Criminal Law Reform
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Arizona
Oct 2023
Criminal Law Reform
Racial Justice
Fund for Empowerment v. Phoenix, City of
Fund for Empowerment is a challenge to the City of Phoenix’s practice of conducting sweeps of encampments without notice, issuing citations to unsheltered people for camping and sleeping on public property when they have no place else to go, and confiscating and destroying their property without notice or process.
U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2023
Criminal Law Reform
McElrath v. Georgia
Does the Double Jeopardy Clause bar an appellate court from reviewing and setting aside a jury’s verdicts of acquittal on the ground that the verdict is inconsistent with the jury’s verdict on other charges?
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2023
Criminal Law Reform
Pulsifer v. United States
This case involves the interpretation of a federal law that allows defendants to avoid mandatory minimum sentences for certain nonviolent drug crimes, allowing judges to impose sentences tailored to their individual circumstances.
Texas
Jul 2021
Criminal Law Reform
Prisoners' Rights
Sanchez et al v. Dallas County Sheriff et al
Decarceration has always been an emergency, a life and death proposition, but COVID-19 makes this effort intensely urgent. The ºìÐÓÊÓƵ has been working with our partners to litigate for the rights of those who are incarcerated and cannot protect themselves because of the policies of the institutions in which they are jailed.
All Cases
150 Criminal Law Reform Cases
South Carolina
Oct 2019
Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
Bairefoot v. City of Beaufort et al
In South Carolina’s municipal courts today, defendants are prosecuted, convicted, and jailed without ever having a lawyer appointed to their case or even being advised of their right to counsel. Hundreds of these defendants who were deprived of counsel—including Tina Bairefoot, Dae’Quandrea Nelson, and Nathan Fox—have been and are incarcerated in local jails and state prisons every year. Cities and towns can decide whether they have municipal courts—they are optional—but if they decide to have them they must follow the Constitution, which includes the right to counsel.
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South Carolina
Oct 2019
Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
Bairefoot v. City of Beaufort et al
In South Carolina’s municipal courts today, defendants are prosecuted, convicted, and jailed without ever having a lawyer appointed to their case or even being advised of their right to counsel. Hundreds of these defendants who were deprived of counsel—including Tina Bairefoot, Dae’Quandrea Nelson, and Nathan Fox—have been and are incarcerated in local jails and state prisons every year. Cities and towns can decide whether they have municipal courts—they are optional—but if they decide to have them they must follow the Constitution, which includes the right to counsel.
U.S. Supreme Court
Oct 2019
Criminal Law Reform
Torres v. Madrid
Whether the Fourth Amendment applies to a police officer's intentional use of physical force against a fleeing person, if that use of force does not succeed in terminating her movement.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Oct 2019
Criminal Law Reform
Torres v. Madrid
Whether the Fourth Amendment applies to a police officer's intentional use of physical force against a fleeing person, if that use of force does not succeed in terminating her movement.
Court Case
Oct 2019
Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
Ross V. Blount
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U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2019
Criminal Law Reform
Ramos v. Louisiana
Whether the Fourteenth Amendment fully incorporates the Sixth Amendment guarantee of an unanimous verdict in a criminal case.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2019
Criminal Law Reform
Ramos v. Louisiana
Whether the Fourteenth Amendment fully incorporates the Sixth Amendment guarantee of an unanimous verdict in a criminal case.
U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2019
Criminal Law Reform
Kahler v. Kansas
The ºìÐÓÊÓƵ and the ºìÐÓÊÓƵ of Kansas filed an amicus brief in Kahler v. Kansas, calling on the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the Kansas Supreme Court's decision abolishing the state's insanity defense.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2019
Criminal Law Reform
Kahler v. Kansas
The ºìÐÓÊÓƵ and the ºìÐÓÊÓƵ of Kansas filed an amicus brief in Kahler v. Kansas, calling on the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the Kansas Supreme Court's decision abolishing the state's insanity defense.