Criminal Law Reform
Featured
Arizona
Oct 2023
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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U.S. Supreme Court
Sep 2023
McElrath v. Georgia
Does the Double Jeopardy Clause bar an appellate court from reviewing and setting aside a jury’s verdicts of acquittal on the ground that the verdict is inconsistent with the jury’s verdict on other charges?
Status: Ongoing
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2023
Pulsifer v. United States
This case involves the interpretation of a federal law that allows defendants to avoid mandatory minimum sentences for certain nonviolent drug crimes, allowing judges to impose sentences tailored to their individual circumstances.
Status: Ongoing
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Texas
Jul 2021
Sanchez et al v. Dallas County Sheriff et al
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.
Status: Ongoing
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All Cases
130 Criminal Law Reform Cases
U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2013
Kansas v. Cheever
Whether the Fifth Amendment imposes any limits on the state's ability to introduce evidence derived from a court-ordered psychiatric examination of the defendant by the state's expert.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Criminal Law Reform
+2 Issues
Kansas v. Cheever
Whether the Fifth Amendment imposes any limits on the state's ability to introduce evidence derived from a court-ordered psychiatric examination of the defendant by the state's expert.
Aug 2013
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2013
Maryland v. King
Whether collecting and analyzing DNA samples from arrestees without a warrant or consent violates the Fourth Amendment.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Criminal Law Reform
+2 Issues
Maryland v. King
Whether collecting and analyzing DNA samples from arrestees without a warrant or consent violates the Fourth Amendment.
Jun 2013
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Apr 2013
Missouri v. McNeely
Whether every person arrested for drunk driving can be forced to submit to a blood test without consent and without a warrant.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
Missouri v. McNeely
Whether every person arrested for drunk driving can be forced to submit to a blood test without consent and without a warrant.
Apr 2013
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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Mar 2013
Morrow v. City of Tenaha, et al.
Beginning in 2006, under the guise of looking for criminal activity, the police in Tenaha, Texas stopped, searched, and often seized property from Blacks and Latinos traveling through town with no suspicion of criminal activity.
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Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
Morrow v. City of Tenaha, et al.
Beginning in 2006, under the guise of looking for criminal activity, the police in Tenaha, Texas stopped, searched, and often seized property from Blacks and Latinos traveling through town with no suspicion of criminal activity.
Mar 2013
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U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2013
Salinas v. Texas
Whether the Fifth Amendment prohibits the prosecution from commenting at trial on a defendant’s silence when questioned by the police prior to Miranda warnings.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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U.S. Supreme Court
Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
Salinas v. Texas
Whether the Fifth Amendment prohibits the prosecution from commenting at trial on a defendant’s silence when questioned by the police prior to Miranda warnings.
Feb 2013
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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