A New York statute sealing certain criminal records took effect on Saturday, one year after Governor Kathy Hochul signed it into law.  The Clean Slate Act automatically seals criminal records for individuals’ convictions after they complete any resulting “incarceration, parole, probation, or post-release supervision” and avoid subsequent criminal convictions. Under the law, criminal records for [...]

A US federal appeals court on Friday temporarily lifted a lower court’s blocking of a Louisiana law mandating public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit limited the trial court’s earlier ruling, ensuring that the order applies to only the schools of the school [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent a letter to the US Senate on Thursday, warning the legislative body that the passage of the Antisemitism Awareness Act may infringe on the right to free speech. In its letter, the ACLU said the definition of antisemitism in the proposed Antisemitism Awareness Act is overly broad and [...]

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Deanne Criswell and former FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington, alleging civil rights violations in the federal agency’s response to hurricanes Helene and Milton. The back-to-back storms, which hit Florida in late September and early October, have now sparked a [...]

The daughters of civil rights leader Malcolm X filed a civil action Friday against the US, the city of New York, and the estates of various former federal agents for their alleged role in concealing, condoning, and facilitating his assassination in 1965. The family of Malcolm X is represented by noted civil rights attorney Ben [...]

The Ohio Senate on Wednesday approved a bill requiring students to use school facilities that align with their biological sex, restricting transgender students’ access to school restrooms that align with their gender identity. If approved by the governor, Senate Bill (SB) 104 would require public primary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education to [...]

The US of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Wednesday vacated an injunction against an Indiana law prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors, allowing the law to take effect. In a split decision, the majority stated that the lower US district court erred in issuing the injunction because plaintiffs failed to show “irreparable harm” if the [...]

A former correctional officer in southern West Virginia, Mark Holdren, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a US federal civil rights violation in the death of an inmate. The inmate, Quantez Burks, had died less than 24 hours after being booked to jail. The inmate had been detained for a minor offense before he was found [...]

President-elect Donald Trump nominated former congressman Matt Gaetz on Wednesday to be the 87th US Attorney General. This represents a stunning reversal of fortunes for the embattled Gaetz who until February of this year was under investigation by the very Department of Justice (DOJ) that he has now been chosen to lead. Gaetz tendered his [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed and remanded a lower court ruling on Tuesday that allowed the organizations VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center (VPC) to send out mail-in ballot applications to Kansas voters with pre-filled information. VoteAmerica and the VPC, the plaintiffs, initially brought the case against Kansas Secretary of [...]