Power the Civil Rights Work of Our Time
Each day members of our community are experiencing wage theft, the effects of gentrification, discriminatory policing, collateral consequences, marginalization in schools, and barriers to public accommodations.
We fight alongside people facing the effects of gentrification like Amira Moore. Our work empowers the people and communities who need it most, “We can do more than we think. There’s a path to equity, we just have to step to it.” –Ms. Moore
For more than 50 years, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee has been on the frontlines of the fight for civil rights in our community. We deploy the best legal talent, we tackle the tough cases, we fight, and we win.
Our work is as important today as it has ever been. Through your support, you can play a role in creating justice for thousands of marginalized members of our community. Together, we will dismantle injustice and pursue lasting change.
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For more information, contact Gregg Kelley at Gregg_Kelley@washlaw.org
About Us
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Letters to the Editor
D.C. in Brief
Supreme Court Rules for Virginia
In Purge of Noncitizen Voters
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Virginia can resume purging its registered voter list to prevent people who are not American citizens from voting.
The Justice Department and immigrant advocacy groups had sought to prevent Virginia from altering its list of registered voters so close before Election Day next week.
The ruling Wednesday also overturned a lower court decision against Virginia’s Board of Elections.
The Virginia Board of Elections said it removed more than 1,600 registrations of residents who identified themselves to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles as being noncitizens.
State election officials said they were trying to protect the integrity of the election.
They drew authority from a 2006 Justice Department directive telling states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls.
The roughly 1,600 names taken off the Virginia registration list were part of a larger election security effort by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The Republican governor signed an executive order in August requiring testing of voting machines and checks on voter registration lists before the Nov. 5 election.
The issue has taken on added significance during the current election cycle as presidential candidate Donald Trump pushes an agenda against illegal immigration, including the risk noncitizens might tamper with U.S. voting counts.
The Justice Department, along with the nonprofit Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, said in their lawsuit that the state was violating the National Voter Registration Act. The “quiet period” provision of the law bans removal of ineligible voters from voter rolls within 90 days of a federal election.
D.C. and Nation Prepare Security
For Election Protests and Violence
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is assuring the city council that local police will be ready for any security concerns surrounding the Nov. 5 election.
The local police force is being buttressed by law enforcement officers from across the country.
They want to make sure there is no repeat of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection in which police protecting the Capitol were overwhelmed. Police also are setting up 10-foot high riot fences and concrete barriers around key sites.
With predictions of a close presidential election, emotions are running high among Donald Trump's supporters and critics.
“The biggest thing that I would ask people to exercise is patience,” Bowser told the city council.
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Legal Briefs
We Could Use Your Help
Thousands of DC residents need a lawyer, but can’t afford one. They could be illegally evicted from their homes, lose custody of their children, experience domestic violence, and more, all because they lack legal representation.
You could make a difference. By making a donation to the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, you will provide free, high-quality, zealous legal representation to low-income DC residents.
Your support could prevent homelessness, domestic violence, hunger, or family separation. In fact, if just 10 people who see this ad give $28 to Legal Aid, it will be enough to staff an experienced attorney at the courthouse for a day.
That way, DC residents like Keith King (pictured above) can get the legal representation they need to win their cases. As Mr. King put it, if it wasn’t for his Legal Aid lawyer, “I would have been homeless again.”
Here is the link to the Legal Aid website for donations: https://www.legalaiddc.org/donate-to-legal-aid/
For more information, contact Rob Pergament at Legal Aid at rpergament@legalaiddc.org
The Legal Forum welcomes letters to the editor at tramstack@gmail.com, which will be published here.
Latest News
D.C. Council Member White Seeks
Public Defenders in Bribery Case
D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. is turning to public defenders to represent him as he faces bribery charges in federal court.
White has pleaded not guilty to a charge related to accusations he agreed to accept $156,000 in bribes for using his influence to help an associate win city contracts.
A status hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 13, a week after the election in which White is running for a third term representing Ward 8.
He originally hired private criminal defense attorneys. For reasons he did not publicly explain, he asked a judge to replace them with public defenders.
The judge agreed, appointing two attorneys from the Office of the Federal Public Defender. They already have entered an appearance on White’s behalf.
Judges normally appoint public defenders only upon a showing of financial need. White earns $167,000 a year as a member of the D.C. Council.
Recent financial records indicate White is having trouble paying his bills, such as the mortgage on his Ward 8 home. He applied for federal housing assistance in December under a program designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
His criminal defense by private attorneys Frederick D. Cooke Jr., Brian McDaniel and Lenet Brown could have cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Prosecutors offered White a plea bargain in August but he rejected it.
He was arrested Aug. 18 outside his home after video showed him taking envelopes of cash from an FBI informant. He allegedly agreed to help get contracts worth $5.2 million renewed for an associate who ran a program for mediating disputes between young people likely to erupt into violence.
His seat on the city council gave White oversight authority over the D.C. Department of Youth and Rehabilitation Services and the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, which would have awarded the contracts.
Trump Assassination Investigation Creates
Possible Secret Service Reorganization
A U.S. House task force charged with investigating the July 13 assassination attempt against Donald Trump found a need for dramatic reforms to the U.S. Secret Service in an interim report released last week.
The report said the Secret Service's bureaucracy and complacency led it to overlook dangers that could have prevented the assassination attempt.
“The tragic and shocking events of July 13 were preventable and should not have happened,” the House task force’s report said.
An earlier report released this month suggested the possibility of decoupling the Secret Service from its dual role of investigating financial and cyber crimes while also protecting government officials.
The investigations -- such as for counterfeiting and fraud -- have stretched its resources too thin, according to the report. Instead, the Secret Service should focus only on protecting people.
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Air Taxis Get FAA Certification
To Fly in D.C. and Other Cities
Certification rules the Federal Aviation Administration finalized last week would allow air taxi companies to carry urban passengers on vertical takeoff and landing flights as soon as next year.
Some of the first flights are planned to and from Washington Dulles International Airport.
The three main commercial air taxi companies say the battery-powered flights would travel an average of 25 to 30 miles, usually between airports and downtown areas.
The air taxis would use eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft, which can take off and land vertically like a helicopter and fly like an airplane during cruise flight.
The new rules cover pilot training and licensing, which is one of the last regulatory steps before the flights can begin.