Ida B. Wells, 1892
“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”
She wrote that after a mob destroyed her newspaper office in this city. Truth alone doesn't change a jail or a police department. Someone has to put the facts in front of a judge.
Mockingbird is a nonprofit clinic for people who can't pay a lawyer.
Thandiwe Ellerbe
Director and managing attorney
What happened to you?
How the clinic works
We don't take many cases. We take them all the way.
A case against a city, a jail or an agency can run for years. We say yes only when we can see one through, and we say no early and plainly so you can look for help elsewhere.
Who we help
- People on low or modest incomes in Memphis and Shelby County
- People harmed by police, jails, public offices and businesses open to the public
- People who asked for a fix and were ignored, or who were afraid to ask
What it costs
Our work is free to clients who qualify. Court filing fees, records and expert reports can add costs of their own. We ask courts to waive what they can, and we tell you in writing before you owe anything.
Before you decide anything
What to expect from us
Nothing
What a client who qualifies pays us for our workCourt costs are separate, and we ask for waivers
4 questions
In the check, about two minutesNo account, no documents
Days
How short some deadlines for claims against a city can beAsk early, even if you're unsure
4 areas
Of civil rights work we take, and nothing elseWe point you elsewhere for the rest
Deadlines depend on the claim and on who is being sued, so check yours with us as soon as you can. Our work is free to clients who qualify; court filing and records costs are separate.
Where we can help
What we take, and what we send elsewhere
If your problem is outside these four, we'll say so on the first call and point you to someone who can help.
Police misconduct
Force that wasn't needed, an arrest with no reason, a search without cause, or payback for filming an officer.
Police casesDiscrimination
A public office or a business open to the public that treats people worse because of race, faith, sex, origin or age.
Discrimination casesDisability access
A building, program, court or website that locks out people with disabilities and won't change.
Access casesJails and prisons
Medical care, safety, discipline and basic contact for people held in a jail or prison.
Jail and prison cases
Our neighbors
Who comes through our door
Tenants and parents, workers and retirees, people who use wheelchairs, people who have spent time in jail.
Tell us what happened. We'll tell you what we can do.
Four questions, no account, nothing to sign. If we can't help, we'll say who might.