Criminal Law Reform
Fund for Empowerment v. Phoenix, City of
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Learn about Criminal Law Reform
Fund for Empowerment v. Phoenix, City of
Criminal Law Reform
Status: Ongoing
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.
What's at stake
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123 Criminal Law Reform Cases
Colorado
Nov 2023
Sellers v. People
In September 2023, the ACLU, the ACLU of Colorado, The Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, the law firm Mintz Levin, and other partners filed an amicus brief with the Colorado Supreme Court arguing that mandatory life-without-parole (LWOP) sentences for strict liability felony murder are “cruel and unusual” in violation of the Colorado and U.S. Constitutions. The brief focuses on how these mandatory LWOP sentences drive racial injustice.
Status: Ongoing
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Colorado
Criminal Law Reform
Racial Justice
Sellers v. People
In September 2023, the ACLU, the ACLU of Colorado, The Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, the law firm Mintz Levin, and other partners filed an amicus brief with the Colorado Supreme Court arguing that mandatory life-without-parole (LWOP) sentences for strict liability felony murder are “cruel and unusual” in violation of the Colorado and U.S. Constitutions. The brief focuses on how these mandatory LWOP sentences drive racial injustice.
Nov 2023
Status: Ongoing
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Northern California
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Sacramento Homeless Union v. City of Sacramento
The ACLU, along with the Northern and Southern California affiliates and four other organizations, filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit supporting affirmance of a preliminary injunction that prevented the City of Sacramento from clearing homeless encampments during periods of extreme heat.
Status: Ongoing
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Northern California
Criminal Law Reform
Racial Justice
Sacramento Homeless Union v. City of Sacramento
The ACLU, along with the Northern and Southern California affiliates and four other organizations, filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit supporting affirmance of a preliminary injunction that prevented the City of Sacramento from clearing homeless encampments during periods of extreme heat.
Oct 2023
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2023
Samia v. United States
In Samia v. United States, the Supreme Court addressed whether the introduction of a co-defendant’s redacted out-of-court confession, which indirectly incriminates the defendant without formally naming him, constitutes a violation of the Confrontation Clause by depriving the defendant of the opportunity to confront his accuser.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Criminal Law Reform
Samia v. United States
In Samia v. United States, the Supreme Court addressed whether the introduction of a co-defendant’s redacted out-of-court confession, which indirectly incriminates the defendant without formally naming him, constitutes a violation of the Confrontation Clause by depriving the defendant of the opportunity to confront his accuser.
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West Virginia
Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
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This case challenges a presumption of pretrial detention that applies to nearly all people charged with federal drug offenses.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jul 2023
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Whether federal courts have the power to remedy systemic unconstitutional pretrial detention practices that remain unchecked by state courts.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
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Whether federal courts have the power to remedy systemic unconstitutional pretrial detention practices that remain unchecked by state courts.
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Status: Ongoing
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