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’s 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’s rights, economic justice, immigrant justice, LGBTQ rights, and mass incarceration.
We have also filed amicus “friend-of-the-court” briefs to support litigation from other organizations that are doing similar work.
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- Ending Unjust Imprisonment
Caswell v. Horton, et al.
Content warning: The following case summary contains graphic descriptions of a mother almost dying during childbirth. Ashley Caswell filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in Alabama after her constitutional rights were violated when a notorious county jail restricted her access to necessary medical care during a high-risk pregnancy. Her pleas for help were ignored as…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
Grovner, et al. v. McIntosh County, et al.
When an unlawful zoning amendment threatened Georgia’s historic Hogg Hummock community, the Southern Poverty Law Center and its co-counsel filed a complaint challenging the amendment in the Superior Court of McIntosh County. Hogg Hummock, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the last intact Gullah-Geechee community in the Sea Islands of…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Rissling, et al. v. Bobo, et al.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and its co-counsel filed a federal lawsuit against three Alabama counties for their failure to provide an accessible option for absentee voting by blind and print-disabled voters. Filed on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind in Alabama and four individuals, the lawsuit alleges that Jefferson, Mobile and Tuscaloosa…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
- LGBTQ Rights
USA v. Skrmetti
After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit allowed transgender health care bans for adolescents to take effect in Kentucky and Tennessee despite pending legal challenges, the Southern Poverty Law Center joined other advocacy groups urging the court to reinstate orders that had blocked the bans amid the challenges. The SPLC joined an…
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- Ending Unjust Imprisonment
Yellowhammer Fund v. Attorney General of Alabama Steve Marshall
After Alabama’s attorney general threatened to criminalize people helping pregnant Alabamians access legal abortion care in other states, The Lawyering Project, joined by the Southern Poverty Law Center, filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the attorney general from making good on his threat. The attorney general threatened organizations such as the plaintiff, the Yellowhammer…
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- Ending Unjust Imprisonment
The Farmworker Association of Florida Inc., et. al. v. Ronald D. DeSantis, et. al.
A sweeping new anti-immigrant law – SB 1718 – took effect in Florida on July 1, 2023. The law harms Florida immigrants and their families and seeks to target and intimidate immigrant families in every facet of their lives. The SPLC and its legal partners filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the law is unconstitutional.…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
- LGBTQ Rights
Emma Koe, et al. v. Caylee Noggle, et al.
After Georgia passed a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents, the Southern Poverty Law Center and its partners filed a federal lawsuit to block the law from taking effect and seek a court order ruling that the law is unconstitutional. The law, also known as SB 140, strips parents of their rights to make…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
In Re: Sandersville Railroad Company’s Petition for Approval to Acquire Real Estate by Condemnation
The privately owned Sandersville Railroad Company is threatening to use eminent domain against property owners in a predominantly Black community in Sparta, Georgia, who have refused to sell portions of their land for a rail spur (a separate track that is connected to the main rail line). The railroad company wants to lay tracks for…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Ann Saunders, et al. v. State of Mississippi, et al.
After Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation creating a special judicial district within the city of Jackson where judges would be appointed rather than elected – and ultimately disenfranchise Black voters – the Southern Poverty Law Center filed an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit by other advocacy groups challenging the action as a violation of…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Disability Rights Mississippi, et al. v. Lynn Fitch, et al.
After Mississippi enacted a law that violates the right of residents with disabilities to receive voting assistance from the person of their choice, the Southern Poverty Law Center and its partners challenged the law in federal court. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Disability Rights Mississippi, the League of Women Voters of Mississippi and three…