Civil Rights
Civil Rights Groups are Changing Bail Practices in Texas, One City at a Time
The Case to End Assembly Line Justice for Poor People in Harris County
A case heard by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals this week could change the landscape of American bail practices.
On October 1, 2016, police arrested Andrew Goodson for carrying a knife just short of 6 inches long, a Class A misdemeanor in Texas. The next day, guards brough...Read More
Body Cam Policies in Texas Exacerbate a System Designed to Protect Police, Critics Say
Civil rights advocates worry interpretation of a 2015 body camera law could help cops avoid prosecution as much as it ensures police accountability.
The senator who drafted the sweeping-but-little-noticed body camera law that the Texas Legislature passed in 2015 called his bill a blueprint for other states w...Read More
Civil Rights Group’s Budget Nearly Halved by Foundation with Ties to Texas Supreme Court
The Texas Civil Rights Project announced it will no longer receive funding from its largest donor, a nonprofit created by the Texas Supreme Court.
Facebook/Texas Civil Rights Project The Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), a 26-year-old nonprofit well-known in social justice circles, announced Monday that i...Read More
ICE Detained This Trafficking Victim on Her 18th Birthday. Why?
Under Trump, advocates say agents increasingly show up at government-run youth shelters to detain 18-year-old immigrants who used to go free.
Around 4 a.m. on August 22, the immigration agents came for Ana. It was her 18th birthday. For the past seven months, she had been living in a shelter for immig...Read More
Religious Right Takes Bathroom Fight Back to Schools after Defeat at Capitol
After failing to pass a “bathroom bill” at the Legislature, religious-right conservatives target LGBT-inclusive policies at schools.
On Monday, Allan Parker stood outside the San Antonio Independent School District’s David G. Burnet Center and asked everyone gathered to imagine Caitlyn Jenn...Read More
Supreme Court Decision Means 2018 Elections Could Use ‘Discriminatory’ Maps
The high court’s intervention raises the possibility that next year’s election may feature “intentionally discriminatory” congressional and state House districts.
In a 5-4 decision late Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the latest round in Texas’ marathon redistricting case, raising the possibility that nex...Read More
Trump Nominates Lawyers from Anti-LGBT ‘Religious Freedom’ Group to be Texas Federal Judges
Critics say the judicial appointments could turn federal courts into “the place where civil rights go to die.”
Trump’s nomination of the two religious-right legal activists to vacant federal judge seats in Texas has rattled LGBT rights groups, who call the appointments...Read More
Judge Eviscerates Much of Senate Bill 4, but Leaves Intact “Show Me Your Papers” Provision
Attorneys are urging Texans to refuse to answer questions from police about immigration status.
Attorneys are urging Texans to refuse to answer questions from police about immigration status. ...Read More
Texas Won’t Fix Its Discriminatory Voting Laws. Can the Courts?
Since 2011, nine federal court rulings have concluded that Texas passed intentionally racist voting laws. Three of those rulings happened in just the past two weeks.
Since 2011, nine federal court rulings have concluded that Texas passed intentionally racist voting laws. Three happened in just the past two weeks....Read More