Civil Rights

For-Profit Schools’ Predatory Practices and Students of Color: A Mission to Enroll Rather than Educate

July 30, 2018

In a move with significant implications for federal civil rights enforcement, the Department of Education has halted investigations into several large for-profit institutions widely accused of defrauding students. This decision sends an even clearer message that the Department of Education stands on the side of corrupt corporations rather than with students. Its decision allows these…

Toby Merrill, Brenda Shum, Eileen Connor, Genevieve (Genzie) Bonadies & Joshua Rovenger

Government Class Actions After Jennings v. Rodriguez

May 8, 2018

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Jennings v. Rodriguez raised the momentous question of whether the government can indefinitely detain people without a hearing. If the government has its way, the case also may close the courthouse doors to a wide array of class actions long used to challenge unlawful government action. In Jennings, the…

Maureen Carroll, Alexandra D. Lahav, David Marcus & Adam Zimmerman

Double Jeopardy All Over Again?

April 30, 2018

What if Donald Trump pardons people identified as targets by Robert Mueller before, during, or after they are prosecuted in federal court? Would those people escape accountability for their acts, or would a state—particularly New York State, which has jurisdiction over Trump Tower and several key players—be able to prosecute them for what is defined…

Susan N. Herman

The Overlooked Legal Challenge to Trump’s Travel Ban

April 23, 2018

The third version of the Travel Ban (“EO-3”)—also known as the Muslim Ban—added two non-Muslim countries to the list, but that by no means immunized it from legal challenge. The Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument tomorrow in Trump v. Hawaii and will ultimately determine whether the Travel Ban is a lawful exercise…

Fatma Marouf, Philip L. Torrey & Sabrineh Ardalan

Missing Data and Anti-Discrimination Laws

April 2, 2018

In February, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office published an analysis concluding that drivers living in the state’s predominantly minority communities are charged higher auto insurance premiums than similar drivers living in majority white communities. In fact, the study found that experienced drivers with good driving records in the largest minority population areas pay more for…

Da Lin

Why the Insular Cases Must Become the Next Plessy

March 28, 2018

Americans who call U.S. territories home face unprecedented challenges. Six months after Hurricanes Maria and Irma wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, many still lack electricity. Guam continues to sit in the nuclear cross-hairs of North Korea. And the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa are experiencing severe economic upheaval following…

Neil Weare