civil rights Archives - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

Pretextual Vehicle Stops—A Pipeline to Police Testilying

Our January 2023 police perjury report convincingly demonstrates that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) has a culture that condones dishonesty, prevalent lying in court (“testilying”) and, false report-writing by police officers. Along with recommendations to improve transparency (some of which ha...

Mayoral Candidates Answer Questions from Chicago’s Civil Rights Community

Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and Loevy & Loevy asked Chicago’s 2023 mayoral candidates about critical civil rights issues to their communities. JUMP TO INTERACTIVE PAGE >> JUMP TO FULL RESPONSES >> The questionnair...

January 21, 2022: Public Comments to Chicago City Council’s Public Safety Committee in Opposition to the “Victims Justice Ordinance” (VJO)

On Friday, January 21, 2022, Program Manager & Policy Analyst for Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers, Hanna Sharif-Kazemi, provided comments to the Chicago City Council's Public Safety Committee in opposition of Mayor Lightfoot's proposed "Victims Justice...

Attorney General Eric Holder spoke at the National Urban League Annual Conference in Philadelphia on Thursday. The full text of his remarks is here. AG Holder discussed the recent Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, concerning the Voting Rights Act of 1965, calling it “deeply disapp...

Current Legal Events: The Fifth Circuit and the Immigration Debate

Last week, the 5th Circuit agreed to rehear Villas at Parkside Partners v. Farmers Branch, a civil rights lawsuit challenging a Texas ordinance that required all adults living in rental housing within the city of Farmer’s Branch to obtain a $5 occupancy license conditioned upon the occupant's citize...