Smart Justice
Singleton v. Cannizzaro
The ACLU Trone Center for Justice and Equality, ACLU of Louisiana, and Civil Rights Corps, filed suit against District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, his office in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, and several Assistant District Attorneys for systematically breaking the laws of Louisiana and of the U.S. Constitution.
View Case
Learn About Smart Justice
Featured
Mississippi
Mar 2017
Smart Justice
Prisoners' Rights
Dockery v. Hall
The ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Law Offices of Elizabeth Alexander, and the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP, filed a petition for class certification and expert reports for a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF). The lawsuit, which was filed in May 2013, describes the for-profit prison as hyper-violent, grotesquely filthy and dangerous. EMCF is operated "in a perpetual state of crisis" where prisoners are at "grave risk of death and loss of limbs." The facility, located in Meridian, Mississippi, is supposed to provide intensive treatment to the state's prisoners with serious psychiatric disabilities, many of whom are locked down in long-term solitary confinement.
All Cases
190 Smart Justice Cases
U.S. Supreme Court
Apr 2013
Smart Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Missouri v. McNeely
Whether every person arrested for drunk driving can be forced to submit to a blood test without consent and without a warrant.
Explore case
U.S. Supreme Court
Apr 2013
Smart Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Missouri v. McNeely
Whether every person arrested for drunk driving can be forced to submit to a blood test without consent and without a warrant.
Court Case
Mar 2013
Smart Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Morrow v. City of Tenaha, et al.
Beginning in 2006, under the guise of looking for criminal activity, the police in Tenaha, Texas stopped, searched, and often seized property from Blacks and Latinos traveling through town with no suspicion of criminal activity.
Explore case
Court Case
Mar 2013
Smart Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Morrow v. City of Tenaha, et al.
Beginning in 2006, under the guise of looking for criminal activity, the police in Tenaha, Texas stopped, searched, and often seized property from Blacks and Latinos traveling through town with no suspicion of criminal activity.
U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2013
Smart Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Salinas v. Texas
Whether the Fifth Amendment prohibits the prosecution from commenting at trial on a defendant’s silence when questioned by the police prior to Miranda warnings.
Explore case
U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2013
Smart Justice
Criminal Law Reform
Salinas v. Texas
Whether the Fifth Amendment prohibits the prosecution from commenting at trial on a defendant’s silence when questioned by the police prior to Miranda warnings.
New Jersey
Jan 2013
Smart Justice
Immigrants' Rights
Gayle v. Napolitano
Gayle v. Napolitano is a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of hundreds of immigrants in New Jersey subject to mandatory immigration detention. The lawsuit challenges the federal government's policy of locking up immigrants in deportation proceedings without any chance for release on bail, even when they have strong arguments that they have a right to continue living in the United States.
Explore case
New Jersey
Jan 2013
Smart Justice
Immigrants' Rights
Gayle v. Napolitano
Gayle v. Napolitano is a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of hundreds of immigrants in New Jersey subject to mandatory immigration detention. The lawsuit challenges the federal government's policy of locking up immigrants in deportation proceedings without any chance for release on bail, even when they have strong arguments that they have a right to continue living in the United States.
Court Case
Dec 2012
Smart Justice
Capital Punishment
Petitions Filed Under North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act
On August 3, 2010, five North Carolina death row inmates filed claims under their state's landmark legislation, the Racial Justice Act. The law, which passed in August 2009, requires that courts enter a life sentence for any death row defendant who proves that race was a factor in the imposition of his or her death sentence.
Explore case
Court Case
Dec 2012
Smart Justice
Capital Punishment
Petitions Filed Under North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act
On August 3, 2010, five North Carolina death row inmates filed claims under their state's landmark legislation, the Racial Justice Act. The law, which passed in August 2009, requires that courts enter a life sentence for any death row defendant who proves that race was a factor in the imposition of his or her death sentence.