REJECTED! Court says no to Hunt & Polo member's case harassing the Ramapough Lenape Nation

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A New Jersey court dismissed an attempt by Thomas Powers, a member of the Ramapo Hunt & Polo Club homeowners’ association, to dismantle a settlement reached last year between the Ramapough Lenape Nation and the Township of Mahwah regarding the Ramapough’s use of their land. The settlement followed years of harassment, including litigation and heavy fines, by Mahwah and the Hunt & Polo Club against the Ramapough for religious gatherings on land they own, which neighbors the Hunt & Polo Club property. The club declined to join the settlement agreement and went to trial. They lost, and the court dismissed the Hunt & Polo Club’s case in its entirety. Mr. Powers then filed on his own behalf — without counsel — seeking to dismantle the settlement between the Ramapough and the township. Following an argument, the court dismissed Powers’ case in its entirety. 

“Mr. Powers raised the same issues a court already considered and rejected after a full trial. Filing yet another lawsuit seeking to infringe on the Ramapough’s right to religious practice was pure harassment. The court was right to dismiss the case and prohibit Powers from filing again,” said Bertha Justice Fellow Brittany Thomas, who argued. 

Read more on our website.

We condemn the Trump administration's racist travel ban expansion

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On Friday, the Trump administration announced that it has expanded its travel ban to six additional countries (Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar Kyrgyzstan for all immigrant visas, and Sudan, Tanzania from the diversity visa lottery program).

Trump is marking the anniversary of his first unlawful, discriminatory act as president — the Muslim Ban — with an expansion of that Ban to even more countries. With that, he’s sending a message that the xenophobic platform that he ran on is one that he will continue to deliver on regardless of legal and human consequences. But the Muslim Ban was unlawful then, and it remains unlawful now. We will continue to fight alongside communities, as we have been. 

This New Muslim Ban makes it clear: separating families and peddling white supremacy are this administration’s preferred modes of dividing this country. Once again, most of the countries Trump added today are Muslim or have substantial Muslim populations. They also include Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. From Trump’s earliest days in office — from vitriol on the campaign trail, to collective detention at Guantánamo, to mass visa denials for immigrants from specific countries — Muslims have been a consistently targeted group. Coupled with the targeting of immigrants and asylum seekers at the U.S. Southern border, new powers to block pregnant people from visiting that reek of misogyny, and Trump’s rapidly spreading immigration wealth test, this administration’s key immigration goal is this: to end all non-white immigration to the United States.

Here it is - the latest report on the decriminalization of sex work

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On Thursday, 28 organizations working on a range of human rights and public health issues released a report, Decriminalizing Survival: Policy Platform And Polling On The Decriminalization Of Sex Work, advocating for the decriminalization of sex work in the United States. The 27-page report defines the issue, describes policing and criminalization patterns, and proposes a united policy platform for decriminalization. The report also contains two new national polls by Data for Progress/YouGov, one on the decriminalization of sex work and the other on ending vice policing. The report is authored by Data for Progress Fellow and Decrim NY organizer Nina Luo. 

A full copy of the report can be found at on DecrimNY’s website.

Join us at "Community as Classroom: Reparations & Building Coalitions"

On Saturday, February 8, 2020, join Bertha Justice Fellow Brittany Thomas in a discourse around reparations and how we might build a coalition across nations and cultural spheres to have our justice claim fully addressed.  The discussion is a part of the Weeksville Heritage Center's celebration of Black History Month. Joining Brittany will be representatives from National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC), Regional Council for Africans in the Americas (RCAA), scholars, and artists. The audience will engage in a Story Circle led by Ebony Noelle Golden, Founder and CEO of Betty’s Daughter’s Art Collaborative.

For more information of the exciting full day of activities and to register, visit the event page.

Black History Month: Activism through artists, lawyers, and storytellers

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As an organization that stands with social movements and communities resisting oppression, we know that change is possible when artists, storytellers, and lawyers dream together. This Black History Month, we celebrate the extraordinary Black artists, storytellers, and lawyers who have challenged the world we have and helped us imagine the world we want to see. We are proud to highlight this special group of creatives, allies, and movement partners who are using their tremendous gifts to advocate for racial justice, human rights, and social and political transformation.

Stay tuned!

29th Annual Jazz for Justice celebrates the 52nd anniversary of the Association of Black Law Students

Join us as Center for Constitutional Rights Executive Director Vincent Warren is honored at the Association of Black Law Students' annual flagship gala, Jazz for Justice. Every year the legal community is invited to come and celebrate with Rutgers Law students, alumni, faculty, and community partners in an evening full of jazz, art, and food. 

This year’s event will also honor Nexus Sea, Litigator and Trial Lawyer at Orrick, Herrington, & Sutcliffe, and Rhasheda Douglas, Assistant Dean of the Minority Student Program at Rutgers Law School.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the eventbrite page.