American Civil Liberties Union : Criminal Justice

Our constitution is meant to safeguard against government abuses of power. But all too often, the rights of those involved in the criminal justice system are compromised or ignored. The ACLU works to reform the criminal justice system and make the promise of fair treatment a reality for all people. >> More about the ACLU's Criminal Justice work.

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Supreme Court Strikes Michigan Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Michigan law denying legal representation to poor people in a criminal appeal is unconstitutional. The ACLU of Michigan filed the one of a kind case after the law was passed in 1999.

Under the law, an indigent criminal defendant who wished to challenge his sentence after pleading guilty was generally not entitled to appointed counsel, even for a first appeal. Michigan was the only state in the country that denied appointed counsel under these circumstances. Read more >>

Ensuring Young People's Access to Counsel in Ohio
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, ACLU National, The Children’s Law Center and the Ohio Public Defender’s Office filed a petition with the Ohio Supreme Court on March 9 calling for the court to protect children’s right to counsel when they are accused of a crime. Read more >>

Montana's Defense Bill Leads Trend
The ACLU applauds the Montana Legislature's passage of ground breaking public defender legislation that creates a new state wide office and guarantees constitutional rights to all Montanans, not just those who can afford to pay lawyers. Read more >>

	The Trials of Darryl Hunt ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Reggie Shuford talks with Darryl Hunt, left, and Mark Rabil about Darryl Hunt's wrongful conviction. His case brings up questions of cross-racial eyewitness identification, prosecutorial misconduct, inexperienced defense attorneys and racial bias in death penalty cases. Learn more >> MP3 \| Podcast
Day of Darryl Hunt's Exoneration Feb 2004