Peoples' Counsel

WHO WE ARE

Peoples' Counsel is an abolitionist, Black-woman-led movement lawyering shop in Houston, TX, fighting for a world free of police and ICE violence. We run the only free, open civil rights hotline of its kind in the country, where any survivor of police violence can call and get help, regardless of identity, finances, status, or record. 

In the last year, we've supported 118 survivors who called us for help, defeated qualified immunity twice in federal lawsuits challenging police violence, and trained over 200 community members in their rights and strategies to stay safe as police and ICE escalate their attacks on our communities.

We recognize that the carceral system was built to rebrand the abuse of Black people as "justice," and it must be dismantled. We are the dismantlers. 

Care is the antidote to violence, and care demands tactics as varied as the needs of the people we serve. When litigation fits, we go to court. When it doesn't, we connect survivors with other support. Outside the courtroom, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with communities under attack: backing movements with legal expertise and running rights and safety workshops that help impacted people fight back against police and ICE abuse.

Every effort serves one purpose: showing up for people the system has thrown away, regardless of identity, finances, status or record. 

Because every survivor of police violence deserves an advocate.

WHY HOUSTON

A Black person in Houston is 5.3 times more likely to be killed by police than a white person, and police in Houston are 77% more likely to use deadly force during an arrest than police in any other large American city. Magnifying the harm, Houston is one of the most heavily policed cities in the country, with over 60 policing entities operating across Harris County. And yet, civil rights suits are 10 times more likely to be filed in Philadelphia than in Houston. Legal advocates are sorely needed and sorely missing. We are those advocates.

WHAT WE DO

We fight police violence on four fronts: 

1) We Support Survivors: we run the only open civil rights intake hotline in the country that any survivor can call to get help; 

2) We Litigate for Accountability: we litigate in federal court to hold police accountable and secure reparations for survivors; 

3) We Build Power & Community: we offer political and legal education to community members fighting for a reimagined vision of public safety; and 

4) We Back Movement Builders: we provide movement builders (organizers, coalitions, and base-builders) with the legal expertise, research, and strategy they need to win.

Success looks like survivors who feel heard and supported, police practices changed through litigation and coalition pressure, and a freedom movement that is stronger because Peoples' Counsel is in it.

THIS BLACK PHILANTHROPY DAY, FUND THE ONLY FREE CIVIL RIGHTS HOTLINE OF ITS KIND IN THE COUNTRY.

$50 supports a survivor navigating the aftermath of police misconduct, from that first call to our hotline, through legal consultation and connection to other resources.  

$250 funds one Safety, Strategy, Rights workshop: the kind of grassroots preparation that keeps police and ICE interactions from becoming crises. 

$1,000 covers what it costs to get a case in front of a federal judge. Fewer than 1% of people whose rights are violated by the police ever file suit, mostly because they can’t find an attorney. We’re the exception. 

$2,500 covers a case from intake through filing, the full arc of investigation, record collection, legal consultation, and litigation that turns one phone call into a federal civil rights suit.