Civil & Constitutional Rights

Kathleen Behan is an experienced constitutional and civil rights litigator.
Ms. Behan began her career as National Security Litigation Counsel to the American Civil Liberties Union, and has continued to work on numerous constitutional law matters over the course of her career. Ms. Behan has worked upon a number of First Amendment cases, including on behalf of individuals and the media. She also has counseled clients and litigated defamation matters.

Ms. Behan has worked on numerous matters involving the right to counsel, including as lead counsel in Quitman County v. Mississippi, a case challenging Mississippi’s refusal to fund indigent defense under the Mississippi Constitution. Her work in that case was featured on the cover of the American Lawyer.
Ms. Behan also represented Global Rights as Amicus Curiae in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, involving human rights and the rule of law. Ms. Behan has sued a number of governmental entities and actors, including in the State of Georgia, Maryland, Prince Georges County and the District of Columbia, for the use of
excessive force.

Ms. Behan served as lead Amicus Curiae counsel to the National Disability Rights Network in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Goodman v. Georgia, involving the provision of health care in prisons, and she was lead counsel for a class of mentally ill inmates who successfully sued and negotiated a settlement with the State of Louisiana and Angola prison to provide constitutionally adequate mental health services to inmates. Ms. Behan also sued the Federal Government and WMATA on behalf of visually impaired transit riders, and the State Department on behalf of an HIV positive individual, in actions that resulted in federal settlements to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

910 17th St. N.W. Ste. 800 Washington, DC 20006 Office: (202) 223-9005 Cell: (202) 531-4382 Fax:1-202-354-5226