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April 24, 2017
Human rights abuses in the context of the imposition of the death penalty in Texas
The Clinic researched the capital punishment system in Texas, publishing a report detailing the chronic overuse of solitary confinement on Texas’ death rows by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDJC). The report, titled “Designed to Break You: Human Rights Violations on Texas’ Death Rows,” details how TDCJ’s practice of holding prisoners in mandatory solitary […] -
March 29, 2017
Decisions by Texas’ primary environmental agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) directly impact health and safety and air and water quality in Texas communities. This guide explains how you can participate in TCEQ and EPA permitting, enforcement, and rulemaking decisions in order to better protect […] -
September 22, 2016
The Clinic is partnering with Disability Rights Texas to investigate whether school districts and county jails are carrying out their obligations to provide special education services to young people aged 18-21 who are in county jails and are eligible for such services. We are doing legal and factual research, with the goal of producing something […] -
September 22, 2016
The Clinic is co-counseling with the law firm of Akin Gump to represent four school-aged young men who were subject to excessive use of force by a school resource officer in their Abilene public school. Through their parents as next friends, the children are bringing claims for excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, […] -
September 22, 2016
The Clinic is co-counseling with the Law Office of Don Tittle, P.C. to represent a Dallas area resident who was falsely arrested and charged with capital murder, for a crime he did not commit, based on a faulty phone line-up that violated the Dallas Police Department’s internal policies. After he spent seventeen days in jail, […] -
September 22, 2016
The Clinic is co-counseling with the Texas Civil Rights Project to represent the parents and estate of Amber May, a 35-year old Texas mother of two who died after hanging herself in the Ochiltree County Jail in north Texas. The lawsuit brining claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act is filed in federal court in […] -
September 13, 2016
The Human Rights Clinic partnered with the Public Interest Clinic at University of Palermo Law School to advocate on behalf of prison guards who want to form a union in the province of Córdoba. Such guards have petitioned the Inter-American Commission about their grievances. During the spring semester of 2016 Clinic students traveled to Washington DC to appear […] -
October 30, 2015
The Clinic is co-counseling with the Texas Fair Defense Project (TFDJ) and Susman Godfrey LLP to represent Austin-area residents who face jail time for petty misdemeanors, solely because they lack the ability to pay. We represent two plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit challenging the Austin Municipal Court’s policies and practices of failing to determine […] -
October 26, 2015
The Clinic is co-counseling with the ACLU of Texas, to represent a U.S. citizen who was subjected to excessive force by an officer of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) during a search of her vehicle in Brownsville. The Bivens lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Brownsville, alleges that the CBP official violated her […] -
October 21, 2015
The Clinic is partnering with the Texas Jails Project to investigate and report on legislative and policy measures that can be taken to prevent deaths of inmates in Texas county jails. It is estimated that one-fifth to one-third of jail inmates, who are 60% pretrial detainees, cope with mental illness or mental health disorders. Our […]
