Public Accountability

Mission

When government officials abuse their power—when police use excessive force, when prisons deny medical care, when schools censor teachers who celebrate Pride or Black history month—people should be able to seek redress and accountability in the courts. But too often, they can’t. Courts have created legal loopholes like qualified immunity that protect officials from consequences and shut victims out of the justice system.

Public Accountability fights back. We’re a nonprofit law firm that challenges those loopholes in the appellate courts—where the rules are written and rewritten. Our cases don’t just help one person; they change the law for thousands. We work to make civil rights real—not just on paper, but in court.

Bottom Line for Portland

We sued the Trump administration on behalf of journalists in 2020 and won—and we're going to do it again. We sued the Newberg School district when they banned Black Lives Matter and Pride. We sued the Oregon Department of Corrections when it refused to give Muslim prisoners halal food. When Oregonians' rights are violated, we've got your back.

Incentives

Sugerman Dahab has very generously offered to match up to $5,000 of donations—for the first $5,000, every dollar you donate becomes two!

Partner(s)

Our partners are:

Sugerman Dahab — Lawyers on the side of people.

Operation Nightwatch — Serving Portland's unhoused community since 1981.