Race and Criminal Justice
Fund for Empowerment v. Phoenix, City of
Fund for Empowerment is a challenge to the City of Phoenix’s practice of conducting sweeps of encampments without notice, issuing citations to unsheltered people for camping and sleeping on public property when they have no place else to go, and confiscating and destroying their property without notice or process.
Status: Ongoing
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Jun 2020
![Defy Ventures, Inc. v. Small Business Administration](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Defy Ventures, Inc. v. Small Business Administration
Suing the Trump administration to lift its unlawful exclusion of businesses owned by people with criminal records from being eligible for Paycheck Protection Act funds
Status: Ongoing
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All Cases
17 Race and Criminal Justice Cases
Montana
Nov 2020
![Mimi and Ana Suda](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/web19-mimianasuda-1160x768-600x397.jpg)
Suda v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Montana filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two American citizens detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for speaking Spanish while shopping at a local convenience store in Havre, Montana.
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![Mimi and Ana Suda](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/web19-mimianasuda-1160x768-600x397.jpg)
Montana
Race and Criminal Justice
Racial Justice
Suda v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Montana filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two American citizens detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for speaking Spanish while shopping at a local convenience store in Havre, Montana.
Nov 2020
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U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2019
![Smith v. California 18-7094](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Smith v. California 18-7094
Whether the Supreme Court should grant certiorari to prevent courts from allowing prosecutors to use prospective jurors’ opinions about the O.J. Simpson trial or other potential racial proxies as “race-neutral” explanations for striking black jurors without further inquiry.
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![Smith v. California 18-7094](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
U.S. Supreme Court
Race and Criminal Justice
Racial Justice
Smith v. California 18-7094
Whether the Supreme Court should grant certiorari to prevent courts from allowing prosecutors to use prospective jurors’ opinions about the O.J. Simpson trial or other potential racial proxies as “race-neutral” explanations for striking black jurors without further inquiry.
Feb 2019
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U.S. Supreme Court
Mar 2017
![Peña-Rodriguez v. State of Colorado](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Peña-Rodriguez v. State of Colorado
Whether a court may consider evidence of racially discriminatory comments during jury deliberations in deciding whether to grant a new trial.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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![Peña-Rodriguez v. State of Colorado](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
U.S. Supreme Court
Race and Criminal Justice
Racial Justice
Peña-Rodriguez v. State of Colorado
Whether a court may consider evidence of racially discriminatory comments during jury deliberations in deciding whether to grant a new trial.
Mar 2017
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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Sep 2016
![Joseph Anderson](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/WEB15-Equality-Mississipi-debtorsprisons-1160x864-600x447.jpg)
Kennedy v. City of Biloxi
In the latest pushback against the national scourge of debtors' prisons, on October 21, 2015, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit challenging the illegal arrest and jailing of poor people in Biloxi, Mississippi, without a hearing or representation by counsel. Victims are told they can avoid jail only if they pay the entire amount of outstanding court fines and fees up front, in full, and in cash.
Status: Ongoing
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![Joseph Anderson](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2023/01/WEB15-Equality-Mississipi-debtorsprisons-1160x864-600x447.jpg)
Race and Criminal Justice
Kennedy v. City of Biloxi
In the latest pushback against the national scourge of debtors' prisons, on October 21, 2015, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit challenging the illegal arrest and jailing of poor people in Biloxi, Mississippi, without a hearing or representation by counsel. Victims are told they can avoid jail only if they pay the entire amount of outstanding court fines and fees up front, in full, and in cash.
Sep 2016
Status: Ongoing
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Jun 2016
![Prison Cells](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/web15-blog-jus-mass-incarceration-1160x768-600x397.jpg)
Fuentes v. Benton County
On October 6, 2015, the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm of Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC filed a class-action lawsuit against Benton County in central Washington over its unconstitutional system for collecting court-imposed debts. The suit says the county jails, threatens to jail, or forces manual labor on indigent people who are unable to afford legal financial obligations imposed by the county. The system is designed to fund county services by extracting revenue and labor from vulnerable people.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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![Prison Cells](https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2019/09/web15-blog-jus-mass-incarceration-1160x768-600x397.jpg)
Race and Criminal Justice
Fuentes v. Benton County
On October 6, 2015, the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm of Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC filed a class-action lawsuit against Benton County in central Washington over its unconstitutional system for collecting court-imposed debts. The suit says the county jails, threatens to jail, or forces manual labor on indigent people who are unable to afford legal financial obligations imposed by the county. The system is designed to fund county services by extracting revenue and labor from vulnerable people.
Jun 2016
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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