Litigation

On February 27, 2019, the MacArthur Justice Center obtained a major victory in the U.S. Supreme Court in Garza v. Idaho. In an opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court recognized that a criminal defendant has the constitutional right to an appeal where his defense attorney improperly forfeited it, and that this right...

In Missouri, the Parole Board is running an assembly-line parole process that pushes people back into our prisons without any real legal protections. Every year, the Board revokes parole for 3,000-7,000 individuals without offering anyone an attorney, and apparently without even informing parolees of their right to counsel. In many instances, alleged parole violators are...

Lawsuit against Illinois Department of Corrections on behalf of Anthony Gay who was held in solitary for almost 20 years. The state's action not only compounded his torture, but prolonged it and caused him to take erratic and irrational actions, which included cutting himself hundreds of times and lashing out at guards.

Joey Chandler committed murder in 2003, when he was 17. He is currently in prison in Mississippi, serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole. If any juvenile offender can demonstrate rehabilitation, it is Joey Chandler. His disciplinary record over more than a decade of his incarceration has been virtually spotless. He has availed...

The MacArthur Justice Center and the ACLU of Missouri jointly a federal class action lawsuit challenging the Missouri Department of Corrections' (MDOC) systematic denial of potential life-saving medication to inmates with chronic Hepatitis C (HCV).

The MacArthur Justice Center is pursuing a federal class action challenging the Missouri Parole Board’s demonstrated abuse of power, disregard for due process and failure to comply with state and federal law when it comes to youthful offenders previously given mandatory life without parole sentences.

The MacArthur Justice Center formed a coalition of attorneys, community organizations and individuals to file a historic class action lawsuit seeking federal court oversight of the Chicago Police Department's (CPD) operations on behalf of thousands of individuals, predominately Blacks and Latinx, who have been subjected to the CPD's policy and practice of using excessive force, sometimes in racially discriminatory and brutal ways.

The MacArthur Justice Center is pursuing a federal class action lawsuit against Orleans Magistrate Judge Harry E. Cantrell challenging his practice of setting high bail amounts without any consideration of the person’s ability to pay or alternative no-cost conditions of release. Judge Cantrell also insists on using commercial bond companies (rather than cash), which require a non-reimbursable fee, a portion of which goes to the court’s General Fund – revenue Cantrell and other judges’ control.

The MacArthur Justice Center represented the prisoners at the Orleans Parish Prison against Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman. The suit described the inhumane conditions where prisoners often were subjected to violence, sexual assaults, neglect and the denial of needed mental health services. Litigation began in April 2012; the U.S. Department of Justice intervened in September 2012; and an agreement was reached to address the conditions in December 2012. The MacArthur Justice Center remains involved in the implementation of the consent decree, monitoring reform and progress within the prison.

Strawberry Hampton is a 27-year old transgender woman currently incarcerated within the Illinois Department of Corrections. Ms. Hampton has spent her entire sentence in men’s prisons, where she has survived numerous sexual assaults and received constant harassment and threats. IDOC officials have consistently refused to acknowledge Ms. Hampton’s gender identity and have repeatedly and deliberately placed her in environments detrimental to her physical, mental and emotional health.