"... if you can't afford a lawyer one will be appointed to you."

The Miranda ruling may be the most frequently cited legal brief on network TV (TJ Hooker mentioned it nearly every Saturday night in the mid-1980s), it is also one of the greatest distinctions of the American constitutional system of law. The provision effectively means that the indigent poor will have an advocate when negotiating the torturous path of the criminal justice system. In most cases this is a public defender, in some instances a private lawyer will take the case on a pro-bono basis. The LCCR has taken the Miranda ruling and applied it to the field of Civil Rights and their results are tremendous.

Started in 1968 to shore up legal defenses in the Civil Rights Movement's efforts in the South, this non-profit gets first-class private lawyers to advocate on behalf of immigrants, people of color, refugees, women and children in legal battles for their civil rights.

2,350 clients were served by the full time staff of six attorneys, interns and volunteers. One of their greatest victories was the landmark, ruling against the San Francisco Fire Deparment requiring them to abide by affirmative-action rulings on equal opportunity hiring.

In the aftermath of California's voting in favor of Prop 209, and against affirmative-action, in 1996 the LCCR and the ACLU are leading the constitutional challenge to the state initiative. --Stefanie Fried