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Center for Constitutional Rights

 
Hoover's Profile: Center for Constitutional Rights
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Center for Constitutional Rights
666 Broadway, 7th Fl.
New York, NY 10012
NY Tel. 212-614-6464
Fax 212-614-6499

Type: Private - Not-for-Profit
On the web: http://ccrjustice.org

Founded in 1966, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) strives to protect human rights in the US. The non-profit legal and educational organization focuses on rights guaranteed by the US Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR uses litigation to protest government misconduct and racial, social, and economic injustice. For example, the group has sued a police department for arresting protesters the group says were protesting peacefully and lawfully. CCR also operates the Movement Support Resource Center, which serves the group's education and outreach work. CCR was founded in 1966 by civil rights attorneys Morton Stavis, Arthur Kinoy, Ben Smith, and Willaim Kunstler.

Officers:
President: Michael Ratner
Executive Director: E. Vincent Warren
Director Education and Outreach: Annette Dickerson

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Law Encyclopedia: Center For Constitutional Rights
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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CRR) is a nonprofit legal and educational organization dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Human Rights. Since its formation in 1966 by attorneys working for civil rights demonstrators in the South, the CCR has been a forceful advocate of civil rights for all people. The New York City-based organization seeks to halt what it describes as a steady erosion of civil liberties in the United States and elsewhere. The group addresses such areas as international human rights, government misconduct, sexual politics, indigenous peoples' rights, nuclear and environmental hazards, women's rights, civil rights, freedom of the press, racism, electronic surveillance, criminal trials, affirmative action, and abuse of the grand jury process.

Cofounded by attorneys William M. Kunstler and Morton Stavis and others in the heady days of 1960s social activism, the left-leaning CCR describes itself as "committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change." The CCR has consistently generated legal and political controversy. The group had African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., as one of its first clients and since then it has continued to take on cases for disadvantaged and oppressed people. It has won favorable decisions for such diverse figures as antinuclear leaders in the Micronesian republic of Belau; American Indian protesters at Wounded Knee, South Dakota; and a film company that sought to distribute U.S.-made documentaries in foreign countries without U.S. government interference.

Much of the center's work has involved international causes and foreign clients. In the early 1970s the CCR sued the U.S. government to discover answers regarding U.S. citizens missing in Chile and U.S. involvement in the support of Chilean leader Salvador Allende. The group has broken ground in the battle to establish the right to sue foreign governments or individuals in U.S. courts. In 1986 the CCR represented the government of President Corazon Aquino, of the Philippines, in its fight to recover millions of dollars in assets taken by former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. In another case, Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, 630 F.2d 876 (2d Cir. 1980), the organization won a settlement of $10.4 million for a Paraguayan boy who brought the suit against an exiled dictator of Paraguay who had ordered the boy's torture. In the early and mid-1990s, the CCR also included among its causes the support of United States-Cuba friendship and cooperation and the representation of Puerto Rican political activists seeking independence from the United States.

The CCR also conducts a number of other programs. Its Movement Support Network, started in 1984, provides aid to social activist groups, including legal protection for groups experiencing harassment by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other government law enforcement agencies. The Anti-Biased Violence Project (ABVP), established in 1991, uses litigation and education to oppose violence against individuals because of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, and has defended ordinances that curtail hate speech. The CCR's Ella Baker Student Program provides internships to law students. In Greenville, Mississippi, the CCR operates the Voting Rights Project, a community-based voting rights litigation group that works in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee. The CCR also maintains a speakers' bureau and publishes books, pamphlets, and periodicals, the last including Docket and the MSN News.

The CCR maintains its own staff but also works with many lawyers who donate their time pro bono (for free). The group has previously been called the Civil Rights Legal Defense Fund and the Law Center for Constitutional Rights.

