Blog & Press Releases
Grand Jury resistance: Not if, but how
CLDC has a commitment to developing strong mentor relationships with students and aspiring movement attorneys through our intern and law clerk programs. Our interns and clerks receive a very hands-on experience in activist legal and communications support, working...
Firelight Press Conference
Last week we had an important victory for Indigenous sovereignty in Anishinaabe territory, so-called northern Minnesota. Claire Glenn, the attorney fellow for the Line 3 Defense Project of the Civil Liberties Defense Center and Water Protector Legal...
Anishinaabe Water Protectors’ Cases Dismissed on Indigenous Sovereignty Grounds
ANISHINAABE WATER PROTECTORS’ CASES DISMISSED ON INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY GROUNDS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 6, 2022 Contact: Claire Glenn, Attorney-Fellow for the Line 3 Legal Defense Project (541) 687-9180 or info@cldc.org Three Indigenous Water Protectors...
Jury Unable to Convict Stop the Sweeps Advocate for Asking Cops to Adhere to the Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 1, 2022 Contact: Sarah Alvarez, Staff Attorney (541) 687-9180 or info@cldc.org Jury Unable to Convict Stop the Sweeps Advocate for Asking Cops to Adhere to the Law: Judge declares mistrial after jury unable to come to a unanimous verdict...
Final Black Lives Matter activist arrested at Springfield protest exonerated in State Court
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 23, 2022 Contact: Sarah Alvarez, Staff Attorney (541) 687-9180 info@cldc.org Final Black Lives Matter activist arrested at Springfield protest exonerated in State Court Eugene, OR — Today, moments before a jury was to hear opening...
Two Years Later: the struggle against police killings of Black people continues
Eugene, OR –May 25 marked two years since the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin. Though not the last Black man killed by militarized police, the outrage and heartbreak that flowed from his death spurred an uprising that continues today.
Statement from CLDC Executive Director Lauren Regan on Green Scare defendant Joseph Dibee plea agreement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 21, 2022 From Lauren Regan, Director and Senior Staff Attorney, Civil Liberties Defense Center On April 21, 2022 at 12:30 pm, Joseph Dibee had his federal change of plea hearing with Judge Ann Aiken by telephone only. Dibee is one of the...
2021 Year in Review
CLDC's 2021 Year in Review With CLDC's Founder and Executive Director, Lauren Regan, celebrating her 25th year of lawyering this year, we have much to reflect on, be grateful for, and share with our community. You can learn more about our 2021 victories and progress...
Pro Bono Legal Support Services for Direct Action Movements
Pro Bono Legal Support Services for Direct Action Movements by CLDC Staff CLDC has been offering know your rights trainings and legal consultations to grassroots environmental and social change activists since our inception almost 20 years ago. We’re committed to...
Civil Lawsuits & Privacy: What Activists Need to Know
Civil Lawsuits & Privacy: What Activists Need to Know Protecting Your Privacy When You Want to Sue the Government for Harming You by Marianne Dugan, CLDC Senior Staff Attorney Civil litigation is a useful tool in the activist toolbox—and like all the tools, it has...
New Legal Resources For Line 3 Water Protectors
New Legal Resources For Line 3 Water Protectors The Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC) and the Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC) are excited to announce a new partnership to boost legal representation capacity for Water Protectors who were arrested while...
Contempt of Court: Not Just A Feeling Part II
CONTEMPT OF COURT: NOT JUST A FEELING Part II of a Contempt Primer for Activists and Their Communities by Sandra Freeman, CLDC Senior Staff Attorney *This is not intended as legal advice, but is general information. If you are facing criminal or civil contempt, you...
Contempt of Court: Not Just A Feeling
CONTEMPT OF COURT: NOT JUST A FEELING Part I of a Contempt Primer for Activists and Their Communities by Sandra Freeman, CLDC Senior Staff Attorney *This is not intended as legal advice, but is general information. If you are facing criminal or civil contempt, you...
Civil Rights Groups Submit Support Brief for Impact Investment Firm in Legal Battle with Private Prison Corporation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 22, 2021 Contact: Valentina Stackl, Protect the Protest task force (734) 276 6260 vstackl@greenpeace.org Candide Group fighting defamation suit from notorious private prison corporation CoreCivic San Francisco, California — Today, 13...
Drop the Charges: Resistance to State Repression of Racial Justice Uprising Continues
By the Drop the Charges Coalition An unprecedented number of arrests followed the protests that erupted upon George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police in 2020. It’s difficult to know the exact number of people arrested during such a massive,...
Police Tactics for Violently Repressing Mass Movements (trigger warning)
Heavy-handed police responses to protests in the United States (and around the world) are nothing new. While horrifically graphic videos and images of police brutality taken by everyday people are now circulated across the Internet in the blink of an eye, the...
ProtonMail Developments: ProtonMail provides strong message privacy, but activists need to take extra steps to ensure anonymity
Ever since the broadly-trusted, Switzerland-based encrypted email service ProtonMail acknowledged that it helped identify a young French climate activist, organizers have been pondering whether they should continue using ProtonMail accounts. For the sake of...
Springfield Police Engaged in Politically-Motivated Surveillance and Spying; CLDC Amends Lawsuit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 19, 2021 Contacts: Marianne Dugan or Lauren Regan, Senior Staff Attorneys 541-687-9490 info@cldc.org Springfield Police Engaged in Politically-Motivated Surveillance and Spying; CLDC Amends Lawsuit Lane County, Oregon – In light of new...
Climate Activists Celebrate Dismissal of Charges in the Midst of the Hottest Summer on Record
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 22, 2021 Contacts: Civil Liberties Defense Center Sarah Alvarez, Staff Attorney (541) 687-9180 or info@cldc.org Portland Rising Tide portlandrisingtide@gmail.com Climate Activists Celebrate Dismissal of Charges in the Midst of the Hottest...
Eugene Sunrise Movement Activists Agree to Deferred Prosecution for Non-Violent Civil Disobedience
Yesterday, in Eugene, OR, two Sunrise Movement activists entered into a deferred prosecution agreement stemming from acts of non-violent, civil disobedience. On March 19, 2021, two young sisters participated in a mass demonstration against NW Natural, a fracked gas...
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