Our Impact
Civil Rights Corps’ impact cannot be easily quantified. In addition to our legal work, we strive to transform how people think, change the discourse within our legal system and our culture, bring injustices to light, and preserve access to basic truths that are under relentless assault from the propaganda of the punishment bureaucracy and multibillion dollar industries that profit from it.
In the current political climate, our work to build the infrastructure that protects liberty, independent thought, truth-seeking, privacy, and the freedom to flourish from state repression is essential. Every effort, easily measurable or not, can be a vital part of a long-term social movement that transforms systems of and assumptions about human caging, racial and economic control, surveillance, profiteering, and punishment.
Our Impact In Numbers
The work that can be quantified, showcases some of the incredible impact CRC has had over the years.
100000 +
People
freed from being jailed for poverty.
$ 100000000 +
Returned to communities
most impacted by the injustices in the criminal system.
100 +
Cases filed in 20 states
Press Releases
Federal Judge Recommends that Civil Rights Corps’ Lawsuit Against Family Court Judge & Durham County Sheriff, for Repeatedly Kicking CRC Out of Court, Move Forward
The lawsuit argues that Judge Walker and Sheriff Birkhead’s actions violate CRC’s First Amendment rights.
Children Sue to Restore Contact Visits in the Adams County Jail, Asserting Their Right to Hug Their Parents
Children whose parents are jailed in Adams County have sued the County, the Sheriff, and telecommunications company HomeWAV, asking the Colorado state court to affirm their constitutional right to hug their parents.
Lawsuit Challenging Riverside County’s Bail Processes Moves Forward
California Superior Court overruled the County Defendants’ demurrer to the complaint
Maryland’s Parent Trap: Baltimore Mother Punished After Using Safe Haven Law Designed to Protect Her
Civil Rights Organizations and Leaders File Amicus Brief Defending Parents’ Right to Access the Safe Haven Law Without Liability
Texas Attorney General Seeks to Overturn Harris County Misdemeanor Bail Reforms and Return to Unconstitutional Practices
Houston, TX – In 2016, Maranda ODonnell filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of tens of thousands of impoverished individuals arrested for misdemeanors in Harris County, challenging the County’s practice of detaining people due solely to their inability to pay small amounts of cash to secure their release. That system destroyed people’s lives, causing them to lose jobs, homes, cars, and sometimes custody of their children, all simply because they were poor and could not pay a few hundred dollars to a for-profit bail company.
Faith Leaders, Detained People, and Civil Rights Groups File Lawsuit in California Challenging Riverside County’s Bail Process
On May 26, 2025, individuals detained in Riverside County jails filed a class action lawsuit challenging Riverside County’s cash-based jailing of individuals between their arrest and first court hearing, as well as Riverside County’s unnecessary delay of that hearing.
Civil Rights Corps Files Federal Lawsuit Against Houston Police Department Officers, Alleging Brutal Attack on Disabled Black Man During Traffic Stop
The lawsuit alleges that officers brutally beat and repeatedly tased an unarmed, disabled Black man during a minor traffic stop. Houston, Texas – On January 29, 2025, Civil Rights Corps filed a lawsuit against 6 Houston Police Department (“HPD”) officers on behalf of Houston resident Terrence Holland. Mr. Holland has multiple physical, cognitive, and psychological […]
Civil Rights Corps argues for Fifth Circuit to uphold lower court decision that permits lawsuit accusing Houston Police department officers of “hogtying” and “racial profiling” to proceed
The lawsuit claims that officers used a deadly four-point restraint called “hogtying” after racially profiling a Hispanic man and arresting him without probable cause. New Orleans, Louisiana – On December 5, 2024, Civil Rights Corps (CRC) completed an oral argument at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for a lawsuit on […]
Civil Rights Corps Sues Family Court Judge and Sheriff in Durham County, NC for Kicking CRC Out of Court, in Violation of the First Amendment
Durham, North Carolina – On November 13, 2024, Civil Rights Corps (CRC), represented by law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, filed a lawsuit against Durham County District Court Judge Doretta Walker for her repeated and ongoing refusal to permit community members and the public, including CRC, to observe judicial proceedings relating to one of the […]
Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against DC Police for Constitutional Violations at Ceasefire Protest at the Democratic National Committee Office in DC.
