Center for Constitutional Rights

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Center for Constitutional Rights
FoundedJuly 1966 by Arthur Kinoy, William Kunstler, Ben Smith and Morton Stavis
Type Non-profit
Location
  • New York City, New York, U.S.
ServicesAdvocacy, litigation, public education
Key people
Michael Ratner, President Emeritus; Jules Lobel, President; Alex Rosenberg and Peter Weiss, Vice-Presidents; Vincent Warren, Executive Director; Baher Azmy, Legal Director; William P. Quigley, Associate Legal Director [1]
Website CCRJustice.org

The Center for Constitutional Rights [2] (CCR) is a progressive non-profit legal advocacy organization based in New York City, New York, in the United States. It was founded in 1966 by Arthur Kinoy, William Kunstler and others particularly to support activists in the implementation of civil rights legislation and to achieve social justice.

Contents

CCR has focused on civil liberties and human rights litigation, and activism. Since winning the landmark case in the United States Supreme Court of Rasul v. Bush (2004), establishing the right of detainees at Guantanamo Bay detainment camp to challenge their status in US courts and gain legal representation, it has provided legal assistance to people imprisoned there and gained release for many who were unlawfully held or proven not to be a risk to security.

History

Jules Lobel, current President of the Center for Constitutional Rights, testifying before Congressional subcommittee about the War Powers Act. JULES.jpg
Jules Lobel, current President of the Center for Constitutional Rights, testifying before Congressional subcommittee about the War Powers Act.

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 racial segregation and economic injustice. Its founders were Morton Stavis, Arthur Kinoy, Ben Smith and William Kunstler. The Center identified 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 to raise public awareness of an issue, generate media attention, and/or energize activists being 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.

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).

Since 9/11, it has been known for bringing a variety of cases challenging the Bush administration's detention, extraordinary rendition, and interrogation practices in the so-called "Global War on Terror". When its president Michael Ratner filed Rasul v. Bush in 2002, this was the first lawsuit to challenge President George W. Bush's wartime detentions at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba in the early days of the "war on terror." [3]

It was the first time in history that the Court had ruled against the president on behalf of alleged enemy fighters in wartime. And it was the first of four Supreme Court decisions between 2004 and 2008 that rejected President Bush's assertion of unchecked executive power in the "war on terror." [3]

Issues on which it conducted advocacy in the 2000s included: illegal detentions, [4] particularly with regard to the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp; surveillance and attacks on dissent, [5] in relation to the U.S. government's involvement in unlawful surveillance, monitoring and intimidation of activists such as the Black Panthers; criminal justice and mass incarceration, [6] including jail expansions and unjust detentions; corporate and human rights abuse both domestic and international; government abuse of power, [7] primarily encompassing CCR's challenge to the Bush administration's policy of extraordinary rendition; racial, gender and economic justice; [8] and international law and accountability. [9] In 2005, the organization was recognized with the Domestic Human Rights Award by Global Exchange, in San Francisco. [10] [ non-primary source needed ]

Activities and litigation

Notable cases

See also

Related Research Articles

Rasul v. Bush, 542 U.S. 466 (2004), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court in which the Court held that foreign nationals held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp could petition federal courts for writs of habeas corpus to review the legality of their detention. The Court's 6–3 judgment on June 28, 2004, reversed a D.C. Circuit decision which had held that the judiciary has no jurisdiction to hear any petitions from foreign nationals held in Guantanamo Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Ratner</span> American lawyer (1943–2016)

Michael Ratner was an American attorney. For much of his career, he was president of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), a non-profit human rights litigation organization based in New York City, and president of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) based in Berlin.

Asif Iqbal is a British citizen who was held in extrajudicial detention as a terror suspect in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps in Cuba from early 2002 to 9 March 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fouzi Khalid Abdullah Al Odah</span> Kuwaiti former Guantanamo Bay detainee (born 1977)

Fouzi Khalid Abdullah Al Odah is a Kuwaiti citizen formerly held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. He had been detained without charge in Guantanamo Bay since 2002. He was a plaintiff in the ongoing case, Al Odah v. United States, which challenged his detention, along with that of fellow detainees. The case was widely acknowledged to be one of the most significant to be heard by the Supreme Court in the current term. The US Department of Defense reports that he was born in 1977, in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

Majid Shoukat Khan is a Pakistani who was the only known legal resident of the United States held in the Guantanamo Bay Detainment Camp. He was a "high value detainee" subject to “enhanced interrogation” by the U.S. intelligence forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moath al-Alwi</span> Yemeni prisoner in Guantanamo Bay prison

Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi is a citizen of Yemen, held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba. His detainee ID number is 28. Guantanamo analysts estimated he was born in 1977, in Al Hudaydah, Yemen.

