Louisiana

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Jail and Prison Conditions

Rights of Protesters

Key Cases

Nelson v. Constant

Unlawful Fees and Fines

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.
Caliste v. Cantrell

Cash Bail

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.
Alton Sterling Protesters

Rights of Protesters

The MacArthur Justice Center represents fourteen Baton Rouge area residents who were arrested during the protests following the murder of Alton Sterling by police. The suit alleges violations of their constitutional rights, physical injury and denial of necessary medical treatment while in jail; all experience ongoing trauma as a result of their unlawful arrest and brutal treatment by law enforcement officer
Jordan v. Hall

Death Penalty

The MacArthur Justice's civil rights lawsuit seeks an order to stop Mississippi from using a series of three drugs which raise a significant risk of torture in the course of executions. We contend that Mississippi’s refusal to join the majority of executing states in abandoning the three-drug protocol in favor of a single, overwhelming dose of a barbiturate is contrary to the Eighth Amendment.

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