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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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP, et al. v. City of Jacksonville, et al.
The city of Jacksonville, Florida, in March 2022 adopted racially gerrymandered district voting maps that dilute the voting power of Black residents in city council and school board elections. On behalf of four civil rights organizations and 10 individuals, the Southern Poverty Law Center and its co-counsel filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the new…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Dyamone White, et al. v. State Board of Election Commissioners, et al.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and allied organizations filed a federal lawsuit challenging the voting district lines used to elect members of the Mississippi Supreme Court. The suit contends that the lines, which have not been adjusted in 35 years, dilute the voting strength of Black voters. The state’s population is nearly 40% Black, a…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
- LGBTQ Rights
Boe, et al., v. Marshall, et al.
After Alabama legislators passed a law criminalizing healthcare for transgender children and adolescents, the Southern Poverty Law Center joined a coalition of civil rights advocates to file a federal lawsuit challenging the law on behalf of a group of families, a reverend and two health care providers affected by it. The law, known as SB…
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- Eliminating Poverty and Economic Inequality
NAACP, et al. v. State of Mississippi et al. (Administrative complaint)
After Mississippi failed to provide COVID-19 vaccine access in an equitable manner, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a federal administrative complaint describing how the failure violated civil rights law. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of Mississippi and other public and private organizations in the state received $15.7 billion in pandemic financial assistance. Despite…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
- Ending Unjust Imprisonment
- LGBTQ Rights
Gabriela Amaya Cruz, et al. v. Miami-Dade County, et al.
After being arrested on minor charges at racial justice demonstrations in Florida, three transgender people endured abuse while in the custody of Miami-Dade County corrections staff. The Southern Poverty Law Center and its allies filed a lawsuit on behalf of the group, challenging the county over the abuse they endured for being transgender – treatment…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
- Ending Unjust Imprisonment
Brooks v. Woods, et. al.
In August 2020, Neville Christopher Brooks, a legal permanent U.S. resident from Jamaica, was unlawfully detained by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in Florida — not for any alleged criminal activity or for any legitimate immigration enforcement concerns but solely because he was born in Jamaica. Although an officer from U.S. Immigration and Customs…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Common Cause, et al. v. Brad Raffensperger, et al.
After Black Georgia voters saw their voting power weakened by the newly drawn boundaries of three congressional districts, the Southern Poverty Law Center and its co-counsel filed a federal lawsuit challenging the racially gerrymandered districts on behalf of voting rights groups and Georgia voters. The lawsuit charges that Georgia’s 6th, 13th and 14th congressional districts…
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- Dismantling White Supremacy
- Ending Unjust Imprisonment
- Special Litigation
City of Gainesville, et al. v. Ron DeSantis, et al.
In April 2021, the Florida Legislature enacted the Combating Violence, Disorder and Looting and Law Enforcement Protection Act, also known as HB 1. Gov. Ron DeSantis and other leading proponents of HB 1 were explicit: HB 1 was a direct response to – and a means to oppose – the summer 2020 Black community-led protests…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Khadidah Stone, et al. v. Wes Allen, et al.
In 2021, Alabama lawmakers enacted a new district map for the Alabama state Senate that significantly diminishes the power of the state’s Black voters. The Southern Poverty Law Center and its co-counsel filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s discriminatory Senate map. The lawsuit seeks two additional majority-Black state Senate districts. It describes how Alabama’s…
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- Strengthening Democracy & Voting Rights
Complaint to the Department of Justice regarding disability discrimination in Alabama’s absentee ballot program
After Alabama failed to provide an absentee voting program that is fully accessible to voters who are blind or have print disabilities, the Southern Poverty Law Center and its co-counsel filed an administrative complaint asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the program. The complaint was filed on behalf of the National Federation of…