Wikipedia: Center for Constitutional Rights
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Center for Constitutional Rights
CCR Logo.png
Type Non-profit
Founded July 1966 by Arthur Kinoy, William Kunstler, Ben Smith and Morton Stavis
Headquarters New York City, New York, U.S.
Staff Michael Ratner, President; Jules Lobel, Alex Rosenberg and Peter Weiss, Vice-Presidents; Vincent Warren, Executive Director, Legal Director, William P. Quigley[1]
Services Advocacy, legal representation, public education
Method Defending and promoting civil rights, constitutional rights, racial, economic, gender and social justice, international law and accountability. Defending against illegal detentions, illegal surveillance and attacks on dissent, mass incarceration, human rights abuse and government abuse of power
Website CCRJustice.org

The Center for Constitutional Rights[2] (CCR) is a non-profit legal advocacy organization based in New York City, New York, U.S., co-founded in 1966 by self-described "radical lawyer" William Kunstler. In recent years, CCR has been frequently in the news for its civil liberties and human rights litigation and activism, as well as its legal assistance to the people imprisoned in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp.

Contents

Introduction

Michael Ratner, current President of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

The Center, originally the Law Center for Constitutional Rights, was set up to give legal and financial support to lawyers who were representing civil rights movement activists in Mississippi at the height of the struggle against segregation and economic injustice. Its founders were Morton Stavis, Arthur Kinoy, Ben Smith and William Kunstler. The Center conceived of itself as a "movement support" organization—that is, an organization that concentrated on working with political and social activists to use the courts to promote the activists’ work. Cases were chosen not necessarily because they could be won, but also because they would raise public awareness of an issue, generating media attention, or energizing activists harassed by local law enforcement in the South. In this regard, the Center differed from more traditional legal non-profits such as the ACLU, which was more focused on bringing winnable cases in order to extend precedents and develop the law, as well as pursuing First Amendment issues.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Center brought scores of cases on behalf of civil rights activists, many of which made their way to the Supreme Court. Despite the Center's ready embrace of litigation strategies promising "success without victory" (as the title of CCR board member Jules Lobel's book put it), many of these lawsuits resulted in victories and set lasting precedents.

The landmark 1980 decision in Filártiga v. Peña-Irala, using the then long-forgotten Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) of 1789 (unearthed by CCR attorney and current board member Peter Weiss), opened U.S. courts for victims of human rights crimes to bring suit against perpetrators from anywhere. From the early 1980s through 9/11, the Center was best known for bringing such claims for violations of international law in United States courts.

Since 9/11, CCR has been best known for bringing a variety of cases challenging the Bush administration's detention and interrogation practices in the so-called "Global War on Terror."

The current organization was formed from the merger of the original Center for Constitutional Rights (formed in 1966 by Kunstler, Kinoy, Stavis and Smith) and the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee (ECLC).

Landmark cases

Dombrowski v. Pfister, 1965: The Center for Constitutional Rights’ first major case was a successful suit against the Louisiana Un-American Activities Committee to invalidate the use of state anti-subversion laws to intimidate civil rights workers. CCR won the case in the Supreme Court and established that such intimidation had a “chilling effect” on First amendment rights and was therefore unconstitutional.

Abramowicz v. Lefkowitz, 1972: Abramowicz challenged New York state laws that restricted abortion, and served as a model for challenges to similar laws in other states. This case marks the first instance of challenge to abortion statutes being argued by women plaintiffs in terms of women’s right to choice rather than a doctor’s right to practice.

United States v. Dellinger, 1972: CCR attorneys William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass vigorously defended the “Chicago 8”, a group of leading social movement figures, after the 1968 Democratic National Convention demonstrations and consequent police repression. The eight defendants, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale, were anti-war, civil rights and human rights activists, and Students for a Democratic Society and Black Panther Party members. All of the eight were found not guilty of their conspiracy charges, but five were found guilty of crossing state lines to incite a riot. However, the Center was able to appeal and then overturn these charges, based on the judge's bias and the refusal to screen jurors for possible cultural and/or racial bias'.

Monell v. Department of Social Services, 1978: Although this case began as a challenge to New York City’s forced maternity leave policies, its resolution created a precedent that for the first time established local government accountability for unconstitutional acts and created the right to obtain damages from municipalities in such cases. Since 1978, this precedent has been used by lawyers and non-profits as a tool to challenge police misconduct, civil rights violations, and other local unconstitutional acts.

