Litigation

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Johnson v. Prentice

Advocating for the Rights of the Incarcerated
The district court absolved the Illinois Department of Corrections from accountability in their negligent and abhorrent treatment of Michael Johnson, who spent 24 hours a day locked in a hermetically sealed box approximately the size of a parking space and was denied virtually all out-of-cell time for nearly three years. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting alongside incarcerated people like Mr. Johnson, who are subjected to long-term solitary confinement – a cruel and unusual punishment that violates incarcerated people’s Eighth Amendment right.

Ongoing

Strizich v. Palmer

Advocating for the Rights of the Incarcerated
After a correctional officer filed a retaliatory false report against Jory Strizich that placed him in solitary confinement for eight months, Mr. Strizich attempted to get relief but was unable to access the prison’s convoluted grievance process. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting for prisoners like Mr. Strizich, who are prevented from getting their day in court because of erroneous interpretations of the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s exhaustion provision.

Decided

Clark v. Smith et al.

Advocating for the Rights of the Incarcerated
The district court prevented Reginald Clark from holding several prison officials accountable for their profound neglect of his medical emergency, despite evidence that their inaction resulted in permanent injury. The MacArthur Justice is advocating for prisoners like Mr. Clark, whose serious medical needs are systematically categorized as non-emergencies and disregarded by the lower courts, ensuring their inability to hold prison officials accountable for their neglect.

Ongoing

Roe v. Precythe

Advocating for the Rights of the Incarcerated
As punishment for being HIV positive while in a Missouri prison, Jane Roe was placed in solitary confinement for over six years with no way to challenge her confinement, engendering multiple attempts to take her own life. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting back against the torturous usage of solitary confinement for prolonged periods, particularly when it's justified by discriminatory, unconstitutional policies that unfairly penalize people like Ms. Roe.

Ongoing

Ellis et al. v. Werfel

Advocating for the Rights of the Incarcerated
After four prisoners filed a joint lawsuit, the district court erroneously dismissed three of the prisoners’ complaints based on the false assertion that the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) categorically bars prisoners from joining together in one lawsuit. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting to correct that atextual interpretation of the PLRA and ensure prisoners, an already marginalized group, can split a single filing fee, pool their legal knowledge, and share resources – critical abilities to ensure access to the courts.

Ongoing

People v. Adamowicz

Prosecutorial Discretion
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.

Ongoing

Showers v. Rodgers

Advocating for the Rights of the Incarcerated
When Russell Showers attempted to vindicate his rights after experiencing over five years of chronic and debilitating pain due to inadequate and delayed treatment, the district court shut the courthouse doors based on an erroneous interpretation of the Prison Litigation Reform Act’s exhaustion provision. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting to ensure that courts give a fair shake to meritorious claims made by incarcerated people, like Mr. Showers, who represent themselves.

Ongoing

JXN UNDIVIDED Coalition et al. v. Tindell and Luckey

Right to Protest
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.

Ongoing

Woods v. Fluharty et al.

Advocating for the Rights of the Incarcerated
When Darrell Woods filed a lawsuit against corrections officers based on their retaliatory conduct against him, he was denied in forma pauperis status due to the three-strikes rule in the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), effectively shutting him out of court. The MacArthur Justice Center is fighting to ensure that the PLRA is not weaponized to deny incarcerated people, like Mr. Woods, access to the courts to vindicate their rights simply because they cannot afford it.

Ongoing

Tubbs v. Payton

Advocating for the Rights of the Incarcerated
Prison officials prevented Danyale Tubbs from accessing a rehabilitative self-help book authored by his sister because of a sweeping, unreasonable application of a prison censorship policy. MJC is fighting to ensure sweeping prison policies do not violate prisoners’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to receive reading materials that are not harmful or threatening.