Washington, DC – On August 16, 2024, Civil Rights Corps filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of nine plaintiffs to seek redress for violations of their constitutional rights during a demonstration last November in support of a ceasefire in Palestine. The complaint alleges that police officers from Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the […]
Landmark Court Ruling for Transparency in New York Prosecutorial Misconduct Cases
“The public cannot have faith in a process that it cannot see.” – Judge Marrero’s decision, P.85 New York – In a victory for the public and transparency, federal judge Victor Marrero held that the public has a First Amendment right to know what authorities have done with allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. The court issued […]
Disability Rights California and Civil Rights Corps Oppose Proposition 36 and Any Legislation that Harms California’s Most Vulnerable Residents
Sacramento, CA – In 2014, California took a giant step forward when it passed Proposition 47, a ballot measure that removed thousands of felonies from people’s records and reduced the jail and prison footprint across California. But now Proposition 47 is under attack. This November, law enforcement and the corporate retail lobby will be aggressively pushing […]
Civil Rights Corps and Nii Amaa Ollennu of NO Law Firm File Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Houston Police Department for Gruesome Police Dog Attack on Black Motorist
The lawsuit alleges HPD officers sicced their out-of-control and unpredictable police dog on a Black motorist, mauling and permanently damaging his arm. Houston, TX– On June 6, 2024, Civil Rights Corps (CRC) and attorney Nii Amaa Ollennu filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against 9 Houston Police Department (HPD) Officers on behalf of Houston resident […]
Children Sue Michigan Sheriffs, Two Biggest Jail Telecom Companies, and Billionaire Detroit Pistons Owner Tom Gores, Asserting Right to Hug Their Jailed Parents
Michigan – Children in Flint and Port Huron, Michigan have filed two landmark civil rights lawsuits asserting their constitutional right to visit their jailed parents. Hundreds of counties across the United States have banned in-person jail visits for families, depriving children of the ability to see their parents face-to-face for months or years. Why? To […]
Civil Rights Corps Challenges Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Over Illegal Consulting Contract Award
LA County illegally awarded the redesign of the county’s pretrial services to consulting giant Accenture. Los Angeles, CA – On Monday, March 11th, the national legal organization Civil Rights Corps, which has successfully sued to strike down illegal cash bail policies in Los Angeles County, sent a letter to the Los Angeles County Board of […]
Court Preliminarily Approves Class Action Settlement on Behalf of Thousands of People Jailed by the City of Ferguson
Ferguson, MO – On February 27, 2024, a federal judge preliminarily approved a $4.5 million settlement of a class action lawsuit filed against the City of Ferguson in 2015, after police killed Michael Brown and ignited national outrage. The lawsuit sought justice for thousands of people who alleged that Ferguson routinely violated their constitutional rights […]
Civil Rights Corps Files Federal Lawsuit Alleging Harris County Constables unlawfully entered the wrong family’s home with guns drawn
Houston, TX – On January 31st, 2024, Civil Rights Corps filed a federal lawsuit against three members of the Harris County Constables, Precinct 2 (the “Constables”) on behalf of Harris County resident Tyler Harrington. The complaint alleges that officers James Lancaster, Nathaniel Cano, and Jared Lindsay (“defendants”) conducted a warrantless no-knock entry into Mr. Harrington’s […]
Law Professor’s Complaint Against L.A. Superior Court Judge Alleges Disturbing Pattern: Ignoring California Bail Law
Los Angeles County, CA – Forty days ago, Professor Priscilla Ocen at Loyola Law School sent a complaint to the Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Samantha Jessner, to bring Judge Jessner’s attention to what Professor Ocen described as a pattern of serious misconduct by Judge Tomson Ong, a Long Beach judge. […]
L.A. Takes Step Towards Ending Punishment-for-Poverty Pretrial System
Los Angeles, CA — On Sunday, October 1, the Los Angeles Superior Court (LASC) took an important step towards limiting the criminalization of poverty by implementing the Pre-Arraignment Release Protocol (PARP) in Los Angeles County. This moves the criminal legal system in Los Angeles away from wealth-based pretrial detention and towards a policy that, if […]
Judge Denies Defendants’ Motion To Dismiss in Lawsuit Against Harris County Constable (Precinct 1) Officers for Violent Dog Attack
Houston, TX– On August 15, 2023 U.S. District Court Chief Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, in a powerful opinion, denied defendants Eric Bruss and Wayne Schultz’s motion to dismiss in Kerry Lee Thomas v Robert Johnson et al. (Case No. 4:23-cv-00662). The lawsuit alleges that the defendants used excessive force and violated Mr. Thomas’s constitutional rights […]