In 2023, public reporting revealed that a group of sheriff’s deputies in Rankin County, Mississippi, had been terrorizing the County’s residents for nearly two decades. The deputies, who called themselves the “Goon Squad,” used torture, violence, and other abusive practices to coerce confessions and extract or manufacture evidence. The Rankin County District Attorney’s Office (RCDAO), in turn, used the Goon Squad to prosecute people. Seeking to understand whether the RCDAO has taken any actions to address the Goon Squad’s misconduct since it became public, the ACLU of Mississippi and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a public records request with the RCDAO. But the RCDAO refused to produce any documents other than a self-serving press statement. Accordingly, the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, along with the ACLU of Mississippi and the Center for Constitutional Rights, filed suit arguing that the RCDAO’s failure to produce responsive records violates the Mississippi Public Records Act.

This case asks whether the stop, search, and arrest of an individual after a traffic stop was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. The case arises from a remarkable set of facts: although motivated by a desire to search Mr. Arias’s car for drugs, the police initiated the stop based on a day-old alleged traffic infraction and then arrested Mr. Arias for allegedly neglecting to stop his car immediately when the police initiated the stop. The ACLU joined an amicus brief authored by the ACLU of Massachusetts and the law firm Proskauer Rose, which argues that the police actions in this case were unconstitutional for three reasons. First, pretextual traffic stops, such as this one, violate the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. Second, arrests for misdemeanors not involving breaches of the peace also violate the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. Third, the statute prohibiting drivers from neglecting to stop is unconstitutionally vague as applied to this case.

This case is about whether people unlawfully incarcerated beyond their mandatory transfer dates under the First Step Act can file habeas corpus petitions seeking their release from prison onto prerelease custody in the community.

For more than two decades, criminal defendants in Massachusetts have experienced a recurring counsel crisis, with defendants periodically going unrepresented due to low attorney compensation rates. Despite many opportunities, the Legislature has failed to raise rates high enough to remedy the constitutional violation. At present, the compensation rate for district court cases is $75 per hour. Consequently, in a case brought by the Committee for Public Counsel Services—the Massachusetts public defender agency—the ACLU of Massachusetts and the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative filed an amicus brief urging the Court to hold that the statute setting attorney compensation rates is unconstitutional. This case has important implications for the right to counsel and access to justice in Massachusetts.