Active Cases

Since 1966, CCR has pioneered daring and innovative legal strategies in pursuit of its mission to advance and protect the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Our work began on behalf of civil rights activists, and since then CCR has lent its expertise and support to virtually every popular progressive movement.

Our current cases reflects our unwavering commitment to progressive principles, people’s movements and human rights as well as our creative use of the law as a positive force for social change.

Houser v. Blank

In 2010, the U.S. Bureau of the Census hired over a million temporary employees to conduct census surveys and serve in clerical positions. The Bureau ran the names of all applicants through the FBI...
Updated: April 20, 2016

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Derek Lee

This case aims to end the state of Pennsylvania’s mandatory imposition of death-by-incarceration sentences, otherwise known as life without parole, for Derek Lee and others convicted of felony murder...
Updated: September 24, 2025

Austin Sanctuary Network v. Mayorkas

Leaders of the National Sanctuary Collective and allied organizations filed a challenge ICE’s practice of issuing exorbitant civil fines against people who have taken sanctuary in houses of worship,...
Updated: June 22, 2023

United States v. Jackson

For decades, residents of Jackson, Mississippi, have experienced threats to their health and wellbeing from an outdated, failing public water system. For the past three years, this predominantly...
Updated: May 16, 2025

Black Love Resists in the Rust v. City of Buffalo

In the summer of 2012, the Buffalo Police Department created a "Strike Force" Unit to aggressively patrol and conduct vehicle checkpoints in "high crime" areas of the city. While purportedly set up...
Updated: November 15, 2024

State v. Henry / State v. Allen (Jim Crow Juries)

Rufus Henry and Matthew Allen were both convicted of murder in the second degree by non-unanimous juries and sentenced to life in prison following trials in which they argued that they acted in self-...
Updated: January 17, 2025

Furlow v. Belmar

For many years, St. Louis and surrounding Missouri counties have permitted police officers to issue the equivalent of a statewide arrest warrant into an electronic database, designating an individual...
Updated: December 8, 2022

Migrant Justice v. Nielsen

Lawsuit on behalf of Vermont-based Migrant Justice against ICE, DHS, and the Vermont DMV.
Updated: March 4, 2021

Ortiz v. Orange County, N.Y.

Ortiz et al. v. Orange County, NY et al. is a federal lawsuit against Orange County in New York, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and county officials for their punitive retaliation...
Updated: July 10, 2025

The Descendants Project v. St. John the Baptist Parish

On November 9, 2021, on behalf of The Descendants Project, an organization founded to advocate for descendants of people once enslaved in Louisiana’s river parishes, the Center for Constitutional...
Updated: April 2, 2025

Bellant v. Snyder (Phillips v. Snyder)

Federal lawsuit challenging constitutionality of state-appointed “Emergency Managers” in predominantly black and brown communities of Michigan
Updated: July 25, 2018

Pages

Filter by Issue

Stay Up To Date on the Latest from CCR