Current Cases & Projects

Defending High School Student with Disabilities

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 […]

Tenants Sue Large Landlord in Class Action Lawsuit Over Unsafe Conditions, Illegal Rent Collection

November 3, 2025 – 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 August, the Philadelphia Department […]

Voters & Civil Rights Groups Seek to Halt DOJ Attempts to Seize Pennsylvania Voter Data

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 […]

Victory for Democracy as State Supreme Court Rules Washington County Must Alert Voters Whose Mail Ballots Contain Errors

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 […]

Young Patients and Parents Ask Courts to Quash Department of Justice Subpoenas for Medical Records

PHILADELPHIA – Several young patients and their parents have asked federal courts in Pennsylvania to quash sweeping subpoenas issued by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking years’ worth of medical records of every patient under the age of 19 who received gender-affirming care from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). […]

Advocates Urge U.S. District Court to Uphold Pittsburgh’s Affordable Housing Ordinance

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 […]

Working to Preserve a Community Stronghold in Norris Square

July 3, 2025 – Norris Square Neighborhood Project (NSNP) is a Philadelphia treasure. Since the 1970s, NSNP has worked to restore and preserve urban landscapes and build youth leadership through community events and outreach, arts, cultural programs, and the creation of green space and urban gardens. The organization stewards six gardens in the Norris Square […]

Philadelphia Firefighter Files Civil Rights Complaint Over Discriminatory Hair Policy and Racial Harassment

The Public Interest Law Center has filed an employment discrimination complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) on behalf of Bariq Fluellen, a 12-year veteran Philadelphia firefighter who has been the target of racial harassment and threats due to his hairstyle.

Holding the Department of Justice accountable to remedy alleged redlining in Philadelphia, PA

July 24, 2025 – Today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District rejected the Trump Administration’s attempt to terminate early a consent order that holds ESSA Bank & Trust accountable for alleged discriminatory redlining of majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia. The decision comes as DOJ moves to dismiss fair lending and […]

Taking Action as EEOC Moves to Drop Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Sheetz

A Black man who was denied employment by convenience store chain Sheetz has moved to intervene in a federal criminal history discrimination lawsuit after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notified plaintiffs that it plans to drop the case—not based on the evidence, but due to a directive from President Trump.