Amicus Briefs
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Through its litigation initiatives, Legal Momentum has made historic and enduring contributions to the rights and opportunities available to women. This is often accomplished through participation in cases as amicus curiae ("friend of the court"). Amici are groups or individuals who are not parties to the case but have particular expertise in the issues at its heart. They bring their expertise to the court in the form of an amicus brief to inform the court’s deliberations. Each year Legal Momentum writes and joins numerous amicus briefs in cases dealing with issues central to our mission.
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Fairness in the Courts | Violence Against Women and GirlsAuthored Amicus Brief: Determined whether a victim of domestic violence may be penalized for "failure to produce records" in an eminent domain suit, where she had lost access to her records when fleeing from her abusive husband.
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Fairness in the Courts | Violence Against Women and GirlsDomestic Violence and Children | Parental RightsAuthored Amicus Brief: Challenged New York City’s Administration for Children Services’ practice of starting child neglect proceedings against battered mothers on the basis of “allowing” their children to witness domestic violence.
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Fairness in the Courts | Workplace Equality and Economic EmpowermentAuthored Amicus Brief: Determined whether it is proper for a federal appeals court to overturn a jury verdict when a sexual harassment plaintiff has convinced a jury that she was subjected to a hostile environment in her workplace.
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Fairness in the Courts | Violence Against Women and GirlsAuthored Amicus Brief: Determined whether the prosecution of a domestic violence victim for murdering her husband was impermissibly tainted by the prosecution's baseless suggestions that she worked as a prostitute.
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Fairness in the CourtsSex-Based Classification | LGBTQ+ RightsJoined Amicus Brief: Considered whether denying same-sex couples the right to marry violated the individual liberty and equality safeguards of the Massachusetts Constitution, protecting freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into protected areas of life and freedom to partake in state benefits.
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Fairness in the CourtsSex-Based Classification | LGBTQ+ RightsAuthored Amicus Brief: Determined whether a criminal statute against same-sex sexual relations violated constitutional rights of lesbians and gay men.
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Fairness in the CourtsSex-Based ClassificationJoined Amicus Brief: Considered whether the Fraternal Order of Eagles' scope of operations made it a "public accommodation" under state law, forbidding it to discriminate against female members.
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Fairness in the CourtsAnti-Choice ViolenceJoined Amicus Brief: This case was brought by Planned Parenthood and four doctors who were targeted and threatened by anti-choice organizations and individuals.
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Fairness in the CourtsPublic Benefits and PovertyAuthored Amicus Brief: Determined the right to an innocent tenant defense in public housing to protect innocent tenants from eviction for crimes committed by family or persons known to them.
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Fairness in the CourtsRacial JusticeJoined Amicus Brief: Determined whether disparate impact regulations adopted by federal agencies to effectuate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are enforceable by private litigants in actions for declaratory and injunctive relief.