Public Defense Reform
Phillips v. State of California
The ACLU of Northern California, in partnership with ACLU National’s Criminal Law Reform Project and the firm Paul Hastings LLP, have filed a lawsuit against California, Governor Brown, and Fresno County seeking a writ of mandate and injunctive and declaratory relief to fix the county’s failing public defense system—which is supposed to provide a rigorous legal defense to people who are accused of crimes in Fresno and cannot afford to hire their own lawyer.
Status: Ongoing
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15 Public Defense Reform Cases
U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2016
Public Defense Reform
Simmons v. Himmelreich
Whether a tort action against the federal government that is dismissed for reasons unrelated to the merits bars a subsequent action for the same tort against the responsible employee.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Feb 2016
Public Defense Reform
Simmons v. Himmelreich
Whether a tort action against the federal government that is dismissed for reasons unrelated to the merits bars a subsequent action for the same tort against the responsible employee.
Louisiana
Jan 2016
Public Defense Reform
Yarls v. Bunton
The ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of criminal defendants in Orleans Parish who are unable to afford an attorney. The suit attacks Louisiana’s chronic underfunding of its public defender system.
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Louisiana
Jan 2016
Public Defense Reform
Yarls v. Bunton
The ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of criminal defendants in Orleans Parish who are unable to afford an attorney. The suit attacks Louisiana’s chronic underfunding of its public defender system.
South Dakota
Mar 2015
Public Defense Reform
Criminal Law Reform
Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Van Hunnik
Three Indian parents, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe filed a class-action lawsuit to challenge the continued removal of Indian children in Pennington County, South Dakota from their homes based on insufficient evidence and without proper hearings, in violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and the constitutional right to due process.
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South Dakota
Mar 2015
Public Defense Reform
Criminal Law Reform
Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Van Hunnik
Three Indian parents, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe filed a class-action lawsuit to challenge the continued removal of Indian children in Pennington County, South Dakota from their homes based on insufficient evidence and without proper hearings, in violation of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 and the constitutional right to due process.
U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2013
Public Defense 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.
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U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2013
Public Defense 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.