Executive Director Vince Warren reacts to Supreme Court decision moving the country toward authoritarianism 

In response to the Supreme Court ruling last Monday that presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for acts taken as part of their “core constitutional duties,” Center for Constitutional Rights Executive Director Vince Warren issued a scathing statement:

“The president is not above the law,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts before ruling that President Trump is above the law. In a decision both shocking and unsurprising, the Supreme Court’s reactionary six-member majority ruled that the president of the United States has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for acts relating to “core constitutional duties.” An elementary school civics student taught that ours, supposedly, is a “government of laws and not of men,” would recognize the dangers of this ruling. Theft, plunder, embezzlement, extortion, abduction, assassination, or, to state the obvious – attempted election interference or a coup: presidents could now be shielded from criminal prosecution for these acts and, for the first time in history, may feel empowered to commit them without fear of legal consequences, confident they can claim they are “core” duties and even basic “official” acts… 

…At every turn, this Court defers to power, Trumpian or corporate, at the expense of pluralism, individual freedom, and democracy. It has exposed itself as a nakedly political – and reactionary – institution, and the existential dangers it poses must be met by political limitations on its recklessness, and continued mass mobilization that resists fascism in every corridor of power.

Read the rest of Vince’s response on our website.

Read: Our statement in solidarity with Hatians and Kenyans resisting U.S. imperialism and neo-colonialism  

We released a statement last week in response to the deployment of Kenyan police to Haiti:

Hundreds of Kenyan police have arrived in Haiti for a U.N,-approved and U.S.-funded “security mission.” The forces include the U.S.-trained and funded Kenyan Rapid Response Team (RRT) responsible for the extrajudicial killings and disappearances of civilians in their own country. The deployment takes place as Kenya’s president, William Ruto, cracks down on protesters opposing policies that favor the country’s ruling elite and cater to U.S. financial interests. The Kenyan military has killed dozens, but the protests forced Ruto to shelve his finance bill, which would have raised the prices of essential goods at the behest of the International Money Fund — a striking victory for a movement led by young people... 

See the rest of the statement on our website

Join us for Center for Constitutional Rights Events in July 

Check out the exciting programming we have lined up for July! 

July 9 (Ireland + virtual): The Situation in Palestine: Emerging Domestic and International Jurisprudence

Maynooth University and Northumbria University are hosting an in-person and virtual symposium on Tuesday, July 9, from 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Irish Standard Time / 4 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

Senior Staff Attorney Katherine Gallagher will speak on the panel “Domestic Courts and Complaints,” 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. Irish Standard Time / 9:30 am - 11 a.m. Eastern Time.

Find out more about the schedule, speakers, and how to register here.

July 11 (Baltimore, MD): Defending Dissent: A Panel Discussion on Palestine, Freedom of Speech and the Future of Protest

Join the Center for Constitutional Rights at Netroots Nation 2024 in Baltimore! In addition to co-sponsoring the conference, Executive Director Vince Warren will join this featured panel discussion on July 11 at 2:15 pm ET. 

Read more about this panel and speakers on our website.

July 15 (Birmingham, AL): Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power – A Freedom Flicks Screening in the South

Our Freedom Flicks series is on the road! Join us at Sidewalk Cinema in Birmingham, AL, for a screening of the Emmy-award winning documentary Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power, followed by a conversation with Southern organizers from the 1960s and the present, as well as the film’s producer, about the renewed fight to protect civic and community engagement, democracy, and the right to vote. 

Emily Early and Jessica Vosburgh from our Southern Regional Office will be participating in the program. The event is co-sponsored by our friends at Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution, Greater Birmingham Ministries, and People's Budget Birmingham. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the program and film begin at 7:00 p.m.

Read more about the event and our great lineup of speakers and register on our event page.