Abdel Hamid Ibn Abdussalem Ibn Mifta Al Ghazzawi is a citizen of Libya who was held from June 2002 until March 2010 in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba because the United States classified him as an enemy combatant. His internment number was 654.

Boumediene v. Bush, 553 U.S. 723 (2008), was a writ of habeas corpus petition made in a civilian court of the United States on behalf of Lakhdar Boumediene, a naturalized citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, held in military detention by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba. Guantánamo Bay is not formally part of the United States, and under the terms of the 1903 lease between the United States and Cuba, Cuba retained ultimate sovereignty over the territory, while the United States exercises complete jurisdiction and control. The case was consolidated with habeas petition Al Odah v. United States. It challenged the legality of Boumediene's detention at the United States Naval Station military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as well as the constitutionality of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. Oral arguments on the combined cases were heard by the Supreme Court on December 5, 2007.

Al Odah v. United States is a court case filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsels challenging the legality of the continued detention as enemy combatants of Guantanamo detainees. It was consolidated with Boumediene v. Bush (2008), which is the lead name of the decision.

In United States law, habeas corpus is a recourse challenging the reasons or conditions of a person's detention under color of law. The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. A persistent standard of indefinite detention without trial and incidents of torture led the operations of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to be challenged internationally as an affront to international human rights, and challenged domestically as a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution, including the right of petition for habeas corpus. On 19 February 2002, Guantanamo detainees petitioned in federal court for a writ of habeas corpus to review the legality of their detention.

Bismullah v. Gates is a writ of habeas corpus appeal in the United States Justice System, on behalf of Bismullah —an Afghan detainee held by the United States in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. It was one of over 200 habeas corpus petitions filed on behalf of detainees held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.

Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal, Ruhal Ahmed, and Jamal Al-Harith, four former Guantánamo Bay detainees, filed suit in 2004 in the United States District Court in Washington, DC against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. They charged that illegal interrogation tactics were permitted to be used against them by Secretary Rumsfeld and the military chain of command. The plaintiffs each sought seek compensatory damages for torture and arbitrary detention while being held at Guantánamo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shayana D. Kadidal</span> American lawyer and writer

Shayana D. Kadidal is an American lawyer and writer. Kadidal has worked at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City since 2001, and is senior managing attorney of the Guantánamo Global Justice Initiative there, coordinating legal representation for the captives held in extrajudicial detention in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba. Previously a writer on patent, drug and obscenity law, since 2001 he has played a role in various notable human rights cases, including:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricardo M. Urbina</span> American judge

Ricardo M. Urbina is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Ziglar v. Abbasi, 582 U.S. ___ (2017), is a Supreme Court of the United States case in which the Court determined, by a vote of 4–2, that non-U.S. citizens detained in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks cannot recover monetary damages from high level federal officials for the conditions of their confinement. The case was consolidated with Hastey v. Abbasi, and Ashcroft v. Abbasi. It was argued on January 18, 2017.

Daniels, et al. v. the City of New York was a class action lawsuit filed in 1999 against the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the City of New York, charging them with racial profiling and unlawful stop and frisk, and requesting the disbanding of the NYPD Street Crimes Unit.

<i>Al Odah v. Bush</i>

Civil Action No. 02-cv-0299 is a habeas corpus petition submitted on behalf of several Guantanamo captives.

<i>Abtan v. Blackwater</i>

Atban v. Blackwater, 611 F. Supp. 2d 1, was a lawsuit brought by the victims and families affected by the September 16, 2007 Blackwater Baghdad shootings against Blackwater Worldwide, a private military contractor since renamed Academi. The case was consolidated with Estate of Albazzaz, et al. v. Blackwater Lodge and Training Center, Inc. et al., and the consolidated case was ultimately settled confidentially out of court.

