On November 19, 2018, Williams & Connolly, LLP and the Civil Liberties Defense Center filed a civil rights action in the U.S. District Court of North Dakota against Morton County, ND and other law enforcement agents on behalf of Sophia Wilansky, a water protector present at the Oceti Sakowin camp […]
Anti-Fascist Action Flag
Last week in San Francisco, Attorney Cooper Brinson of the CLDC, along with co-counsel James Wheaton of the First Amendment Project, argued that a subpoena issued by OG Analytical (a cannabis testing company based in Eugene, Oregon) […]
On Monday we had our appeal hearing in front of the Washington Court of Appeals on behalf of Valve Turner Ken Ward, who turned off a Kinder Morgan tar sands pipeline in Skagit County two years ago. We appealed the judge’s decision to deny our client the […]
Hello CLDC network,
Please pass around to your networks: We are currently accepting spring law applications for the 2019 Spring term.
Also, we will begin accepting summer law clerk positions as of Nov. 1st. Applications must be in by March 15th! Our summer law clerk program is something we are very proud […]
First Amendment Text Scroll
The Civil Liberties Defense Center, with co-counsel from the San Francisco-based First Amendment Project, are defending anonymous individuals sued by former Eugene resident, Bethany Sherman and her defunct Cannabis testing company, OG Analytical.
The […]
We are pleased to announce a victory in our Minnesota Valve Turner case! This trial was a rollercoaster with many twists and turns, but all three defendants were acquitted of their charges this morning in court. They were acquitted, not on the necessity defense, but because the prosecution could not meet the […]
Starting on October 8, 2018, CLDC along with co-counsel, will be defending the Minnesota Valve Turners, Annette, Emily, and Ben by presenting the climate necessity defense to a Clearwater County jury. We have been developing this cutting edge legal strategy with help from many other lawyers around the country for […]
Cooper Brinson, Staff Attorney
On September 4, the Ninth Circuit ruled that “the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment bars a city from prosecuting people criminally for sleeping outside on public property when those people have no home or other shelter to go to.”
The case, Martin v. City […]
Just as the RISE March was coming into the plaza!
This past week in San Francisco, activists from all over the country (and some from around the world) gathered to teach each other movement skills, and prepare to protest Jerry Brown’s Global Climate […]
Lauren Regan is headed to Clearwater County MN, to argue the Necessity Defense along with co-counsel Tim Phillips of Minneapolis and Kelsey Skaggs, on behalf of brave Valve Turners, Emily and Annette Klapstein, and climate activist (and repeat CLDC client) Ben Joldersma. Two years ago they turned off 2 pipeline […]
