rights enforcement. The move, announced under …

Fire for Illegally Transferring Migrants to El Salvador’s Mega-Prison

A federal judge has found probable cause to hold the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in contempt over secretive and illegal transfers of detainees to …

Checks and Imbalances: Supreme Court Blocks Reinstatement of Key Labor Board Officials

In a surprise move that sent ripples through federal employment and labor rights communities, the Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower court’s order to …

A Global Milestone: UN Initiates Treaty to Protect Elder Rights

In a landmark decision, the United Nations Human Rights Council has embarked on drafting an international treaty dedicated to safeguarding the rights of older individuals. …

Case Results

Reginald Oliver v. City of Oakland

Oakland Police keep fabricating evidence and lying about minorities to arrest and prosecute them for supposed “gang” crimes, in violation of a settlement that prohibits …

Named plaintiff Reginald Oliver claims the Oakland PD continues violating the Constitution, in defiance of the settlement in Delphine Allen e al. v. City of Oakland, USDC No. C-00-4599 TEH, also known as "The Riders" litigation. Read Full Course

Jane Smith v. City of Oakland

Racial profiling of Asian women by police officer resulting in a class action complaint for damages, declaratory and injunctive relief

Finding evidence about defendant's post-conviction parole violation unfairly prejudicial "since the jury could have construed that parole violation as character evidence in violation of Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b)" Read Full Course

Rodney King v. City of Los Angeles

Rodney King has filed a petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to have Judge John G. Davies disqualified from presiding at the trial of …

Rodney King waited too long to file a malpractice suit against the first of 27 lawyers who represented him in connection with the infamous beating he suffered from Los Angeles police in 1991, this district’s Court of Appeal ruled yesterday. The ruling by Div. Two affirmed Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ann Kough’s grant of summary judgment to Steven Lerman. King earlier this year dismissed his appeal of Kough’s ruling in favor of two other lawyers sued in the case, Federico Sayre and John Burris. Read Full Course

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Civil rights lawyer John Burris confronts police narratives

John Burris Video 2020

Colin Kaepernick Tribute Video