Zalita v. Bush is a writ of habeas corpus filed on behalf of Guantanamo captive Abu Abdul Rauf Zalita before United States District Court judge Ricardo M. Urbina. On January 2, 2008 the Project to Enforce the Geneva Conventions named Zalita v. Bush on a list of "notable GTMO and related cases".

<i>Floyd v. City of New York</i>

Floyd, et al. v. City of New York, et al., 959 F. Supp. 2d 540, is a set of cases addressing the class action lawsuit filed against the City of New York, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and named and unnamed New York City police officers ("Defendants"), alleging that defendants have implemented and sanctioned a policy, practice, and/or custom of unconstitutional stops and frisks by the New York Police Department ("NYPD") on the basis of race and/or national origin, in violation of Section 1983 of title forty-two of the United States Code, the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Constitution and laws of the State of New York.

References

  1. "Respected Activist Lawyer Bill Quigley Will Be New CCR Legal Director | Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. February 20, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  2. The Center for Constitutional Rights.
  3. 1 2 David Cole, "Michael Ratner’s Army: The Fight Against Guantánamo", NYR Daily, 15 May 2016
  4. "Illegal Detentions and Guantanamo; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  5. "Surveillance and Attacks on Dissent; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  6. "Criminal Justice and Mass Incarceration; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  7. "Government Abuse of Power; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  8. "Racial, Gender and Economic Justice; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  9. "International Law and Accountability; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  10. "Global Exchange Human Rights Awards Ceremony to be Held on May 12 in San Francisco" Archived 2013-06-20 at the Wayback Machine May 4, 2005
  11. 1 2 "Rasul v Bush; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  12. "Boumediene v. Bush / Al Odah v. United States; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  13. "Arar v. Ashcroft et al; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  14. "Abtan, et al. v. Prince, et al.; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  15. "CCR v. Obama, formerly CCR v. Bush; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  16. "Daniels, et al. v. the City of New York; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  17. "Floyd et al v City of New York et al; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  18. "Albazzaz, et al. v. Prince, et al; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  19. "Khan v. Obama/ Khan v. Gates; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  20. "Kunstler v. City of New York; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  21. 1 2 "Mamani, et al. v. Sánchez de Lozada / Mamani, et al. v. Sánchez Berzain; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  22. "Saleh et al v. Titan et al; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  23. "Turkmen v. Ashcroft; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  24. "United States of America and Vulcan Society, Inc. v. City of New York; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  25. "Wiwa et al v. Royal Dutch Petroleum et al; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  26. "Zalita v. Obama; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  27. "ICC Vatican Prosecution" . Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  28. "Ragbir v. Holder (Amicus)". Center for Constitutional Rights.
  29. "Amicus Brief in Ragbir v. Holder PDF" (PDF).
  30. "Brown, et al. v. Snyder, et al". Center for Constitutional Rights.
  31. "Civic Association of the Deaf of New York City, Inc. v. Rudolph Giuliani, et al". Center for Constitutional Rights.
  32. "Doe, et al. v. Jindal, et al.; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  33. "Statement of Facts Not In Dispute in Support of Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgement; Center for Constitutional Rights" (PDF). Ccrjustice.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  34. "Amicus Brief in Glik v. Cunniffe, et al.; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  35. "Aref, et al. v. Holder, et al.; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  36. "Dombrowski v. Pfister; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  37. "United States v. Dellinger; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  38. "Abramowicz v. Lefkowitz; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  39. "Monell v. Department of Social Services; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  40. Coker, Donna K. (April 3, 2013). "The Story of Wanrow: The Reasonable Woman and the Law of Self-Defense". SSRN . co-authored with Lindsay Harrison in Criminal Law Stories (Donna Coker & Robert Weisberg Eds. 2013) Foundation Press. SSRN   2244312 . Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  41. "United States v. Banks and Means (Wounded Knee); Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  42. "Filártiga v. Peña-Irala; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  43. "Crumsey v. Justice Knights of the Ku Klux Klan; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  44. "Paul v. Avril; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  45. "Doe v. Karadzic; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org.
  46. "Floyd, et al. v. City of New York, et al. | Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. December 17, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2016.