Filártiga v. Peña-Irala, 1980: Filártiga established a precedent for the use of the then-obscure Alien Tort Statute to allow foreign victims of human rights abuses to seek justice in U.S. courts. CCR represented the family of Joelito Filártiga, the son of a left-wing Paraguayan dissident who had been tortured and killed by Paraguayan police. The precedent created by this case has facilitated many subsequent international human rights cases, including Doe v. Karadzic, and Doe v. Unocal, cases which established that multinational corporations and other non-state actors can be held responsible for their complicity in human rights violations.

Texas v. Johnson, 1989: 5 to 4 decision by the Supreme Court invalidating prohibitions on desecrating the American flag in force in 48 of the 50 states.

Rasul v. Bush, 2004: CCR represented Guantanamo detainees seeking fair trials and an end to their indefinite imprisonment without charge. The Supreme Court case established precedent for U.S. courts’ jurisdiction over the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, affirming detainees’ right to habeas corpus review. This right was later putatively revoked when President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act into law. CCR brought many of the same habeas corpus petitioners to the Supreme Court again in Boumediene v. Bush, decided in 2008, in which the Supreme Court declared the relevant parts of the MCA unconstitutional and restored the rights won in Rasul.

Current activities and litigation

Wikisource

Al Odah v. United States: Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at Guantanamo.

Arar v. Ashcroft: This case challenges U.S. government’s extraordinary rendition policies and highlights the experience of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen sent by the United States to be tortured in Syria. He has never been charged, and has been found by the Canadian government to be uninvolved with terrorism. He and the Center for Constitutional Rights seek an acknowledgment of the U.S.'s involvement and an end to the rendition program.

Abtan v. Blackwater.: CCR has filed suit on behalf of the civilian victims of the infamous September 16, 2007, Blackwater Baghdad shootings in Nisoor square, Baghdad, by Blackwater USA’s armed contractors. The suit charges that Blackwater “created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company’s financial interests at the expense of innocent human life.” Blackwater is also accused of extrajudicial killing and war crimes, assault and battery, wrongful death, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, training and supervision.

Bandele v. City of New York: CCR filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of three members of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement who, while peacefully and lawfully videotaping NYPD officers, were arrested and imprisoned in 2005.

Barre v. Gates: CCR has placed a Detainee Treatment Act (DTA) petition for an official UNHRC Somali refugee currently being held at Guantánamo.

CCR v. Bush: This lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the NSA’s surveillance of people within the United States without warrant or prior court approval.

Celikgogus v. Rumsfeld: This case is seeking declaratory relief and compensatory damages for five former Guantánamo detainees who had never been members of any terrorist group and who were all released from Guantánamo without being charged with any crime.

Daniels, et al. v. the City of New York, 2003 / Floyd, et al. v. The City of New York, et al., 2008: This case forced the New York City Police Department to end their practice of stopping and frisking people solely on the basis of their race or national origin. The case also highlighted the practices of the notorious NYPD Street Crimes Unit (responsible for the 1999 shooting of Amadou Diallo), leading to its disbandment. The case’s settlement created an internal audit system of officers engaged in stop and frisks, the results of which are turned over to CCR on a quarterly basis. In addition, the settlement required the NYPD to begin “know your rights” public education programs. CCR is currently attempting to compel the NYPD to comply with the terms of the settlement.

Estate of Ali Hussamalde Albazzaz v. Blackwater Worldwide, et al.: This case is a civil suit filed on behalf of the family of an Iraqi man killed when Blackwater Worldwide personnel opened fire on innocent bystanders in and around Al Watahba Square in Baghdad. CCR is therefore charging Blackwater Worldwide with warcrimes.

Khan v. Bush: This suit is filed on behalf of Majid Khan, a U.S. asylum-holder who was held in secret detention at a C.I.A. "black site" for three years, after which he was transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. CCR has filed a habeas corpus submission on his behalf.

