In a letter to state education officials in all 50 states, a coalition of legal and civil rights advocates says federal law and the U.S. Constitution mandate that schools provide transgender students with equal educational opportunities—which includes providing access to facilities and programs consistent with…
Jessica Simpkins, a rape survivor who sued her church for willfully ignoring a pastor’s history of sexual assault, will receive Public Justice’s 2017 Illuminating Injustice Award. In 2008, 15-year-old Jessica was twice raped by her pastor at Sunbury Grace Brethren Church in Ohio. Unbeknownst…
Public Justice is proud to announce that former Congressman Barney Frank will receive the organization’s Champion of Justice Award for his exceptional leadership and advocacy on economic justice and civil rights.
Public Justice, representing the Ranchers-Cattlemen Legal Action Fund (R-CALF USA) and Cattle Producers of Washington (CPoW), filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, alleging that USDA regulations that allow beef and pork…
The four finalist cases for Public Justice’s 2017 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award include landmark cases dealing with inmates’ rights, the discriminatory use of criminal history in hiring, fraudulent debt collection, and disability rights. The award celebrates and recognizes the work of an attorney…
In recent years, more and more state legislatures have – at the urging of lobbyists representing factory farm operations and industrial food producers – taken up “Ag Gag” laws that essentially shroud the operations of these mega-farms in secrecy and make holding them accountable difficult, if not impossible. At Public Justice, we believe everyone has the right to know where their food came from, how it was produced and the health and environmental ramifications of the factory farm industry’s operations. That’s why our Food Project has led the way in challenging these laws in court.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 985, the so-called “Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act.” This sweeping legislation would make it virtually impossible to bring a class action lawsuit, effectively locking the courthouse doors to millions of Americans. The final vote in the House represented a very narrow victory (220 – 201), setting the stage for a real battle in the United States Senate.
For the first time in its 35-year history, Public Justice has announced it will officially oppose a cabinet-level nomination. The organization has called on Senators to vote ‘no’ on the nomination of Scott Pruitt to lead the Envrionmental Protection Agency.
Public Justice client Kamaria Downs ensured pregnant students’ rights were respected at her college In an NBC News story today, former Claflin University student Kamaria Downs tells her story of being kicked off campus for being pregnant while attending Claflin University, a South Carolina college…
Public Justice’s new President, Anne Kearse, began her path to becoming one of the country’s leading plaintiffs’ attorneys on the front lines of the public interest movement researching and advocating for the New York Public Interest Research Group while working on her undergraduate degree in Consumer Studies.
Later, she worked as a litigation researcher and paralegal, first, for law firms representing school districts and building owners in litigation to remove deadly asbestos-containing products from their buildings. She then represented workers who developed deadly diseases as a result of working with these asbestos-containing products— a job that was both personally fulfilling and helped to build and hone her litigation skills.