Smart Justice
Singleton v. Cannizzaro
The ºìÐÓÊÓƵ Trone Center for Justice and Equality, ºìÐÓÊÓƵ of Louisiana, and Civil Rights Corps, filed suit against District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, his office in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, and several Assistant District Attorneys for systematically breaking the laws of Louisiana and of the U.S. Constitution.
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Mississippi
Mar 2017
Smart Justice
Prisoners' Rights
Dockery v. Hall
The ºìÐÓÊÓƵ, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Law Offices of Elizabeth Alexander, and the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, filed a petition for class certification and expert reports for a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF). The lawsuit, which was filed in May 2013, describes the for-profit prison as hyper-violent, grotesquely filthy and dangerous. EMCF is operated "in a perpetual state of crisis" where prisoners are at "grave risk of death and loss of limbs." The facility, located in Meridian, Mississippi, is supposed to provide intensive treatment to the state's prisoners with serious psychiatric disabilities, many of whom are locked down in long-term solitary confinement.
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190 Smart Justice Cases
Texas
Apr 2011
Smart Justice
Capital Punishment
Estrada v. The State of Texas
Jurors in Estrada's 2007 sentencing trial were incorrectly told by a State's prison expert that if Estrada were given a sentence of life without parole instead of the death penalty, he could be eligible for a classification level that would allow him to leave the prison grounds after 10 years of imprisonment. Two juror notes strongly suggested that the expert's false testimony led to their decision to sentence Estrada to death. Prosecutors' use of false and misleading evidence is a leading cause of wrongful death sentences in Texas and nationwide.
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Texas
Apr 2011
Smart Justice
Capital Punishment
Estrada v. The State of Texas
Jurors in Estrada's 2007 sentencing trial were incorrectly told by a State's prison expert that if Estrada were given a sentence of life without parole instead of the death penalty, he could be eligible for a classification level that would allow him to leave the prison grounds after 10 years of imprisonment. Two juror notes strongly suggested that the expert's false testimony led to their decision to sentence Estrada to death. Prosecutors' use of false and misleading evidence is a leading cause of wrongful death sentences in Texas and nationwide.
U.S. Supreme Court
Apr 2011
Smart Justice
National Security
Jalatzai v. Gates and Wahid v. Gates
In February 2010, the ºìÐÓÊÓƵ filed two habeas corpus petitions challenging the illegal detention of four men who have been held — some for nearly two years — at the notorious Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The men — who have never engaged in hostilities against the United States and are not members of groups that have engaged in hostilities against the United States — have never been told why they are being detained, been permitted to speak with a lawyer, or given a meaningful opportunity to challenge their detention before a court or a fair and impartial administrative board.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Apr 2011
Smart Justice
National Security
Jalatzai v. Gates and Wahid v. Gates
In February 2010, the ºìÐÓÊÓƵ filed two habeas corpus petitions challenging the illegal detention of four men who have been held — some for nearly two years — at the notorious Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The men — who have never engaged in hostilities against the United States and are not members of groups that have engaged in hostilities against the United States — have never been told why they are being detained, been permitted to speak with a lawyer, or given a meaningful opportunity to challenge their detention before a court or a fair and impartial administrative board.
U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2011
Smart Justice
+2 Issues
Casey A., et al. v. Robles, et al.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2011
Smart Justice
+2 Issues
Casey A., et al. v. Robles, et al.
U.S. Supreme Court
Jan 2011
Smart Justice
Prisoners' Rights
Turner v. Rogers
Whether an indigent parent facing imprisonment for failure to pay child support is entitled to appointed counsel?
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jan 2011
Smart Justice
Prisoners' Rights
Turner v. Rogers
Whether an indigent parent facing imprisonment for failure to pay child support is entitled to appointed counsel?
Court Case
Dec 2010
Smart Justice
+2 Issues
ºìÐÓÊÓƵ comments to European Court of Human Rights in Babar Ahmad and Others v. The United Kingdom
Conditions of confinement in a US "supermax" prison
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Court Case
Dec 2010
Smart Justice
+2 Issues
ºìÐÓÊÓƵ comments to European Court of Human Rights in Babar Ahmad and Others v. The United Kingdom
Conditions of confinement in a US "supermax" prison