DC demands more now, no statehood required.
700,000 Americans.
Governed by a Congress
We Can't Vote For.
It shows.
More than 700,000 Americans live in Washington, DC. We raise families, start businesses, and build communities. But not on our own terms.
When Congress blocked our budget and stripped a billion dollars of our own tax revenue, it's not an abstraction. It's why your kids' class size got bigger. It's why 911 calls go to voicemail. It's why the pothole on your block isn't fixed. And what do we get in return? The National Guard in our streets and a federal takeover of our police.
Statehood remains essential. But change doesn't have to wait.
What We Do
Three pillars of change
Litigation, scholarship, and strategic advocacy to advance constitutional equality for DC residents.
Impact Litigation
Developing test cases and legal strategies to bring constitutional challenges before the courts, creating precedent that expands democratic rights for District residents.
Public Advocacy
Educating the public, building coalitions, and engaging lawmakers to transform the legal landscape for DC citizens, driving the constitutional case for representation and equal citizenship.
Legal Scholarship
Reexamining the scope and limits of Congressional authority over the District and advancing frameworks that distinguish legitimate federal oversight from unconstitutional municipal overreach.
About Us
A legal lab for
constitutional change
Capital Rights Lab is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to expanding democratic rights for DC residents. We advance new legal theories, litigation models, and policy reforms to identify how to most effectively expand access to representation and equal citizenship. Our work is building the legal case for expanded rights for DC citizens today, not waiting for Congress to act.
David founded Capital Rights Lab after more than a decade in law and politics in DC — as a policy advisor in the Obama White House, campaign counsel on the Biden and Harris presidential campaigns, and as a litigator at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. He holds a J.D. from Georgetown Law and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.