Prisoners' Rights
Alex A. v. Edwards

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Alex A. v. Edwards
Prisoners' Rights
Status: Filed
The ACLU National Prison Project and partner civil rights attorneys filed a federal class-action lawsuit to prevent the transfer of children in the custody of Louisiana's Office of Juvenile Justice to the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola Prison.
What's at stake

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Featured

Prisoners' Rights
Jensen v. Shinn
Status: Decided
UPDATE: U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver found on June 30, 2022, that the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (ADCRR) systematically violates the constitutional rights of persons incarcerated in the state’s prisons by failing to provide them minimally adequate medical and mental health care, and by subjecting them to harsh and deprived conditions in solitary confinement units.
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Prisoners' Rights
Sanchez et al v. Dallas County Sheriff et al
Status: Filed
Decarceration has always been an emergency, a life and death proposition, but COVID-19 makes this effort intensely urgent. The ACLU has been working with our partners to litigate for the rights of those who are incarcerated and cannot protect themselves because of the policies of the institutions in which they are jailed.
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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.
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All Cases
Nov 29, 2022

Nov 29, 2022
Ramey v. Parson
Prisoners' Rights
Status: Filed
Corionsa “Khorry” Ramey, the 19-year-old daughter of Kevin Johnson, is asking a federal court to allow her to be present for her father’s execution.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed an emergency motion on behalf of Ms. Ramey on November 21, 2022, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
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Sep 19, 2022

Sep 19, 2022
Rutherford v. Villanueva
Prisoners' Rights
Conditions at the LA County Jail system have been the subject of court oversight since 1978.
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Jul 28, 2022

Jul 28, 2022
Duvall v. Hogan
Smart Justice
The settlement agreement was approved by the court on June 28, 2016.
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Jan 26, 2022


Jan 26, 2022
Carmack v. Janny et al
Religious Liberty
Status: Dismissed
The American Civil Liberties Union, along with Americans United for the Separation of Church and State and Colorado law firm DLA Piper, represent Mark Janny, an atheist whose religious-freedom rights were violated by his parole officer when Janny was sent to jail after refusing to take part in worship and religious activities.
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Sep 21, 2021


Sep 21, 2021
Barnett v. Tony
Criminal Law Reform
Decarceration has always been an emergency, a life and death proposition, but COVID-19 makes this effort intensely urgent. The ACLU has been working with our partners to litigate for the rights of those who are incarcerated and cannot protect themselves because of the policies of the institutions in which they are jailed.
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