Civil Rights

Biden reaffirms belief that the Equal Rights Amendment is the law

President Joe Biden declared that the Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land Friday morning, using his bully pulpit to try to push forward the amendment, first proposed more than a century ago, that would enshrine sex equality in the U.S. Constitution.

Jan 17, 2025 12:15 PM CST

ABA calls on senators to oppose ‘deeply concerning’ immigration bill

The ABA is urging the U.S. Senate to vote against an immigration reform bill that would require the detention of noncitizens who committed “certain low-level offenses.”

Jan 17, 2025 9:35 AM CST

Justice Dept. corrects legal record on ‘systematic’ Tulsa Race Massacre

A coordinated attack by thousands of White people in 1921 that led to the slaughter of hundreds of Black residents in the Greenwood District of Tulsa was the result of systematic, racially motivated violence, the Justice Department said Friday in a new report that sought to correct the federal government’s legal record after more than a century.

Jan 14, 2025 2:35 PM CST

DOJ trial attorneys vote to form its first known unions

Trial attorneys in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the Environment and Natural Resources Division have voted to form what could be its first unions, Bloomberg Law reported Monday.

Jan 14, 2025 10:41 AM CST

ACLU among groups calling on arbitrators to stop enforcing ‘stay or pay’ contracts

More than a dozen civil rights groups are urging the American Arbitration Association to stop the enforcement of “stay or pay” contracts.

Jan 14, 2025 9:14 AM CST

Law grads with past substance-use disorders suffered disability bias in quest for license, DOJ says

Would-be Tennessee lawyers encountered unlawful disability discrimination when they were required to submit to “burdensome examinations” and conditions triggered by their past diagnosis or treatment for a substance-use disorder or a mental health disorder, the U.S. Department of Justice has concluded.

Jan 6, 2025 3:15 PM CST

Pentagon’s 9/11 plea deals can proceed, appeals court rules

The U.S. government’s controversial plea deals with three men accused of orchestrating the 9/11 terrorist attacks may proceed, a Defense Department appeals court has ruled, after the Biden administration sought to thwart an agreement that would spare the lives of those who have admitted guilt in the deadliest crime perpetrated on American soil.

Jan 2, 2025 3:10 PM CST

Chemerinsky: What can we expect from SCOTUS in 2025?

Predictions for the coming year are always tempting, but in hindsight often seem foolhardy. No one in December 2019 could have anticipated the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. And in December 2023, no one could have envisioned the political roller coaster of 2024. Although there is much that cannot be anticipated, the following seem realistic questions as we anticipate the new year.

Jan 2, 2025 9:01 AM CST

Microsoft partners with ABA on new pilot project to help asylum-seekers

This year, the ABA Commission on Immigration partnered with Microsoft to launch a new virtual clinic to help pro se asylum-seekers complete their asylum applications.

Dec 24, 2024 10:21 AM CST

Dive into our favorite long reads of 2024

The end of the year will hopefully bring you some downtime for leisure reading. We’ve curated a list of some of our favorite web and print long reads from 2024.

Dec 23, 2024 9:35 AM CST

SCOTUS will decide whether Medicaid beneficiaries can sue over state’s defunding of Planned Parenthood

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to consider whether Medicaid beneficiaries can sue over South Carolina’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood.

Dec 23, 2024 9:23 AM CST

Poll: Which ABA Journal magazine cover from 2024 was your favorite?

We covered a wide array of diverse, in-depth and hard-hitting legal topics at the ABA Journal this year.

Dec 20, 2024 10:35 AM CST

Top Montana court allows gender-affirming care for trans minors during litigation, citing privacy protections

The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday cited state constitutional privacy protections when it upheld a judge’s decision to block a law that bans gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

Dec 12, 2024 11:52 AM CST

Justice Department IG seeks new protections on seizing communications of lawmakers, journalists

The Justice Department during Donald Trump’s first presidential term used concerning and surreptitious tactics to obtain communications from members of Congress, their staffers and news reporters as prosecutors investigated public leaks of sensitive government information, according to a report released Tuesday by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

Dec 10, 2024 1:15 PM CST

What laws could Trump invoke to fast track deportations?

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to invoke a 1798 law known as the Alien Enemies Act to remove noncitizens he says are part of a “migrant invasion” in the United States. And he could try to invoke a second law to get the military involved.

Dec 10, 2024 9:45 AM CST