Partnership for Civil Justice Fund

04/15/2026

Watch today at 3pm ET: Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund and Steering Committee member of the Committee for the First Amendment, will speak about the threat to free speech and democracy posed by the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger at a spotlight hearing convened by Senator Cory Booker, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights.

Link to the livestream here:

Senator Cory Booker is holding a public forum on Wednesday with the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the proposed merger of Paramount-Skydance and Warner...

04/07/2026

Trump’s statement that “a whole civilization will die tonight never to be brought back again” is a call for genocide against 93 million people in Iran, an overt violation of international and federal law, and every moral code known to humanity.

All those who effectuate these war crimes and atrocities are war criminals themselves under the laws enshrined after Nuremberg. Members of the armed services swear an oath to the Constitution, not to a king, and anyone who is asked to participate in the ex*****on of war crimes has a moral and legal obligation to refuse.

Trump does not speak with the consent of the people of the U.S. We have the First Amendment right to oppose this criminally insane threat.

Join a protest near you:

ANSWER Coalition: https://stoptrumpswars.org/

50501: https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/no-trump-no-troops-no-war

04/01/2026

We were proud to support the Committee for the First Amendment rally in DC on Friday, an event hosted by Jane Fonda and featuring Joan Baez that challenged “censorship, political intimidation, and a growing effort to reshape American history and cultural life through fear and attacks on our First Amendment.”

Watch the full Artists United For Our Freedom event here: https://www.youtube.com/live/1qVPVRUogjs

03/31/2026

Partnership for Civil Justice Fund Executive Director Mara Verheyden-Hilliard tells Wisconsin public radio that the plan to have a foreign corporation fund policing of protests at Line 5 “incentivizes repression against people exercising their First Amendment rights,” posing a direct threat to constitutional rights and due process.
 
“These types of deals can violate the due process clause and thus be unconstitutional because they create a distortion of public policing and an improper incentivization that also works to suppress dissent,” Verheyden-Hilliard said.
 
Read the article in our bio.

03/31/2026

Partnership for Civil Justice Fund Executive Director Mara Verheyden-Hilliard tells Wisconsin Public Radio that a plan to have a foreign corporation create a fund for policing of protests at Line 5 "incentivizes repression against people exercising their First Amendment rights,” posing a direct threat to constitutional rights and due process.

“These types of deals can violate the due process clause and thus be unconstitutional because they create a distortion of public policing and an improper incentivization that also works to suppress dissent,” Verheyden-Hilliard said.

Read the article here ➡️

The Bayfield County board will take up agreements where Canadian energy firm Enbridge would reimburse law enforcement for services tied to its controversial Line 5 reroute in northern Wisconsin.

03/25/2026

📣 Tell the DOJ to withdraw a dangerous new proposal that seeks to shield federal prosecutors from accountability.

Trump’s Justice Dept has proposed a new rule that would subvert state ethics investigations into misconduct by its lawyers. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers warns this would weaken one of the only independent checks on prosecutorial abuse.

This is a brazen attempt to evade oversight and immunize DOJ lawyers from the consequences of making false or misleading representations to a court or other misconduct. People are in court challenging unconstitutional government conduct and facing repression for exercising their First Amendment rights.

Trump and Bondi must not be allowed to greenlight and protect their lawyers’ misconduct by subverting independent ethics investigations and accountability.

📢 TAKE ACTION NOW: Submit a public comment demanding DOJ withdraw this rule.

🗓 Deadline: April 6

🔗 https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/DOJ-OAG-2026-0001-0001

03/17/2026

📣Major First Amendment Victory

All charges have been dismissed against our client, U.S Army veteran Jay Carey, who the Trump Administration vindictively prosecuted in federal court for burning a flag in Lafayette Park in August in protest of the President’s Executive Order targeting flag-burning.

The DOJ’s dismissal means the charges can never be refiled.

Earlier this year, the federal court ruled Mr. Carey could proceed with a vindictive prosecution defense, allowing inquiry into whether the government targeted him because of his protected speech. The government moved to dismiss the case just before it was required to respond to our demands for information about its decision to prosecute.

Defendant & Army veteran Jay Carey: “I set out to demonstrate that the First Amendment is sacred and that no administration can supersede our constitutional rights. I’m proud to stand with those fighting for our fundamental rights and hope this victory helps the next person who takes a stand.”

PCJF Executive Director Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, counsel for Mr. Carey: “This prosecution should never have been brought. The government’s attempt to criminally punish a protestor based on expressive conduct posed a grave threat to First Amendment freedoms. The government’s about-face is a critical vindication of those rights. This case lays the groundwork for defending those across the country who are targeted for vindictive prosecution by the Trump Administration in an effort to silence and punish viewpoints it doesn’t like.”

