Civil Rights

CRLA's civil rights priority area aims to develop civil rights advocacy through litigation and civic participation. A task force committee comprised of CRLA attorneys and community workers meets monthly to discuss new areas of interest and strategies for implementation. Our major areas of interest currently are: language access; civil rights of students in schools; working toward equal governmental services in unincorporated areas; and maximizing rehabilitative and health services for youth within the juvenile justice system. CRLA can help our rural clients address issues such as:

• Unequal resources in communities: Challenging city and county policies that result in poor communities of color being excluded from the provision of services such as sewers, streetlights and sidewalks.
• Challenging Racial Profiling and Restrictive Ordinances: Attacking gang books and gang identification procedures in schools and challenging ordinances and policies that discriminate against day laborers and immigrants.
• Ensuring Language Access: Challenging policies of schools, cities, and state and local agencies that fail to provide translation and interpretation.