CIR Files Challenge to Air Force Ban of Facebook Critic

August 27, 2021

On August 27, the Center for Individual Rights filed suit against Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass for banning retired Air Force pilot, Richard Rynearson, from an official government Facebook page because he criticized one of her posts.  Chief Bass violated Rynearson’s right to free speech by

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Oregon Cares Challenge Moves Forward

July 13, 2021

Our case on behalf of Maria Garcia — owner of a Mexican specialty coffee shop in downtown Portland — is moving forward again.

The facts are not in dispute — Oregon proudly admits it limited benefits solely on the basis of race.  The state has made broad claims about the difficulties

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Defendants Move to Dismiss

May 15, 2021

Our case on behalf of Pitt Medical Professor Norman Wang provoked a strong reaction from the ten-plus defendants named in our complaint alleging that University of Pittsburgh officials and others illegally retaliated against Dr. Wang and defamed him for a peer-reviewed journal article on the overuse of racial preferences in

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A Lesser Case Might Have Been Dismissed

March 31, 2021

On March 31, U.S. District Judge Clifton L. Corker ruled that Ultima Services Corporation has standing to sue the USDA and SBA for racial discrimination for setting aside government contracts through the Section 8(a) Program — which reserves certain federal contracts for minority-owned small businesses.  Ultima filed suit against the

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Motion Granted! — Sal Davi Can Speak Freely

March 03, 2021

On March 3, U.S. District Judge Edward R. Korman ruled that the New York Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) violated Sal Davi’s right to free speech when officers demoted him over comments he made in a private Facebook conversation.  Davi had criticized current welfare

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CIR Announces 2021 Walpin Fellowship

February 08, 2021

CIR is now accepting applications for the 2021 summer Walpin Fellowship program, named after Gerald Walpin, a longtime friend and member of the Board of the Center for Individual Rights. The Walpin fellowship is intended to support law students interested in conservative public interest litigation and offers a $5,000 stipend. 

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Center for Individual Rights Files Suit on Behalf of Professor Removed from His Position for Research on Affirmative Action

December 17, 2020

University of Pittsburgh Violates First Amendment

Pittsburgh, PA December 17, 2020 – The Center for Individual Rights filed a lawsuit on December 15 on behalf of Dr. Norman Wang, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who was removed from his administrative position and teaching duties at the

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Professor Punished for Research

December 17, 2020

The Center for Individual Rights and Goldstein Law Partners LLC have filed suit against the University of Pittsburgh and several affiliated organizations for disciplining Dr. Norman Wang in response to a study that he published on the development of affirmative action over the last fifty years.  The publicly-funded university has

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Separated by Race

November 20, 2020

CIR has filed suit against the State of Oregon for establishing a coronavirus relief fund that is limited to black Oregonians.  Setting aside government money for a race-exclusive fund violates the Fourteenth Amendment and federal anti-discrimination law.

In July, The Contingent, an Oregon nonprofit that primarily serves black Oregonians, and the

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Won’t Back Down

October 15, 2020

On October 15, CIR filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit in Barke v. Banks, which challenges Section 3550 — a gag law that prohibits statements from public employers that “deter or discourage” union membership.  CIR is appealing the district court’s decision to dismiss the suit for lack of standing.

The

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