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.
In a case with important impacts for employees who are battling racial discrimination at their job site, the California Supreme Court has ruled that an employer’s arbitration clause does not prevent employees from seeking to arbitrate their case together as a class.
Public Justice’s 2016 Trial Lawyer of the Year award was awarded to two legal teams: one that won a historic settlement regarding financial institution funding of terrorism, and the other that ended the use of unconstitutional money bail systems in four cities. The award was…
Public Justice, on behalf of Hanford Challenge, UA Local 598 Plumbers and Steamfitters, and alongside WA Attorney General Bob Ferguson, has asked a federal court to compel the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, to provide vapor monitoring, supplied air, and other enhanced safety measures in order to protect the health of workers at the Hanford Nuclear Site in southern Washington State.