On February 13, 2026, the Law Center submitted comments opposing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposal to eliminate its disparate impact regulations under the Fair Housing Act. Disparate impact refers to policies that appear neutral on their face but disproportionately harm people based on protected characteristics such as race, national origin, sex, or disability without sufficient justification. The […]
The Private Detective Act, a 1953 state law, barred anyone who has ever been convicted of any felony and a long list of misdemeanors from working in security for life, with no exceptions March 5, 2026 – Last week, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas ruled that the state Private Detective Act’s lifetime employment ban […]
Ceasefire-PA Education Fund, represented by the Public Interest Law Center, filed an amicus brief in February 2026 in support of a state law that requires individuals to have a license to openly carry a firearm. The defendant in this case was caught carrying a firearm in Kensington without a permit, and he argues that the […]
The Law Center works to reduce barriers to employment for individuals with criminal records who are disproportionately people of color and who routinely face discrimination in the workforce for decades after they have successfully completed their sentences. Rodney Phath had applied for a truck driving position with Central Transport and disclosed an old, unrelated, criminal […]
The Law Center has signed onto an amicus brief in the Third Circuit in Y.C.Q. v. Chichester School District. The brief, authored by the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), is in defense of an important procedural right under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and in support of a high school student […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 3, 2025 Philadelphia – Today, three residents of Upsal Garden, a 144-unit sprawling, aging apartment complex in Mt. Airy, filed a class action lawsuit against the property owners and Real Properties, a company that manages twenty properties across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida, including approximately 1,000 rental units in Philadelphia. In […]
The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, Common Cause, and seven Pennsylvania voters announced their move to intervene in United States v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a lawsuit the Department of Justice brought against Pennsylvania and its Secretary of the Commonwealth, Al Schmidt. The case is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to compel states to […]
HARRISBURG – On Friday, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the lower court’s decision that the Washington County Board of Elections must inform voters if they have made a disqualifying error on their mail ballot packets. Notifying voters that they have made a mistake allows them an opportunity to cast a provisional ballot on Election […]
UPDATE 3/03/2026: In a March 2 decision, the court reaffirmed its December 24 order to quash the U.S. Department of Justice’s subpoena, also rejecting the DOJ’s anonymization request. The judge deemed the Trump administration’s effort to access children’s medical records “unprecedented,” with rhetoric reflecting “callous indifference, if not abject cruelty.” UPDATE 12/26/2025: Late in the […]
August 15, 2025—In the face of a prolonged affordable housing crisis, the city of Pittsburgh enacted an inclusionary zoning ordinance to expand access to affordable, secure housing for low- and moderate-income Pittsburgh residents, who are disproportionately Black. The local ordinance requires developers to reserve 10% of units in residential projects of 20 units or more […]