Kilmon, et al. v. City of Miami, et al.: This lawsuit, on behalf of 21 activists participating in lawful protests in 2003 during the meeting of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), is challenging the government’s assault on the civil rights of protesters through a deliberate and coordinated disruption of their lawful political protests and their violations of demonstrators’ constitutional rights during the November 2003 meetings.

Kunstler v. City of New York: This lawsuit charges the New York Police Department with unlawfully arresting peaceful anti-war protesters and holding them for excessively long periods of time.

Mamani, et al. v. Sanchez de Lozada/ Mamani et al. v. Sanchez Berzain: These two suits have been filed against the former President of Bolivia, Gonzalo Daniel Sánchez de Lozada Sánchez Bustamante and former Minister of Defense, Jose Carlos Sánchez Berzaín for their roles in the deaths of civilians during popular protests against the government of Bolivia in September and October 2003.

Matar v. Dichter: CCR is presenting a federal class action lawsuit against the former Director of Israel’s General Security Service (GSS), Avi Dichter, on behalf of the Palestinians killed or injured in a 2002 “targeted assassination” air strike in Gaza. It charges him with extra-judicial killing, war crimes and other gross human rights violations.

Saleh v. Titan: Saleh is a federal class action lawsuit against Titan and CACI International Incorporated, contractors who provided interrogation services at Abu Ghraib. The lawsuit accuses the contractors of cruel and humiliating treatment during interrogations.

Turkmen v. Ashcroft: This suit, filed on behalf of a class of Muslim, South Asian, and Arab non-citizens, is a class action civil rights lawsuit contesting their being swept up by the INS and FBI in a racial profiling dragnet following 9/11.

United States v. City of New York (formerly Vulcan Society v. City of New York): This is an Equal Opportunity Commission charge filed by CCR on behalf of the Vulcan Society, an organization of Black firefighters in New York City. The lawsuit charges Fire Department of New York with discriminatory hiring practices.

Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, Wiwa v. Anderson, and Wiwa v. Shell Petroleum Development Company: These are three lawsuits focusing on the human rights abuses against the Ogoni people in Nigeria. They are being brought against the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and Shell Transport and Trading Company (Royal Dutch/Shell), the head of its Nigerian operation, and Royal Dutch/Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary for their complicity in the abuses.

Zalita v. Bush: This case forwards a habeas corpus petition for Mr. Al Qassim, a Libyan refugee currently detained in Guantanamo after almost six years who the U.S. government wishes to transfer back to his native country despite the possible threat of torture and persecution.

Michael Ratner, current President of the Center for Constitutional Rights plans to participate in the Gaza Freedom March this December as he feels that “for too long, and I do not exempt myself, most of us have stood silently by or made only a marginal protests about the massive violations of Palestinian rights carried out by Israel." [3]

Criticism

  • According to NGO Monitor, an Israeli non-governmental organization with the stated aim of monitoring other non-governmental organizations in the Middle East, the Center for Constitutional Rights has a biased political position against Israel. NGO Monitor writes, "CCR consistently disregards the context of terror, denies Israel’s right to self-defense, and accuses it of deliberately targeting civilians."[4]
  • Matthew Vadum of Capital Research Center, a conservative non-profit organization which aims to study non-profit organizations, called the Center for Constitutional Rights The Terrorists' Legal Team because of his belief that CCR is "an ultra-leftist public-interest law firm" that "has protected the supposed constitutional rights of those who would destroy the United States." [5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Respected Activist Lawyer Bill Quigley Will Be New CCR Legal Director | Center for Constitutional Rights
  2. ^ The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) is a non-profit legal and educational organization aimed to protect and advance the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  3. ^ "Look who's going:CCR President Michael Ratner", www.gazafreedommarch.org. Retrieved on 2009-11-06.
  4. ^ "Center for Constitutional Rights: Serial Abuse of International Law". 2007-07-17. http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/center_for_constitutional_rights_serial_abuse_of_international_law. Retrieved 2007-08-08. 
  5. ^ Vadum, Matthew (2006-10-03). "The Terrorists' Legal Team". http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17303. Retrieved 2007-08-08. 

External links

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Law Encyclopedia. West's Encyclopedia of American Law. Copyright © 1998 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
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