Check off the last thing on your 2025 to-do list 👉🏽 your end-of-year donation to CRC! We're entering 2026 reenergized and ready to fight the systems that criminalize and oppress us. Join us in the fight by supporting our work: bit.ly/crc-donate

Last week, NCYL’s Jean Strout and Hong Le were in court standing up for children and families in E.L. v. Claps. We’re fighting to restore in-person, contact visits at Adams County Jail. Every child deserves the chance to hug their parent.

Apply to be our 2026 Artist- or Poet-in-Residence! Each year, CRC chooses a groundbreaking visual artist and a poet whose work urgently confronts the subject matter of our civil rights work for our AIR program. Learn more: civilrightscorps.org/join-our-team

✨It's Giving Tuesday✨ This year, consider donating to Civil Rights Corps! CRC is committed to our fight to dismantle the systems that punish and cage our communities, but with the increased attacks on nonprofits, we need your support. Donate here: bit.ly/crc-donate

Are you looking for a holiday gift for someone who loves defending civil rights? Well, you're in luck! CRC just launched our first merch collection! Get your CRC tees, hoodies, and totes here: bonfire.com/store/civil-rights-corps

We @civrightscorps.bsky.social fight constitutional cases to re-sensitize our society to the everyday brutality of the punishment bureaucracy. Support us, we need your help now more than ever because a lot of large donors are abandoning us. civilrightscorpsorg.secure.nonprofitsoapbox.com/donate

🔔 NEW CASE: This week, we filed a lawsuit on behalf of children in Adams County, Colorado, who are fighting for their right to hug their jailed parents. 🧵https://civilrightscorps.org/case/defending-childrens-right-to-hug-their-parents-in-adams-county/

Maryland families deserve support, not punishment. Proud to join 19 other orgs on an amicus brief in solidarity with Mrs. C: bit.ly/amicus-maryland RSVP for an upcoming convening led by systems-impacted organizers to confront the harms of Baltimore’s family policing system: bit.ly/cradle-to-cage

In Maryland, a law that was meant to keep birthing people and newborns safe has now been used to create the ultimate parent trap. The Safe Haven Law promised protection – but Baltimore’s family police punished a mama anyway. 🧵

📣 WE'RE HIRING: Investigative Fellows 🗓️ Start date: Summer 2026 🗓️ Application deadline: Rolling with priority for applications submitted before October 29, 2025 🔗 Learn more about the position: civilrightscorps.org/investigativ...

We're looking for Summer 2026 Litigation Interns! Learn more about the internship and find out how to apply here: civilrightscorps.org/summer-2026-litigation-interns-2l/

We are @civrightscorps.bsky.social have pioneered landmark constitutional challenges to the unsafe and unjust cash bail system for a decade. Our work saves lives, protects liberty, and is more important than ever.

Toronto! Join the Community Justice Collective on Sept 18th for a conversation about Copaganda with @equalityalec.bsky.social, lawyer, author, and founder of @civrightscorps.bsky.social Tickets and more info here: www.eventbrite.ca/e/copaganda-...

Join us Aug 20th for a discussion on how we can breakthrough the noise and reclaim the media narrative around the child welfare system! 🗓️ Aug 20th ⏰ 6-7:30 PM 📍424 S Pulaski St, Baltimore 🔗 RSVP here: bit.ly/mediawrkshp

Meet our 2025 Artists-in-residence 👉🏽 April Lee, Kenneth Webb, and William Anderson!

Civil Rights Corps is hiring an externally funded legal fellow to start in Fall 2025. Learn more here 👉🏽 civilrightscorps.org/externally-funded-legal-fellow-fall-2025/

Civil Rights Corps is hiring an externally funded legal fellow to start in Fall 2025. Learn more here 👉🏽 civilrightscorps.org/externally-funded-legal-fellow-fall-2025/

BREAKING 🚨 In a move that protects financial interests and ignores the law and will of Congress, the FCC just delayed the implementation of new regulations that would lower prison and jail call rates by 2 years. The rules were set to save families over $500 million per year. Shameful.

You can read more about the case here. www.yahoo.com/news/riversi...

This marks the latest case in our series of civil rights lawsuits for the last decade that have freed 100,000s of people from illegal jailing. Wealth-based jailing separates families, destroys lives, causes catastrophic financial harm to communities, and makes everyone less safe.

THREAD. It is an honor to announce that we have just sued the Riverside Sheriff, Riverside County, and the Riverside Superior Court in a landmark case challenging the constitutionality of jailing presumed innocent people solely because they cannot pay cash bail.

🧵 NEW CASE: Faith leaders, detained people, and civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit challenging Riverside County's Bail Process. What: Lawsuit Where: Riverside County, CA Issue: Bail, Pretrial Detention

🧵 NEW CASE: Faith leaders, detained people, and civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit challenging Riverside County's Bail Process. What: Lawsuit Where: Riverside County, CA Issue: Bail, Pretrial Detention

We all have the right to hug our family.

Check out this new op-ed by Mashai Small in Afro News: "From trauma to advocacy, a Black mother's mission to end family policing." Read: afro.com/family-polic...

