Black Youth File Racial Profiling Complaint Against Medford Police Department →

Unlawful Traffic Stops Due to Race Persist in Massachusetts Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) filed an internal complaint with the Medford Police Department (MPD) on behalf of Jeremiah Mamousette and Hibaq Warsame, two Black college students who were illegally stopped, removed from their vehicle, searched, handcuffed and held at gunpoint in...

Ahmaud Arbery Verdict Highlights Gaps In Local Hate Crime Enforcement →

VICTIMS OF HIGH-PROFILE HATE CRIME IN BOSTON DECRY PERPETRATOR'S LENIENT SENTENCEJury Verdict Convicting Ahmaud Arbery’s Murderers of Hate Crimes Highlights Harmful Disparities In Local Hate Crime Enforcement Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) applauds the jury verdict that found Ahmaud Arbery’s killers – Travis and Gregory McMichael and William Bryan –...

Barnstable Sheriff’s Entanglement With Federal Immigration Officials Illegal →

Barnstable Sheriff’s Entanglement With Federal Immigration Officials Illegal, Lawsuit Says Taxpayers Ask Massachusetts’ Highest Court To Declare 287(g) Agreements Unlawful A statewide coalition of taxpayers filed a petition today directly in Massachusetts’ highest court, seeking to invalidate an agreement between the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs...

Statement on Fall River Police →

Statement from Lawyers for Civil Rights in Support of BLM Protestors in Fall River, MA Following the murder of George Floyd, police reform was widely recognized as an urgent need.  But almost two years later, we are now seeing how entrenched institutional forces threaten to impede progress. In Massachusetts, at the...

Applauding Boston’s Vaccine Mandate →

The Suffolk County Superior Court has allowed the City of Boston's COVID-19 vaccine mandate to take effect. Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) applauds the ruling. We stand with Mayor Michelle Wu in the implementation of the vaccine mandate. Through LCR’s Medical-Legal Partnership with MGH’s Community Health Center in Chelsea, we have seen firsthand how...

Colossal Failure: Qualified Immunity Commission →

STATEMENT ON THE FAILURE OF THE QUALIFIED IMMUNITY COMMISSION Lawyers for Civil Rights condemns in the strongest possible terms the shameful outcome of the Special Commission to Investigate and Study the Impact of the Qualified Immunity Doctrine, created by the Massachusetts State Legislature in the wake of George Floyd's murder. The commission was charged...

Statement on Kyle Rittenhouse →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) condemns the verdict in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two people and injured one with an AR-15 rifle in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year. Rittenhouse was found not guilty on counts of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree attempted intentional homicide, and...

Open Letter To Boston’s Mayoral Candidates On Civil Rights Priorities →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) sent an open letter to the mayoral candidates in the City of Boston identifying urgent legal and policy issues that are currently affecting people of color and immigrants across the city. The letter identifies five critical areas for immediate action, and urges the candidates to prioritize the following: Commit to...

Barnstable County Sheriff’s Immigration Entanglement is Illegal →

Today, Lawyers for Civil Rights sent a demand letter to the Barnstable County Sheriff's Office to terminate the controversial and illegal agreement with federal immigration officials. The letter is available here:

Victory! Sheriff Ends Entanglement With Federal Immigration Officials →

Following Landmark Ruling in Taxpayer Lawsuit, Massachusetts Sheriff Announces He Will Terminate Entanglement With Federal Immigration Officials  Following an adverse ruling in a high-profile legal challenge to the ability of Massachusetts sheriffs to enforce federal immigration law, Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald announced today that he is terminating his office’s “287(g) agreement”...

Body Cavity Searches Trigger Lawsuit Against Federal Officials →

The Boston College Civil Rights Clinic and Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) jointly filed a lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of Neisa Ortega and her 14-year-old daughter after Ms. Ortega was subjected to repeated invasive body searches and sexual violations over the course of one year at the hands of...

Summer Justice →

Injustice doesn't take a break during the summer. That's why our legal warriors have been busy fighting for equality and justice.   On the policing front, we're suing the Needham Police Department on behalf of Marvin Henry, a Black man who was arrested and falsely accused of shoplifting. We're also publicly calling for greater police transparency and fairness.In...

Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against Police in Needham, Mass. →

Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed By Black Man Falsely Accused By Police in Needham, Mass. #JusticeforMarvinHenry Today, Marvin Henry, a Black father of four, filed a federal lawsuit against the Town of Needham, Massachusetts, alleging that the Needham Police Department violated his civil rights in January 2020, when police officers racially profiled Mr. Henry, and subjected him...

Civil Rights Investigation of the MBTA →

CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP CALLS ON U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO INVESTIGATE MBTA FOR CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS Unwarranted Shut-down of MBTA Services After Black Lives Matter Protest Cited As One Of Many MBTA Practices Harmful To Communities Of Color Following the one-year anniversary of the abrupt decision by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation...

Safe Protest Fact Sheet →

Tips and guidance for protestors on staying safe and asserting your right to protest.

Statement on Derek Chauvin →

Prosecutors Must Use Their Power To Fight Police Misconduct The convictions for second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, is the first step towards rebuilding trust in communities of color...

Accelerating Police Reforms →

Accelerating Police Reforms Amidst Continued Police Violence As the criminal trial of Derek Chauvin – the officer who killed George Floyd – unfolds in Minnesota, we continue to see alarming incidents of police violence against people of color.  On March 29, 2021, the same day that Chauvin’s trial began, an officer shot...

Springfield Police Lacks Accountability, Transparency & Diversity →

SPRINGFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT LACKS ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY AND DIVERSITY Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) sent a letter to Justice Roderick L. Ireland, special advisor to the City of Springfield, identifying alarming trends we have observed surrounding deep-rooted injustices in the Springfield Police Department (SPD). The 11-page letter highlights three critical areas where reform...