Peoples' Counsel

Peoples’ Counsel (PC) is a non-profit civil rights organization based in Houston, Texas. We operate from the core belief that every survivor of police violence deserves an advocate, no matter their identity, immigration status, or criminal history. PC’s core mission is to end police abuse by supporting survivors and movement builders in their fight for systemic change. We recognize that abolition and movement lawyering are not just ideas, but practices, and these practices should be reflected in everything that we do.

Since 2022, we have been educating survivors of police violence about their constitutional rights, defending their dignity in court, and connecting them with the resources they need and deserve. Alongside this work, we have been providing technical and legal support to community organizing groups—particularly by Black and Brown people who are most affected by police violence—to achieve systemic change.

We believe that partnership with impacted people is not only a moral imperative, but a strategic necessity, and we’ve seen firsthand that it works. By showing up for movement builders, we have made a measurable impact on municipal policy in Houston--the stronghold of police power. We’re just as effective inside the courtroom. Through sophisticated storytelling and exhaustive doctrinal research, we have convinced courts in Texas time and again to deny qualified immunity to defendant police officers in novel circumstances, and on behalf of people who would have otherwise been silenced. When challenged on appeal, we have won denials of qualified immunity from the notoriously unfavorable Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

At Peoples’ Counsel, we believe:

1. Everyone who has been mistreated by the police deserves support, community, and an opportunity to tell their story.
2. Everyone has the capacity and responsibility to make great change, no matter where they come from or where they work.