Through Justice in Action, our litigation program, the Civil Liberties Defense Center provides free legal representation or referrals to peace activists, environmental and animal rights activists, immigrants' rights activists, marriage equality activists, and others involved in progressive social change.
The CLDC strives to educate the public, and particularly communities of color or other front line communities, by conducting "know your rights (KYR)" and other trainings throughout the country.
Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation, also known as SLAPP suits, ordinarily arise out of defamation lawsuits. Defamation is a common law tort whereby one citizen can sue another citizen for damage to reputation.
In 1970, Congress enacted the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. § 1961, ostensibly to curtail the criminal activities of the mafia. In the forty years since RICO was enacted, the application of the law has extended far beyond the activities of loansharks and the "Don," and into Constitutionally protected protest activities.
The Green Scare is the federal government's ongoing prosecution of environmental and animal rights activists. It includes the government, corporations, and politicians labeling activists as "ecoterrorists" and national security threats and giving them to long prison sentences.
Activists need to know how to protect themselves. Here you will find a list of helpful materials surrounding Grand Juries. Please contact us if there is something more that you would like to see on this page.
The CLDC is encouraging activists and organizations to utilize the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act to request documents and materials that the FBI may have accumulated about you or the group you are active in.
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) is a federal law designed by corporations for the purpose of protecting the profits they make from animal abuse and exploitation.
Legal Observing is an exciting way to play an important role in any demonstration or protest. Legal Observers are individuals who purposely position themselves close enough to demonstrations to be able to accurately watch and report the activities of participants and the law enforcement who interact with them.
This week CLDC launched two, one hour Know-Your-Rights training videos. The first is our most well-known, offering basic legal information for activists so they might be informed when interacting with law enforcement officials during protests. The second explains basic rights for immigrant communities and their allies, and is in both English and Spanish languages.