Civil rights Civil rights cases against local, state and national governments - The First Amendment comes first for a good reason. We recognize that some of the most extreme civil rights violations happen at the state and local government levels. The attorneys at Rodgers, Powers & Schwartz pioneered federal civil rights law suits against local governments for violations of free speech rights of public officers and employees. As advocates of free speech we have represented clients ranging from far-right extremists such as the Nationalist Movement and David Duke to exotic dancers and needle exchange programs and acted as cooperating attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union in dozens of cases. Read about some of our ground breaking civil rights cases against state and local governments creating new legal protections for citizens and government employees. Recently, we represented two Saudi detainees at Guantanamo Bay, who have both been released to the Saudi government. Here are some links to civil rights sites on the Internet. And here are some of the major civil rights statutes.