Whether police officers who lack probable cause to arrest because they have insufficient evidence to support each necessary element of the offense – here, a culpable state of mind – can nonetheless be protected by qualified immunity.

The ACLU, the ACLU of Arizona, and the law firm Perkins Coie filed the case in 2015 against the Sheriff, the County Attorney, and other Pinal County, Arizona officials, for their enforcement of Arizona’s civil asset forfeiture laws. The defendants filed three motions to dismiss, but a federal court ruled on August 18, 2017, that the claims at the heart of the case can move forward. The judge found that the lawsuit establishes a plausible claim that the state’s asset forfeiture laws violate due process rights “because Defendants have a financial incentive to zealously enforce the forfeiture laws.”

Whether a guilty plea inherently waives a defendant's right to challenge the constitutionality of his statute of conviction.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Missouri, along with the MacArthur Justice Center, and the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, filed a class action lawsuit against the State of Missouri over its public defender office’s inability to provide adequate defense to poor people accused of crimes across the state, as required under the U.S. and Missouri Constitutions.

Whether a court may consider evidence of racially discriminatory comments during jury deliberations in deciding whether to grant a new trial.