Washington, DC – Last week, Muslim Advocates secured an important legal victory in its ongoing  lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).  After years of demanding that the LAPD disclose information regarding its 2007 “community mapping” program – which was designed to target Muslim neighborhoods and institutions – a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that the LAPD’s prior efforts to turn over responsive information was insufficient. The Court also ordered the LAPD  to search for and turn over additional documents.  

The LAPD’s community mapping program was discontinued in 2007, after public pressure from community groups. In 2013, Muslim Advocates filed a lawsuit in California state court pursuant to the California Public Records Act, seeking documentation about how the program was proposed and enacted.  As a result of last week’s ruling, the LAPD will be required to conduct additional searches and produce additional documents that are responsive to Muslim Advocates’ initial request.

“The court’s order makes clear that the LAPD’s prior efforts to respond to our public records requests were woefully insufficient,” said Juvaria Khan, staff attorney at Muslim Advocates.  “This win, after years of persistence, is vital to understanding precisely what motivated the LAPD to enact such a bigoted and discriminatory program and how American Muslims throughout Los Angeles were impacted.”

Muslim Advocates is represented by the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in this matter.

Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization that works on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths.

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