Reprinted from Huffington Post WASHINGTON — The United Nations envoy for freedom of expression is drafting an official communication to the U.S. government demanding to know why federal officials are not protecting the rights of Occupy demonstrators whose protests are…
Lawyers say authorities are citing obscure codes as pretexts for crackdowns Reprinted from The Guardian | December 1, 2011 Civil rights lawyers are ramping up their fight to halt Occupy evictions around the country, in the face of concerted efforts by…
Reprinted from The Washington Post The videos have been viewed millions of times: protesters on a California campus sidewalk being pepper-sprayed by police as they sit motionless, onlookers chanting “the whole world is watching.” Those images and sounds are now iconic…
Reprinted from Huffington Post NEW YORK — A union representing 5,000 New York City Police Department sergeants blasted Occupy Wall Street protesters on Thursday and threatened to sue them should they injure police. “New York’s police officers are working around the…
Reprinted from The Washington Post An outtake from the recent controversy over expired-tag arrests: One of the reasons the District’s erstwhile policy was both objectionable and little-noticed is that police officers had discretion over whether or not to arrest a driver…
Reprinted from Huffington Post October 4, 2011 WASHINGTON — Ben Becker, 27, sat in the back of a police-commandeered transit bus on Saturday night, his hands placed tightly behind his back in plastic cuffs. He’d been marching on the Brooklyn Bridge…
Reprinted from New York Times October 4, 2011 A group of people arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge as part of the Occupy Wall Street protests last week filed a suit against New York City on Tuesday, alleging that officers had violated…
Reprinted from Gawker, By Lauri Apple The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Partnership for Civil Justice Fund has filed a federal class action lawsuit against New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, the city, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, and a bunch of unidentified…
Reprinted from Washington Examiner Here’s something you don’t see every day: D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department has asked the FBI to investigate it. In a recent filing in federal court, D.C. cops asked the feds to find out who might have scrubbed…
Years of litigation lead to free speech victory In a free speech victory for grassroots activists in Washington, D.C., the DC government has been forced to rescind its unconstitutional rule governing political signs and posters that favored politicians’ speech over…
Reprinted from Associated Press WASHINGTON — Time limits on how long posters can hang to announce rallies, trumpet issues or plug candidates in Washington are the subject of a lawsuit a judge allowed to go forward Thursday while strongly suggesting…
Reprinted from Washington Post District regulations governing how long signs can remain affixed to city lampposts are unconstitutional and need to be rewritten, a federal judge signaled in a court opinion Thursday. In a 29-page ruling, U.S. District Chief Judge…