Privacy Policy

(Last revision date: March 26, 2022)

Overview

The University of Michigan (U-M) privacy statement recognizes the value of privacy of the university community members and its guests. This unit-level privacy notice provides more specific information on how the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse collects and processes your personal information.

Scope

This is the website of the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, at the University of Michigan Law School. We can be reached at:

Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
University of Michigan Law School
625 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1210
http://clearinghouse.net
info@clearinghouse.net

What follows describes the policies and practices of the Clearinghouse with regard to the collection and use of personal information from users of www.clearinghouse.net, and Clearinghouse update subscribers. Throughout this page, the terms "we," "us," and "our" are meant to include Clearinghouse faculty, staff, and students.

Note: The documents posted on the Clearinghouse are public documents, obtained from public sources — usually, the courts in which those documents were filed. These documents are available to any member of the public who goes to the trouble to find them and other sites may well post them, too. They are not the subject of this privacy policy.

How we collect information

We collect personal information in the following circumstances:

  • Direct Collection: when you enter personal information in order to create an account on our website.
  • Automated Processes: when you log into your account and browse the website.
  • Third-Party Collection: when third-party providers capture personal information through technology, such as a cookie, on our behalf. A cookie is a small text file that is provided by a website, stored in a web browser, and downloaded to your device when you visit the website.

What type of information we collect

Direct Collection

We directly collect the following personal information:

  • Account information, such as username, password, and email address, when you register on our website.
  • If you choose to provide it, additional personal information, such as name, organization, profession, state, and interests, when you update your profile on our website.
  • Information, comments, and questions you submit through our website.

Automated Collection

During your visit to clearinghouse.net, we automatically collect and store certain information about your visit, which includes:

  • Logging information, such as your username, the last IP address you logged in from, and the last time you logged in to the website.
  • Session information, such as session length, pages visited, files downloaded, based on the IP address of your computer.

Third-Party Collection

We partner with third-party providers—in particular with Google Analytics—to automatically collect and store certain information about your visit. The information includes:

  • The internet domain from which you are accessing the website.
  • The IP address assigned to your computer
  • The type of browser you are using.
  • The date and time of the visit.
  • The address of the website from which you have linked to clearinghouse.net.
  • Content viewed during the visit.
  • The amount of time spent on the website.

How we use the information

We use the personal information we collect to:

  • Operate the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse: We use your account information to ensure secure access to our service
  • Stay in contact with you: We use your email address to respond to any inquiries you may submit, to let you know if there are any site problems, and to send you updates if you have authorized them.
  • Maintain website performance and usability: We collect and use information about user visits to allow us to monitor website performance, make improvements to site navigation and content, and better serve our visitors.

With whom this information is shared

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We may, however, share your personal information in limited circumstances, such as:

  • Sharing aggregate information about our audience (e.g. demographics, interests, website usage) with donors, partners, website users, or other interested parties. Please note that shared aggregate information cannot be used to identify you.
  • Sharing individual-identifying personal information with service providers or other organizations we contract with to fulfill services on our behalf (e.g. delivering email or mail). We require these service providers to keep your personal information secure, and do not allow them to use or share your personal information for any purpose other than providing services on our behalf.
  • We may also share your personal information when required by law, or when we believe sharing will help to protect the safety, property, or rights of the university, members of the university community, and university guests.

What choices you can make about your information

Direct Collection

Account Information: You may update your account information by going to the account page on our website. If you wish to delete your account, you may email us a request and we will do so.

Update Preferences:You can change email and communication preferences by clicking on the Unsubscribe or Subscribe link at the bottom of any email from us, or by checking or unchecking the relevant boxes on the account page

 

Automated Collection: Cookies

We use “cookies'' to enhance your user experience when visiting our site. Cookies are files that store your preferences and other information about your visit to our website. When you access our website, the following cookies may be placed on your computer or device, depending on your web browser settings:

 

Cookie Type

Purpose

Opt-Out

Session cookie

Session cookies are used to track your page requests after logging in. They allow you to proceed through different pages on our website without having to authenticate for each new area you visit.

You can adjust your session cookies through your browser settings.

 

Automated Collection: Social Media Plugins

Our site uses social media sharing buttons. Social media platforms use cookies or other tracking technologies when a button is embedded on our website. We do not have access to, or control of, any information collected through these buttons. The social media platforms are responsible for how they use your information. For specific privacy controls on how these buttons track how users access our website, see the cookies policies of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn.

How information is secured

The University of Michigan recognizes the importance of maintaining the security of the information it collects and maintains, and we endeavor to protect information from unauthorized access and damage using reasonable security measures, including physical, administrative, and technical safeguards. 

In particular, your (non-temporary) password is encrypted and nobody at the Clearinghouse has access to it. In addition, your search history is not saved unless you use the site's "bookmark" functionality. And your personal bookmarks are not routinely accessible to Clearinghouse staff. (Because bookmarks are stored in a database, the Clearinghouse's web developers can look them up, but we have made them otherwise inaccessible to staff.)

Privacy Notice Changes

This privacy notice may be updated from time to time. We will post the date our notice was last updated at the top of this privacy notice.

Whom to contact with questions or concerns

If you have any concerns or questions about how your personal data is used, please contact us at info@clearinghouse.net.

Notice specific to persons within the European Union

Please click here for notice specific to persons within the European Union.