Free Speech

April 2000 IMF Mass False Arrests

Class action impact litigation brought by the PCJF on behalf of more than 700 people, including demonstrators, journalists, tourists and passersby led to major and substantive reform in police policies and practices in the handling of mass demonstrations in Washington, D.C. The $13.7 million settlement was the then-largest protest settlement in the history of the U.S.
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Exposed: FBI Surveillance of School of the Americas Watch

The FBI flagrantly abused its counter-terrorism authority to conduct a widespread surveillance and monitoring operation of School of Americas Watch (SOAW), a nonviolent activist organization. Hundreds of pages of documents obtained by the PCJF, on behalf of SOAW, once again revealed the FBI’s functioning as a political surveillance and intelligence operation and its use of its domestic terrorism authority against peaceful protest in the U.S.
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The Fight for the Great Lawn of Central Park

A legal battle waged by the PCJF resulted in a settlement in which New York City was required to establish a constitutionally valid permitting scheme for protests in Central Park. It was also required to undertake a feasibility study into the optimum and sustainable use of the Great Lawn and what efforts could be undertaken to maximize the availability of the lawn for large events including First Amendment protected rallies and demonstrations.
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