PCJF Staff Attorney Nick Place, a Marine Veteran and co-counsel for Mr. Carey: “The government wanted not only to punish Mr. Carey for engaging in disfavored speech but also to intimidate others from speaking up against this administration's abuses. This victory shows that when we stand up to unconstitutional bullying, we can win.”

Read coverage:

NYT
https://tinyurl.com/24ypd393

AP
https://apnews.com/article/trump-flag-burning-veteran-dismiss-charges-349b1f416c7834205d675b2063bc3976

NBC
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/drops-case-veteran-carey-arrested-burning-american-flag-white-house-rcna263438

CBS
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/doj-moves-drop-charges-man-burned-us-flag-outside-white-house/

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/politics/veteran-flag-burning-case-dismissed.html?unlocked_article_code=1.TlA.5KKP.pZ4SUGv0nbnn&smid=url-share

The veteran, Jay Carey, was arrested the same day that President Trump signed an executive order to punish flag burning, a First Amendment right.

03/04/2026

It is with a heavy heart and deep respect that the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund recognizes the life of Reverend Graylan Scott Hagler, who died recently on February 17th, 2026. Reverend Hagler served as the Senior Minister at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C. for three decades. He was a leader in the movement against war, racism, militarism, and state repression, and a fighter for human rights and economic justice. We are grateful to have collaborated and marched in the streets alongside him for over 25 years.  

As we continue our work to defend constitutional rights and free speech in a time of intense repression against social justice movements at home and illegal, unbridled war abroad, we remember Reverend Hagler’s contributions to a future of peace, dignity, and fulfillment for all people.

Photo credits:
Photo 1: Reverend Hagler, ANSWER Coalition march, October 2001. “06.15.ANSWER.WDC.27oct01” by Elvert Barnes, CC BY 2.0

Photo 2: Reverend Hagler and Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, ANSWER Coalition march, October 2001. “10.10.ANSWER.WDC.27oct01” by Elvert Barnes, CC BY 2.0

Photo 3: Reverend Hagler and Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Peace Ball, January 2025.

02/09/2026

Join the Bay Area Demonstrations Legal Support Collaborative for a conversation on the history of political repression in the United States and how the federal government’s crackdown on recent political organizing is a continuation of COINTELPRO. Those on the front lines of the Palestine Solidarity and Puerto Rican independence movements, Anti-Cop City organizing and immigration actions will discuss how they view political repression and how their movements have organized to protect each other against the brutal tactics of the State.

Join us on February 12 from 7-9pm PST in person at Medicine for Nightmares (3036 24th St, SF) or online.

RSVP for the zoom link (acab.link/s/session_1)

12/18/2025

We and our client, U.S. Army veteran and free-speech advocate Jay Carey, appeared in federal court earlier this month on the heels of our filing of a motion to dismiss the outrageous charges the Trump Administration has leveled against him. The Bondi Justice Department is prosecuting him for burning a flag in Lafayette Park in front of the White House to protest the President’s executive order directing punishment for flag burning – an act protected by the First Amendment.

We are fighting these improper charges on multiple grounds. The government is attempting to use *wilderness regulations*, meant for places like Yellowstone, against First Amendment–protected protest in front of the White House. We are challenging this as a vindictive prosecution, targeting Mr. Carey for his First Amendment protected expression with which the President disagrees. Footage in the case shows that officers on the scene conferred with federal prosecutors and cited the President’s executive order targeting flag burning when deciding to arrest him. The President issued an Executive Order three months before Mr. Carey’s arrest stating that it is the policy of the United States that prosecution based on regulatory violations is “disfavored.” By their own policy this prosecution – this direct attack on dissent - should not be happening.

This is a clear example of vindictive prosecution aimed at punishing dissent.

Check out more details about the case here: https://loom.ly/OFIthgk

Full story here: https://loom.ly/nDcEamM

10/29/2025

Want your words to make an impact?

Join us to fight for civil rights + defend democracy.

We’re hiring a Digital Communications Specialist and a Communications Manager!

📢 Apply here → justiceonline.org/who-we-are/work-with-us/

10/20/2025

We're hiring a Justice Fellow join us in crucial impact litigation to protect democracy, advance free speech rights, and defend movements for racial, social, and environmental justice! Come work with us!

🔗

Work With Us Justice Fellowship Position Opening Partnership for Civil Justice Fund and its project, The Center for Protest Law & Litigation Full-time