Litigation

Can a police officer who frames an innocent person be held accountable in court? Before the MacArthur Justice Center won the landmark Supreme Court decision in Thompson v. Clark, the answer across most of the country was no: Once the innocent person got the false charges against them dismissed, the police officer who fabricated or falsified evidence against them was immune from a civil lawsuit. We took that issue all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won.

The State of Florida sentenced Sadik Baxter, at the age of 26, to spend the rest of his life in prison without possibility of parole for an accidental death that he did not cause, intend, or play any role in bringing about. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting alongside Mr. Baxter to bring an end to extreme sentences for felony murder that are wildly out of proportion to the person’s culpability.

The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting alongside Wayne Washington, who spent 14 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, to ensure that Illinois courts upholds the intent and purpose of the certificate of innocence statute to remove barriers that prevent innocent people from clearing their names and getting relief.

When Alex Adamowicz challenged his life-without-parole sentence he received as a struggling 21-year-old, arguing that it violated the Michigan Constitution’s ban on cruel or unusual punishment, the Court of Appeals chastised him for even attempting. Joining Mr. Adamowicz’s fight as amici, the MacArthur Justice Center is urging states with expansive Eighth Amendment analogues, like Michigan, to lead the charge in ensuring humane sentencing for youth and for all that offers meaningful opportunities for rehabilitation and release.

S.B. 2343 makes peaceful protests on public sidewalks and streets next to state government buildings in Jackson, Mississippi, illegal without receiving prior written permission from one of two government officials – a clear violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting alongside communities to ensure the right to peacefully gather and protest is preserved as a democratic pillar and constitutional right.

Years after Erma Wilson was convicted and served an eight-year suspended sentence, Midland County, Texas, revealed that a member of the team that prosecuted Ms. Wilson was simultaneously employed by the judge who presided over her criminal trial – a blatantly unconstitutional dual employment. Because her sentence had long expired, Ms. Wilson couldn’t challenge her...

Michael Politte was only 14 years old when police investigators targeted him hours after his mother’s murder as the primary suspect, leading to him being falsely charged, convicted, and imprisoned for over 20 years. The MacArthur Justice Center is dedicated to litigating innocence claims for defendants like Michael, who lose huge swaths of their lives to wrongful convictions.

When Sonjia Mack arrived at the High Desert State Prison in Nevada to visit her boyfriend, corrections officers escorted her to an administrative building where they ordered her to remove all of her clothing and strip-searched her. The officers never told her that she could refuse the strip search and leave the facility. Although nothing...

The Chicago Police Department's continued use of untrustworthy data from ShotSpotter, a surveillance technology placed in predominantly Black and Hispanic communities in Chicago, led to multiple instances of wrongful detainment and unfounded charges. MJC's class action lawsuit takes the City of Chicago to task for its continued usage of a technology that garners discriminatory policing practices.

Emiliano Flores-González was sentenced to four years in prison for a non-violent gun possession crime – an entirely outsized sentence that was rooted largely in negative stereotypes about Mr. Flores-González’s home of Puerto Rico. The MacArthur Justice Center is advocating for the end of disproportionate, harsh sentencing imposed particularly on marginalized communities.