Join us in THREE DAYS for the 4th annual #BlackMothersMarch to fight back against family policing! Black Mothers March 🗓️ May 11th ⏰ 11 AM 📍Lafayette Park RSVP here: BlackMothersMarch.com/Registration

Thanks to @equalityalec.bsky.social for joining me on @blackagendareport.bsky.social radio. We discussed his book "Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News." @civrightscorps.bsky.social soundcloud.com/user-9293973...

Diversion for me, but not for thee 🤔 Read more in @missionlocal.org missionlocal.org/2025/04/broo...

NEW: San Francisco DA Jenkins Enters State Bar Diversion Program After Ethics Complaint. "Jenkins is accused of multiple ethics complaints, including handling confidential records improperly." Read more in The Vanguard 👉🏽 davisvanguard.org/2025/04/broo...

@civrightscorps.bsky.social' @equalityalec.bsky.social joined us to discuss his new book, "Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News," (@thenewpress.bsky.social). Keep thisishell.com free and get bonus content at patreon.com/thisishell thisishell.com/episodes/1828

“After Copaganda, you’ll never read the news the same way again.” - Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow Copaganda by CRC founder @equalityalec.bsky.social is out today! Check it out 👉🏽 thenewpress.com/books/copaga...

Diversion for me, but not for thee 🤔 Read more in @missionlocal.org missionlocal.org/2025/04/broo...

NEW: San Francisco DA Jenkins Enters State Bar Diversion Program After Ethics Complaint. "Jenkins is accused of multiple ethics complaints, including handling confidential records improperly." Read more in The Vanguard 👉🏽 davisvanguard.org/2025/04/broo...

Event alert — March 28th with @equalityalec.bsky.social! For nearly 20 years, Alec Karakatsanis has been challenging the status quo in our criminal justice system. Next week, he joins us to discuss his new book and his work to carve out space for imagination and change. @civrightscorps.bsky.social

“The more outside, independent scrutiny and investigation, the better,” said Peter Santina, the managing attorney for the Prosecutorial Accountability Project at Civil Rights Corps nysfocus.com/2025/03/13/c...

These people understand that protecting liberty for the most vulnerable people in our society is one of the most essential, beautiful, and sometimes scary parts of trying to have a society that cares about human flourishing.

The Constitution is not self-executing. It only gets enforced when we create and fund specific mechanisms to enforce it. And it relies on an amazing group of public defenders and civil rights lawyers like @civrightscorps.bsky.social across U.S. who could all be making more money elsewhere.

This kind of thing happens every day, and millions of times a year. For example, one of our cases in Houston alone has gotten over 100,000 people out of illegal jailing since 2017 in low-level misdemeanors.

Something important happened: the Oregon attorney general just conceded we were right and refused to defend what was happening. he Oregon Supreme Court quickly ruled that our client should be released, and the local judges set up new hearings for many other people.

And yet, some judges in Oregon were just violating these laws regularly. We @civrightscorps.bsky.social found out about the issue and worked with the fantastic public defenders to file emergency appeals to the Oregon Supreme Court.

They were also being jailed in violation of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits jailing anyone presumed innocent unless the court has robust hearings and makes rigorous findings based on evidence that the person poses an immitigable threat or a risk of flight.

People were being jailed in violation of the Oregon constitution–which prohibits jailing people who are presumed innocent and charged only with minor misdemeanors. The people of Oregon have always strongly protected pretrial liberty until someone is convicted.

Recently, public defenders in Oregon noticed something troubling. These lawyers are appointed by courts to represent people accused of crimes who are too poor to afford a lawyer, and they noticed a lot of their clients were being illegally jailed prior to trial in misdemeanors.

THREAD. A little good news about the importance of civil rights lawyers, especially in times of rising authoritarianism.

✨ We're hiring! CRC is searching for a seasoned leader to join and support our team as Chief of Staff. Learn more & apply: civilrightscorps.org/chief-of-staff

📢 New case: CRC filed a federal lawsuit against Houston Police Department officers, alleging that the officers brutally beat and repeatedly tased an unarmed, disabled Black man during a minor traffic stop. Read more in @houstonlanding.bsky.social 👉🏽 houstonlanding.org/lawsuit-alle...

It is with the most profound sadness that we mourn the passing of Kiah Duggins. Kiah was our colleague, our friend, our mentor, our inspiration, and an extraordinary civil rights leader. She was kind and brilliant and full of laughter, joy, and energy. Rest in power, Kiah. ​​♥️

Update: senators have rejected amendments to protect children and pregnant women and to restrict to convictions. Instead, almost 20 Dems voted to *expand* the law, including misdemeanor APO. This means any cop in the US could get someone indefinitely detained in the new camps.

The Laken Riley Act should concern anyone who cares about the punishment bureaucracy. It leans deeply into fear-mongering around immigration, retail theft, and bail reform and only serves to expand the carceral state and line the pockets of corporate profiteers.

Today marks the end of 2024. So, we wanted to take the time to share with you some of our accomplishments – work that gives us hope going into 2025. ✨ Consider donating to support our work in the new year: civilrightscorps.org/donate