The Daily Outrage

The CCR blog

News: COVID filing! East Baton Rouge prison still failing medically vulnerable people at risk of COVID

COVID filing! East Baton Rouge prison still failing medically vulnerable people

On Friday, individuals incarcerated at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison urged a federal judge to reinstate a lawsuit filed against the jail for its failure to adequately protect them from the spread of COVID-19, and seeking CDC-compliant protective measures in light of the pandemic crisis. The motion argues that, in dismissing the case, the court improperly disregarded facts in the complaint detailing profound medical neglect and delay inside the prison, and considered erroneous claims by prison officials that risk of transmission had been sufficiently mitigated. The case must be reinstated, the motion argues, because the plaintiffs remain at serious risk of life-threatening COVID-19 infection.

Learn more about this case on our website.

Courtroom update: Case alleges family separation amounts to torture, crimes against humanity

On Friday, we argued telephonically to a federal court judge in New York representing our clients, a father (“Mr. C.”) and his then-19-month-old son, who were detained and forcibly separated for nearly six months after seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Friday’s argument was part of our case D.J.C.V. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to the government’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit over Mr. C. and his son’s treatment. Central to the case is the claim that the Trump administration's “zero tolerance” and family separation policy constituted torture under international law and crimes against humanity as established at Nuremberg. Though a federal judge eventually ordered that father and son be reunited, Mr. C. and his son are suing for damages for their suffering under the Trump administration’s deliberate policy of inflicting emotional distress and torture.

Learn more about this case on our website.

Join us March 23 for "What is the Role of Lawyers During Crises?"

Join us and Albany Law School March 23 for a virtual panel discussion to celebrate the launch of the new book, Crisis Lawyering: Effective Legal Advocacy in Emergency SituationsCrisis Lawyering is dedicated to the late Michael Ratner, former Center for Constitutional Rights lawyer and president, and “a true crisis lawyer, who was a friend and mentor to so many.”

Legal commentator and senior editor at Slate Dahlia Lithwick will moderate the discussion, which features our legal director, Baher Azmy, one of the contributors to the book. From challenging Bush-era torture and indefinite detention at Guantánamo to the Trump administration’s inhumane immmigration policies, panelists will reflect on decades of lawyering in crises.

For the full list of speakers and information on how to register, head to our event page.

ICYMI: Vince Warren & Geeta Gandbhir on Oscar-shortlisted film Call Center Blues

On February 26, our executive director Vince Warren joined Geeta Gandbhir, director of the Oscar-shortlisted film Call Center Blues, to discuss the power of stories and social change and the reverberating effects of deportation. Call Center Blues is a lyrical portrait of an unlikely community of U.S. deportees and their loved ones struggling to rebuild their lives in Tijuana. Our protagonists paint a picture of love, loss, and longing — for home, for an American Dream deferred, and justice.

In the discussion, Warren and Gandbhir reflected on the short documentary, storytelling, and the  opportunities for immigrant justice under the new administration.

In case you missed it, their conversation can be viewed on Multitude Films’ Vimeo.

Last modified 

March 8, 2021