Litigation
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Kakwenza Rukirabashaija v. Uganda: Novelist Arrested and Tortured for His Writing
Kakwenza Rukirabashaija is a renowned novelist from Uganda who was arbitrarily arrested and detained on three occasions for his writings criticizing Ugandan government officials. While in detention, he was repeatedly tortured by state security forces.
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Pigott v. Gintz: Defending children against race-motivated excessive force
Fifth Circuit finds that aiming a gun at unarmed children is excessive force, affirming international human rights legal principle that police use of force must be proportionate to the threat at hand.
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Barnes v. Felix: Limiting deadly police force
Supreme Court holds that legality of police use of lethal force must be assessed under totality of circumstances, leaving room for consideration of necessity and proportionality, in line with RFK Human Rights amicus brief.
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Franklin v. New York: Protecting the integrity of bail
Supreme Court justices concur that prosecutors cannot use out-of-court statements without cross-examination, in line with RFKHR amicus brief on use of bail reports at trial.
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Nersisian v Harper: Fighting disability discrimination in immigration detention
ICE releases 51-year-old woman with severe disabilities after RFKHR lawsuit.
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Hodge v. Brophy: Fighting indefinite civil detention
Second Circuit reverses lower court after holding that due process bars prolonged immigration detention without a bond hearing.
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Manuel Esteban Paez Teran v. United States: Justice for murder of environmental activist
This case seeks reparative justice for the extrajudicial killing of Manuel “Tortuguita” Paez Terán, the first environmental activist in modern U.S. history to have been shot and killed by police during a protest.
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Washington v. Smith: Standing up to stop-and-frisk policing
This case challenges biased policing practices of Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, including the humiliating practice of unnecessary, suspicion-less and nonconsensual frisks that Black men are subjected to in intimidating and unjustified traffic stops.
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K.N.N. et al v. United States of America: Stopping torture on deportation flights
This case challenges the abusive use of a full-body restraint device called the WRAP during deportation flights.
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Abdalle Mumin v. Somalia: Somali Authorities Target Journalist for Activism
Abdalle Ahmed Mumin is a renowned Somali journalist and human rights defender who was arbitrarily arrested, detained, and tortured on three different occasions by Somali state security forces in reprisal for his work.
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Justice for Migrant Families v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Exposing abuse at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility
This case under the Freedom of Information Act seeks to expose ongoing denial of medical treatment and abuse by guards at a New York immigration detention center.
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J.K.A. v. United States of America: Stopping retaliation for protesting detention center abuses
This case seeks accountability for torture and cruel and degrading treatment inflicted on Cameroonian men in immigration detention in Louisiana and on deportation flights.
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