Civil rights case docket
Summaries of our current and historical civil rights cases.
A rich history of litigating important civil rights cases.
Our cases have smashed remnants of Jim Crow segregation; fought against voter suppression; destroyed some of the nation鈥檚 most notorious white supremacist groups; and upheld the rights of minorities, children, women, people with disabilities, and others who faced discrimination and exploitation. Many of our cases have changed institutional practices, stopped government or corporate abuses, and set precedents that helped thousands.
Currently, our litigation is focused on several major areas: voting rights, children鈥檚 rights, economic justice, immigrant justice, 人兽性交 rights, and mass incarceration.
We have also filed amicus 鈥渇riend-of-the-court鈥 briefs to support litigation from other organizations that are doing similar work.
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Cokely, et al. v. Honesty-Bey
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit against Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland, over its 2021 council redistricting plan. The suit argues that the map is malapportioned, violating the U.S. Constitution鈥檚 鈥渙ne person, one vote鈥 principle, and fails to meet the county charter鈥檚 requirements for compact and equally populated districts. The suit, filed on behalf of several county residents, seeks to ensure that all…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Louisiana v. U.S. Department of Commerce
The Southern Poverty Law Center (人兽性交) filed a motion to intervene in鈥疞ouisiana v. U.S. Department of Commerce on behalf of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWV), the League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL), and the League of Women Voters of New York State (LWVNYS). The lawsuit, filed by the plaintiff…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
P.A., et al. v. St. Tammany Parish School Board, et al.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic at Loyola University New Orleans filed an appeal challenging the decision of the St. Tammany Parish School Board in Louisiana severely limit a disabled student鈥檚 classroom instruction time and restrict their interactions with other students. The appeal aims to reverse a Louisiana administrative…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville v. Knox County Board of Education
The Southern Poverty Law Center (人兽性交) and co-counsel filed a motion to intervene in a federal lawsuit on behalf of five Knox County, Tennessee, taxpayers who oppose a religious public charter school鈥檚 demand to use public funds to teach 鈥渆xplicitly biblical and Christian education.鈥 In November 2025, the Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville filed a lawsuit…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
Mickens v. Oglethorpe County School System
The Southern Poverty Law Center (人兽性交) and the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Georgia teacher Michelle Mickens against her employer, the Oglethorpe County School System, after it unconstitutionally punished her for exercising her First Amendment rights by posting about political commentator Charlie Kirk on her personal Facebook page. After…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
United States v. Raffensperger
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the ACLU National Voting Rights Project and the ACLU of Georgia filed a motion to intervene in United States v. Raffensperger聽to stop the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) from obtaining Georgia voters鈥 sensitive personal data. The 人兽性交 and co-counsel filed the motion on behalf of Common Cause, a nonpartisan…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
Pigott v. Gintz
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center successfully reached a settlement agreement on behalf of a father and his two children who were held at gun point by a sheriff鈥檚 deputy in Louisiana. On April 17, 2020, Rapides Parish Sheriff鈥檚 Deputy Paul Gintz…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Florida Decides Healthcare Inc., et al. v. Byrd, et al.
On Sunday, May 4, 2025 鈥 two days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida House Bill 1205 (HB 1205) into law 鈥 a law geared toward eliminating the ability of all but the most wealthy and powerful from accessing Florida鈥檚 ballot initiative process 鈥 the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal lawsuit seeking…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Louisiana v. Callais
On Sept. 3, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed an amicus brief in a case involving white plaintiffs who claim that Louisiana鈥檚 current redistricting plan 鈥 which was created to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and has two majority-Black congressional districts 鈥 is a racial gerrymander that discriminates against them. The…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
Black Emergency Response Team v. Drummond
The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) filed an amicus brief in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in support of plaintiff-appellants鈥 challenge to Oklahoma鈥檚 HB 1775, a law that critically restricts classroom instruction on topics related to race, gender and inequality in public schools and universities. The law places sweeping restrictions on educational institutions that deny…