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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McElroy, et al. v. Houston County, Alabama, et al.
On May 13, 2026, attorneys with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Pregnancy Justice and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in Alabama on behalf of Tiffany McElroy and her infant daughter. In May 2024, McElroy was just days into her detention at the Houston County Jail in Dothan, Alabama, for a pregnancy-related charge when her…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Association for the Preservation of the Eatonville Community, Inc. v. School Board of Orange County, Florida
The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a new lawsuit against the school board of Orange County, Florida, on behalf of the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc. (PEC) to protect the Robert Hungerford Preparatory High School property. The lawsuit alleges that the Orange County School Board is selling that historic land after secret negotiations in violation of…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
Young, et al. v. Lee, et al.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (人兽性交), the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Education Law Center, the Southern Education Foundation and the law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd filed a lawsuit challenging Tennessee鈥檚 universal voucher program on behalf of public school parents and community members who argue the law violates students鈥 constitutional…
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- Ending Unjust Imprisonment
Mills v. Connelly, et al.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Louisiana鈥檚 Justice Lab, the Social Justice Legal Foundation (SJLF) and the law firm of Hueston Hennigan LLP, provided legal representation to Nia Mills, a Black woman subjected to prolonged detention, extensive property searches and ongoing emotional harm when West Baton Rouge…
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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…