Media

We welcome the fulfillment of President Biden’s promise to commute the death sentences of 37 people on federal death row. The federal death penalty – just like state capital punishment systems – is racist, error-prone, drains public resources, and does not deter crime or make our communities safer. We encourage President Biden to finish the...

Jefferson City, MO —Today, Lambda Legal, the MacArthur Justice Center, and law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon announced a settlement in Monroe, Administratrix of the Estate of Honesty Bishop v. Foley, et. al., a federal lawsuit alleging that a discriminatory Missouri Department of Corrections’ (“MODOC”) policy resulted in the prolonged use of solitary confinement against...

CHICAGO, IL —Today, a settlement was reached in a long-running lawsuit that challenged the City of Chicago’s use of ShotSpotter for violating people’s constitutional and civil rights. As part of the settlement, the City agreed that a ShotSpotter alert does not give police justification to stop or pat down a person who happens to be...

Seasoned Litigator and Nonprofit Executive to Lead the 40-Year-Old Organization’s Next Chapter as its Third Executive Director Chicago, IL — The MacArthur Justice Center (MJC), a national, nonprofit law firm devoted to combatting and redressing injustices in the criminal legal system, is pleased to announce the appointment of David Shapiro as its next Executive Director,...

ST. LOUIS — The MacArthur Justice Center has filed a case on behalf of individuals housed in Algoa Correctional Center in Missouri – a nearly 100-year-old prison without air conditioning – ahead of another historically hot summer where the heat index is predicted to rise up to 100-120 degrees, asserting the excessive heat prisoners are...

ST. LOUIS — Citing a violation of the First Amendment, the First Amendment Clinic at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, with the support of Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center, has filed suit to overturn a de facto book ban in Missouri prisons. In late 2023, the Missouri Department of Corrections (MoDOC)...

Class of local nonprofit and government fellows embarks on interdisciplinary leadership development program in service of effective governance CHICAGO, IL — The University of Chicago Center for Effective Government (CEG) at the Harris School of Public Policy today announced its 2025 class of Civic Leadership Academy (CLA) fellows—some of the area’s most promising government and...

NEW ORLEANS — Raymond Scott, an unhoused New Orleans resident, has now alleged class-wide allegations in his complaint against the Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the Louisiana Department of Transportation. The lawsuit seeks to prevent these state entities from evicting unhoused residents and seizing their property without constitutional protections...

On December 6, Marcus Mitchell, a Navajo tribal member who was subjected to excessive violence while peacefully protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline in January 2017, filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The MacArthur Justice Center is representing Mr. Mitchell in this lawsuit. This is the second time Mr....

NEW ORLEANS — Today, the Orleans Civil District Court delivered a significant win to the unhoused community in New Orleans, granting a preliminary injunction preventing the Louisiana State Police and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries from removing, evicting, displacing — also known as “sweeping” — encampments without constitutional protections. The order also stops the...

ST. LOUIS – On Wednesday, October 2, 2024, Washington University School of Law will host “When Innocence Isn’t Enough”, a panel event recognizing the 11th International Wrongful Conviction Day. International Wrongful Conviction Day is a day to raise awareness of the causes of and remedies for wrongful conviction and to recognize the tremendous personal, social,...