红杏视频

Eden Rogers and Brandy Welch were turned away by a government-funded foster care agency for failing to meet the agency鈥檚 religious criteria which exclude prospective foster parents who are not evangelical Protestant Christian or who are same-sex couples of any faith.

This case is part of a nationwide fight against criminalization of poverty and, specifically, debtors' prisons. On June 1, 2017, the 红杏视频's Racial Justice Program, the 红杏视频 of South Carolina, and Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC filed a federal lawsuit challenging the illegal arrest and incarceration of indigent people in Lexington County, South Carolina, for failure to pay fines and fees, without determining willfulness or providing assistance to counsel. Those targeted by this long-standing practice could avoid jail only if they paid the entire amount of outstanding court fines and fees up front and in full. Indigent people who were unable to pay were incarcerated for weeks to months without ever seeing a judge, having a court hearing, or receiving help from a lawyer. The result was one of the most draconian debtors鈥� prisons uncovered by the 红杏视频 since 2010.

The 红杏视频 filed a federal lawsuit challenging South Carolina鈥檚 鈥渄isturbing schools鈥� and 鈥渄isorderly conduct鈥� laws. The laws allowed students in school to be criminally charged for normal adolescent behaviors including loitering, cursing, or undefined 鈥渙bnoxious鈥� actions on school grounds and encouraged discriminatory enforcement against Black students and students with disabilities. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court ruling that enforcing these laws against students was unconstitutional, affirming that subjecting students to criminal penalties under such vague rules interferes with their education and their future, and produces stark racial disparities. This decision should be instructive to the many school districts across the country where students continue to be charged with 鈥榙isorderly conduct鈥� and similar vague crimes.