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Public Justice (formerly Trial
Lawyers for Public Justice) opened its doors 25 years ago to pursue an inspiring
vision -- building the
trial lawyers' public
interest law firm. We
have done that and more. Over the past quarter century, no public interest law
firm in the country has been involved in a broader range of high-impact,
cutting-edge litigation. So we've become Public Justice to pursue an expanded,
inspiring vision -- building
America's public
interest law firm.
Public Justice is the
principal project of the Public Justice Foundation, a non-profit
membership organization.
We are supported by – and can
call on – a nationwide network of over 3,500 attorneys and others,
including trial lawyers, appellate lawyers, consumer advocates, constitutional
litigators, employment lawyers, environmental attorneys, civil rights lawyers,
class action specialists, law professors and law students. Public Justice and the Public Justice Foundation
are headquartered in Washington, D.C., and have a West Coast Office in Oakland,
California. Public Justice Files Two Lawsuits Over CSI Toys Containing Asbestos
Alarmed that CBS Broadcasting, Inc. and Planet Toys, Inc. have refused to take appropriate action, Public Justice has filed state and federal lawsuits to force the companies to protect children and their families from further exposure to asbestos contained in toy science kits made by Planet Toys and licensed by CBS. The toy kits are based on the popular "CSI" television drama series, and tests of the kits' fingerprinting powder found tremolite, one of the most deadly forms of asbestos. Public Justice's federal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges that CBS and Planet Toys were negligent in their quality control measures and that they made consumers believe the toys were appropriate playthings for children when, in fact, the toys contained a hazardous and potentially lethal carcinogen. Because the toys were sold nationwide, the lawsuit is brought on behalf of a nationwide class of consumers who purchased or acquired the toys. FULL STORY Court Denies Federal Officials' Attempt to Evade Responsibility for Medical Neglect that Led to Immigrant's Penile Amputation and Death
A federal court late Tuesday issued a blistering rebuke of federal officials’ motion to dismiss part of a lawsuit Public Justice filed on behalf of a Salvadoran immigrant whose penis was amputated and who eventually died as the result of medical neglect suffered while in detention. Ruling on federal public health officials’ argument that Francisco Castaneda could not assert constitutional claims against them, the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles excoriated the defendants for an “attempt to sidestep responsibility for what appears to be…one of the most, if not the most, egregious Eighth Amendment violations the Court has ever encountered.” The Eighth Amendment entitles detainees and prisoners to adequate medical care and prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. “If [Castaneda’s] evidence holds up, the conduct that he has established on the part of Defendants is beyond cruel and unusual,” the Court wrote. The ruling added that the government’s own records “bespeak of conduct that transcends negligence by miles” and which, if true, “should be taught to every law student as conduct for which the moniker ‘cruel’ is inadequate.” According to the Court, “the care afforded to [Mr. Castaneda] by Defendants can be characterized by one word: nothing.” FULL STORY Public Justice's Threat of Lawsuit Prompts Indiana
High Schools to Reverse Decision Preventing High School Girl from
Playing Baseball
On Feb. 28, after a sex discrimination lawsuit was threatened by Public Justice and HASP, a review committee of the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) reversed the decision of its Commissioner and granted Heather’s request for a waiver of a statewide IHSAA rule that prohibits girls from participating in high school baseball if the school offers softball. An accomplished baseball player who recently moved to Indiana from California, Heather has spent nearly half of her life playing baseball. When she was nine years old, she signed up for her local little league team and fell in love with the game. She excelled as she moved up the little league ranks, and was the first girl to be named to her town’s All Star teams in both the 9- to 12-year-old age bracket and the 12- to 14-year-old age bracket. Under the IHSAA rule, Heather was denied even the right to try out for Wabash High’s baseball team solely because of her gender. FULL STORY New Coal Plant Threatens Public Health, Shenandoah National Park Environment, Conservation and Health Groups Take Protective Action Coalition Cites Expired Permit, Unmet Emissions Standards
Wellington Development cannot build a controversial waste coal-fired power plant in southwestern Pennsylvania because its construction permit has expired and does not meet current legal standards designed to ensure the lowest possible emissions of toxic mercury, according to multiple legal challenges filed Wednesday by Public Justice on behalf of the Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Group Against Smog and Pollution, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The waste coal-fired power plant would emit harmful levels of toxic mercury, and according to the National Park Service, would damage air quality at Shenandoah National Park. The coalition seeks to force the plant to update its expired construction permit and meet emissions standards that are protective of public health and the national park. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued a Plan Approval permit in June 2005, authorizing Wellington to construct a 525-megawatt waste coal-fired power plant in Nemacolin (Greene County), Pennsylvania. The plan required Wellington to begin construction within 18 months of the date of approval, meaning late December, 2006. Numerous aerial photographs over the last year show that Wellington has not “commenced construction” of the power plant as defined by the law, prompting Wednesday’s federal court action, alleging that Wellington’s permit is no longer valid. Click here for FULL STORY, complaint, and petition. Public Justice Files Title IX
Retaliation and Defamation Case Against FGCU for Mistreatment of Head
Volleyball Coach
Public Justice filed a
federal lawsuit against
The lawsuit stands on Title IX - the same law that Coach Jaye Flood said the university is flouting - and notes "a continuing series of retaliatory acts" against Flood, the most successful coach in FGCU history and this year's Atlantic Sun Conference "Coach of the Year."
In response to Flood's advocacy of gender equity in the university's athletic department, the complaint charges, the university berated Flood's job performance, placed her on probation and administrative leave, denied her a salary raise and bonus, and announced her contract will not be renewed when it expires this summer. The school also "made defamatory statements intended to damage her professional reputation," the suit says. FULL STORY
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