News and Commentary

NYPD in Harlem arrest: excessive force and blocking legal filming

26 officers to arrest one man
On May 13 in Harlem, a young man was brutally arrested and an estimated 26 officers were called in to carry it out. more >>

Judge Calls Obama Administration Position a "Charade" in Blocking Morning After Pill

Today, U.S. District Court Judge Edward R. Korman heard arguments regarding the Obama administration’s Motion to Stay his Order from April 5, 2013, requiring that emergency contraception be made available without age and point-of-sale restrictions. Over a two-hour period, Judge Korman made it clear that the government’s position was unjustifiable. Calling the government’s conduct a “charade” the Judge condemned the “political influence” that has caused a “total and complete corruption of the administrative process.” more >>

Morning-After Pill Attorney Responds to FDA Announcement

"The Obama Administration is speaking out of both sides of its mouth when it comes to the basic rights of women and girls as evidenced by the political decision issued by the FDA late today." more >>

Fill the Courtroom for the Brooklyn Bridge Mass Arrest Lawsuit

Court of Appeals Hearing Monday April 22 at 10 am
The NYPD is seeking to overturn Judge Rakoff’s ruling in favor of the protestors — attend the hearing at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. more >>

CIA Refuses to Say Whether It Possesses Chavez Assassination Documents

The CIA will neither confirm nor deny whether it had knowledge of, or involvement in, a plot to poison or otherwise assassinate the late President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez. more >>

Court Orders FDA to Remove All Restrictions on the Morning-After Pill

Feminists Win Landmark Birth Control Victory
In a landmark victory, a U.S. federal judge ordered that the Morning-After Pill be made available "without a prescription and without point-of-sale or age restrictions within thirty days." more >>

New Documents Reveal: DHS spying on Peaceful Demonstrations and Activists

Monitoring Peaceful Demonstrations and Activists as a Matter of Policy
Government documents obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) through its FOIA records requests reveal that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), an agency created after the September 11 attacks under the rubric of combating terrorism, conducts daily monitoring of peaceful, lawful protests as a matter of policy. more >>

Investigating Hugo Chavez's death

PCJF Files FOIA Demanding Information Related to Possible Assassination Plans
Within hours of the announced death of President Hugo Chavez, civil rights groups in the United States filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) demands with federal agencies seeking information and documents that "relate to or reference or discuss any information regarding or plans to poison or otherwise assassinate the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez." more >>

Background information on the Morning-After Pill Litigation

The lawsuit, now spanning both Republican and Democratic administrations, was originally filed on January 21, 2005, after years of unexplained delay by the FDA to respond to requests by feminist, women’s health and reproductive rights organizations – including through a Citizen Petition – to switch emergency contraception drugs from prescription-only to over-the-counter. more >>

In the news: Gov't spying on Occupy Wall Street grabs headlines worldwide

FBI on the spot to defend its "domestic terrorism" surveillance of demonstrators
A sample of the extensive news coverage of the documents, released to PCJF in late December 2012, showing that the FBI and DHS extensively monitored and communicated about the Occupy movement. more >>