Litigation

In Ramos v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court ruled that non-unanimous convictions for serious offenses violated the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. Edwards v. Vannoy presents the question whether that holding applies retroactively to cases on federal habeas review. We filed an amici brief on behalf of the MacArthur Justice Center and Phillips Black, Inc. to...

The MacArthur Justice Center has filed a federal class action contending that the City of Gretna over-enforces traffic regulations and excessively charges nonviolent misdemeanor offenses to fund the Court and City’s budget and that the Mayor’s Court is fundamentally tainted by conflict of interest.

Proceeding without counsel, Ms. Balsewicz filed an action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, alleging that the sergeant violated her Eighth Amendment right to freedom from cruel and unusual punishment by failing to protect her from a substantial risk of serious harm. The district...

  Mr. Jones was in his own apartment building when a group of NYPD officers attempted to arrest him for a suspected drug transaction.     In response to Mr. Jones’s slightest resistance—insisting on an explanation for his arrest—the officers used an escalating battery of force: from a nightstick, to pepper spray, to shooting Taser...

The lawsuit states that the City’s history of unlawful refusals became more widespread following the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent citywide protests over police brutality and racism.

On December 28, 2017, 28-year-old Andrew Thomas Finch, a father of two, was shot and killed on his front porch by Wichita police. Andrew was unarmed. The police were at his house because of a 911 call that turned out to be a prank. Officer Justin Rapp shot and killed Andrew less than 10 seconds...

Alan Beaman spent over a decade in prison after being wrongfully convicted of the 1993 murder of his ex-girlfriend. The MacArthur Justice Center represents Mr. Beaman in his lawsuit against the City of Normal and the three former Normal police officers who orchestrated the wrongful conviction.

A coalition of Wisconsin voters and organizations that work to mobilize Wisconsin voters sued state election officials for violating federal laws that protect the right to vote. The suit asks the court to remedy Wisconsin’s failure to implement measures to ensure that all Wisconsin voters will be able to freely and safely participate in the...

A transgender woman currently housed at Danville Correctional Facility, a medium security men’s prison, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) after being repeatedly subjected to sexual harassment and assault by both prisoners and IDOC staff. The complaint has been filed anonymously under the name “Tay Tay,” at the request...

An emergency class action lawsuit has been against Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart, asking for the immediate release of medically vulnerable people in the Cook County Jail in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.