In California, prisoners will help develop a remedy to unjust detention conditions
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[/caption]For the first time, the men who were held in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay, who won the battle against solitary confinement in California, will get a seat at the table with the California Department of Corrections (CDCR.) Even after the landmark settlement we reached in Ashker v. Governor of California — that formally ended indefinite solitary confinement in State facilities — many prisoners have been experiencing very similar conditions as when they were held in the SHU, with extremely limited opportunities for socialization, and for some, being deprived of all normal social interaction in so-called "walk alone" status in the Restricted Custody General Population unit.
After the District Court Judge ruled that these conditions clearly violate the terms of the settlement, she ordered all parties to meet and confer on a remedy. The four representatives of the plaintiffs' class will be able to meet in person with CDCR officials on August 21st and, hopefully, contribute to developing a constructive solution to and remedy for these problems.
Court strikes anti-gay extremist Scott Lively's attempt to censor judge
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[/caption]The First Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Scott Lively's attempt to appeal a ruling from the district court to remove language that harshly criticized his role in the persecution of the LGBTI community in Uganda in the case Sexual Minorities Uganda v. Lively. After the district court had granted Lively's Motion for Summary Judgment and dismissed the case, Lively appealed to strike "unflattering statements" about him from the decision.
"Lively has spent decades trying to deprive LGBTI people of their rights to expression, even seeking to have them imprisoned for it in Uganda, so it's no wonder he would try to censor a judicial opinion he finds objectionable," said Pam Spees, a Center for Constitutional Rights senior staff attorney. "This ruling also calls out the fact that Lively made one set of arguments to this court that directly contradicted what he argued in the lower court. We are glad the court did not allow him to get away with it."
The Activist Files: Migrating through imigration
In the fifth episode of The Activist Files, Chandra Hayslett, communications director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, speaks with artist and designer Lizania Cruz about her works of art made of flowers and photography, storytelling, and pop-up newsstands.
"We don't have to assimilate to American culture in order to empower our community," said Lizania, speaking of her Flowers for Immigration project. Lizania, who is the Laundromat Project 2018 Create Change Artist, takes the listener on a journey that examines the parallels in immigrants’ stories, Trump's influence on her art, and economic justice for immigrants.
