Defending Voters of Color and Boston’s Redistricting Map →

NAACP AND COMMUNITY GROUPS TAKE LEGAL ACTION TO ENSURE THAT BOSTON’S REDISTRICTING MAP COMPLIES WITH VOTING RIGHTS ACT The NAACP Boston Branch, MassVOTE, the Massachusetts Voter Table, La Colaborativa, the Chinese Progressive Association, and New England United for Justice took legal action to ensure that Boston’s redistricting map complies with...

Cape Verdean Woman Subjected to Sexual Harassment at Large Fishery in New Bedford →

Pervasive Hostile Work Environment at Large Fishery in New Bedford, MA Female Worker Subjected to Sexual Harassment and Identity-Based Harassment at Eastern Fisheries In a classic David versus Goliath scenario, a Black immigrant woman challenges one of New Bedford’s largest seafood processors, Eastern Fisheries, after enduring years of pervasive sexual harassment...

Racial Profiling at the Boston Marathon →

PROTECTING BOSTON MARATHON SPECTATORS FROM RACIAL PROFILING Civil Rights Organization Takes Legal Action Against Police Department in Newton, MALawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) has received requests for legal assistance from both marathon spectators and runners who have consistently noted that police officers targeted and singled-out Black people for surveillance and aggressive...

Preventing Thousands Of Vulnerable Families From Losing Medical Benefits →

Civil Rights Group Urges State To Prevent Thousands Of Vulnerable Families From Losing Medical Benefits  MassHealth “Redetermination” Process Particularly Threatens Non-English Speakers And Those With Unstable Housing  Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) issued a letter to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts requesting immediate action to protect vulnerable families and children from losing...

Forward-Looking Settlement Reached in Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit →

The Town of Needham and lawyers for Mr. Marvin Henry announced that they have reached a settlement agreement with Mr. Henry, an employee of a local Needham business who was detained by local police in January 2020.  The Needham Police Department (NPD) takes seriously its responsibility to perform its duties...

Lawyers for Civil Rights Demands Compliance with MBTA Zoning Law →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Demands Compliance with MBTA Zoning Law in Seven Massachusetts Towns  Lawyers for Civil Rights (“LCR”) issued demand letters to seven Massachusetts towns that are currently violating the MBTA Zoning Law: Berkley, Carver, Holden, Marshfield, Middleborough, Raynham, and Seekonk.  Non-compliance with the MBTA Zoning Law harms Commonwealth residents—particularly communities of...

Federal Response to Haitian Migrants Held in Squalor Under Border Bridge →

Haitian Migrants Held in Squalid Conditions Under Border Bridge See Progress in Federal Investigation Haitian Americans United and forty-eight Haitian migrants who were unlawfully confined by federal immigration officials under a bridge near Del Rio, Texas, have received a formal response to their civil rights complaint from the U.S. Department...

Diversifying Vocational Schools in Massachusetts →

Students, Civil Rights Groups File Federal Discrimination Complaint Challenging Exclusionary Admissions in Vocational Education Schools State Currently Allows Vocational High Schools to Use Criteria That Disproportionately Exclude Students of Color, English Learners, And Students with Disabilities Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) and the Center for Law and Education (CLE) filed a...

Black Muslim Man Deserves New Trial →

Black Muslim Man Represented By Racist, Islamophobic Attorney Deserves New Trial  Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC), the Commonwealth's highest court, on behalf of eight racial justice organizations, urging the SJC to order a new trial for a Black Muslim man whose court-appointed attorney expressed...

Tyre Nichols, Terrence Coleman & Reina Morales →

The images of police brutality in Memphis are harrowing. Nearly three years after George Floyd's murder, we are still living with unmitigated structural and institutionalized violence against Black people. In Boston, we are not immune. In our own backyard, we have unchecked violence and neglect affecting people of color. At Lawyers for...

Boston Police Denies Right to Counsel →

Boston Police Denies Right to Counsel to Community Group Concerned About Disappeared Latina  January 26, 2023 Since the disappearance of Reina Carolina Morales Rojas, Latinos Unidos en Massachusetts (LUMA) has been urging law enforcement officials to investigate the matter with immediacy. Reina has been missing since November 26, 2022, but...

Botched Police Investigation in East Boston Reinforces Racial Disparities →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) urges the City of Boston and the Boston Police Department (BPD) to investigate the disappearance of Reina Carolina Morales Rojas. To provide zealous police protection to all residents regardless of race, class, or national origin, the City needs to conduct an independent audit surrounding issues of diversity,...

Federal Investigation Into Discriminatory Business Practices At Logan Airport →

Civil Rights Advocates Demand Federal Investigation Into Discriminatory Business Practices At Boston’s Logan Airport Massport and JCDecaux Depriving Minority-Owned Businesses of Equal Contracting Opportunity Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to launch an investigation into discriminatory business practices at Logan Airport.  The federal complaint outlines Massachusetts Port...

LCR’s Civil Rights Summit →

LCR’s Civil Rights Summit November 4, 2022 Lawyers for Civil Rights held a Civil Rights Summit on November 4, 2022, convening powerful attorneys and community partners for strategic and catalytic thought partnership to advance civil rights in the current legal landscape, including changes in the composition of the Supreme Court....

Launching the Lauren Sampson Fellowship →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Launches Lauren Sampson Fellowship Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is committed to honoring the memory and legacy of our colleague Lauren Sampson. We are proud to announce the creation of a legal fellowship dedicated to deepening and expanding Lauren’s impactful work from housing to climate justice and...

Immigrants File Federal Class Action Against Florida’s Governor →

Federal Class Action Challenges the Fraudulent Scheme Victimizing Nearly 50 Vulnerable Immigrants in Martha’s Vineyard September 20, 2022 Boston – Today, Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) filed a federal civil rights class action lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Secretary of Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, the State...

Legal First Responders for Migrants in Martha’s Vineyard →

Lawyers for Civil Rights is providing free legal support to the immigrants who were recklessly expelled from Texas and Florida. In response to this unprecedented event, LCR rapidly mobilized to deploy attorneys and staff to Martha's Vineyard. On the ground since early Thursday morning, LCR has helped to coordinate free...

Response to Orange Line Shutdown →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) has issued a letter to federal authorities voicing opposition to public statements by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regarding Greater Boston’s Orange Line shutdown. LCR recently pointed out that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) violated federal law by failing to conduct a service equity analysis before...