Washington, D.C. (June 9, 2025) — Late Friday night, three separate groups filed amicus curiae briefs in support of litigation challenging the DOJ’s cuts to key violence prevention programs. On April 25th, the DOJ cut $820 million in funding earmarked for prosecutor groups, defenders, violence prevention organizations, and crime survivor support. In Vera Institute of Justice, et. al. v. United States Department of Justice, et. al., the parties requested a preliminary injunction to halt these cuts.
In filings in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, three separate groups argued the cuts would be catastrophic for the safety of their communities:
- Seventeen states and the District of Columbia filed an amicus brief in support of the preliminary injunction. The brief argues that “[t]he magnitude of the cuts cannot be overstated. [The DOJ] has gutted programs that complement traditional law enforcement efforts, provide services that state and local governments are ill-equipped or unable to provide, and support victims as they recover from the worst days of their lives.” “Defunding programs that police, prosecutors, mental health providers, researchers, victims, and community advocates rely upon does not make Americans safer,” the brief concludes, urging the Court to grant the preliminary injunction and declare the terminations unlawful.
- Twelve community-based public safety subgrantees supported by umbrella organizations with DOJ funding cuts filed an amicus brief urging the Court to grant the preliminary injunction. All named organizations are now facing potential closure and a loss of staff. The subgrantees include Silence is Violence, an organization that provides mental health and counseling services to homicide victims; Justice Information Resource Network (JIRN), a research organization that had to lay off one quarter of its research staff and whose Executive Director took early retirement; Forever Takes a Village, a rural Louisiana organization that serves high-risk youth; The BRidge Agency, which serves high-crime neighborhoods in Baton Rouge but has now furloughed its entire staff; and Beyond Harm, a New Orleans violence intervention program that focuses on men at risk of domestic violence. Attorneys from Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ), Asian Law Caucus, and Forward Justice filed this brief on behalf of these subgrantees. Read the filing here.
- A group of prosecutors and city governments joined together to file an amicus brief, concerned that the DOJ cuts will gut necessary safety programs. Together, they represent 25 jurisdictions across 19 states. The brief notes that the targeted programs are key to reducing violence: community violence intervention programs, for example, have reduced shootings by as much as 60%. Similarly, an impacted organization in Leander, Texas, reduced youth recidivism from 75% to less than 15%. Now, the brief argues, organizations are hamstrung in their ability to “prevent the next incident of violence from happening.”
Plaintiffs are currently awaiting a response from the government, which is due today, June 9th. The parties will appear for a hearing on June 26th. The plaintiffs in the case, which was filed as a class action, include the Vera Institute of Justice, the Center for Children and Youth Justice, Stop AAPI Hate, Force Detroit, and Health Resources in Action as named plaintiffs. The lawsuit seeks relief on behalf of the 200+ organizations directly impacted by the DOJ funding cuts.
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Southern Coalition for Social Justice, founded in 2007, partners with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing, and communications. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.