Civil Rights

Standing Against Injustice

A Personal Message from Attorney Harris

This statement appears in a work of art by a student whose name is unknown to me, hanging in the hallway of a high school in Vernon, Connecticut. It is a statement that rings true for me and the idea behind it was one of the motivations in my decision to start Harris Law.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This may be true, but justice itself is not inevitable.

The moral arc of American history is not a continuous curve. It has been dramatically marked by periods of progress followed by periods of retrenchment and retaliation. Every gain in civil rights in our nation’s history – from the enfranchisement of non-property owners, to the abolition of slavery, to the passage of the post-Civil War constitutional amendments that were intended to confer legal equality upon former slaves and their descendants, to the passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote, to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to the recognition of marriage equality for same-sex couples – has been hard fought.

Every one of those advances required decades of persistent advocacy, civil disobedience, and in the case of slavery, a civil war. The people who fought for these rights endured ridicule, social and economic ostracization, threats, unjust imprisonment, force feedings, physical assaults, abuse, retaliation, war and even murder.

Every civil rights gain in American history has also been accompanied by the outrage of reactionary opponents who have been unrelenting in their efforts to reverse those legal gains, and to ignore the law, skirt the constitution, or find new ways to impose old oppressions.

Those gains in civil rights cannot be maintained without vigilance and a willingness to do the hard work of defending them and pushing forward to obtain greater equality for all. When government officials violate the rights of the people, they must be held accountable.

For me, it is simply not enough to write to my congressional representatives, or march in the street. As an attorney it is also my privilege, and my duty, to stand before our courts of law, to protect and defend your rights.

Harris Law Will Protect Your Rights

Civil rights are the foundation of a fair and just society.

Civil rights laws exist to protect individuals from the immense power of the state and federal governments. The foundation of freedom in our society is the U.S. Constitution, and the statutes that Congress and the states have passed to protect your rights. Your rights and freedoms protected by the Constitution and other laws include

• Freedom of religion and freedom from religion;
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of the press
• The right to peaceably assemble
• The right to petition the government for redress of grievance
• The right to to be secure in your person, house, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures
• The right to be free of unlawful arrest
• The right to be free from excessive force during arrest
• Due process of law
• The right to be free from threats, violence, or coercion in voting

Civil rights cases are often both deeply personal, and simultaneously a profoundly important means of holding the government accountable. At Harris Law, we are committed to ensuring and upholding civil rights so you have the champion and partner you need.