Criminal Law Reform
Featured
Oregon
Feb 2024
![Disability Rights Oregon v. Washington County, Oregon](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Disability Rights Oregon v. Washington County, Oregon
Status: Ongoing
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Arizona
Oct 2023
![Fund for Empowerment v. Phoenix, City of](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
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](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
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](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
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](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
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
128 Criminal Law Reform Cases
U.S. Supreme Court
Aug 2024
![Smith v. Arizona](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Smith v. Arizona
Whether the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation right permits the prosecution in a criminal trial to present testimonial statements of a non-testifying laboratory analyst through an expert who relies on the non-testifying expert’s statement to reach their conclusions.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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![Smith v. Arizona](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
U.S. Supreme Court
Criminal Law Reform
Smith v. Arizona
Whether the Sixth Amendment’s confrontation right permits the prosecution in a criminal trial to present testimonial statements of a non-testifying laboratory analyst through an expert who relies on the non-testifying expert’s statement to reach their conclusions.
Aug 2024
Status: Closed (Judgment)
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Pennsylvania
Jul 2024
![Horton v. Rangos (Amicus Brief)](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Horton v. Rangos (Amicus Brief)
This case challenges the government’s authority to incarcerate individuals accused of probation violations for months or years without meaningfully assessing their risk to the community.
Status: Ongoing
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![Horton v. Rangos (Amicus Brief)](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Pennsylvania
Criminal Law Reform
Smart Justice
Horton v. Rangos (Amicus Brief)
This case challenges the government’s authority to incarcerate individuals accused of probation violations for months or years without meaningfully assessing their risk to the community.
Jul 2024
Status: Ongoing
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Texas
Jun 2024
![Gonzalez v. Ramirez et al.](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Gonzalez v. Ramirez et al.
Although Texas law clearly prohibits prosecuting people for terminating their pregnancies, Starr County officials indicted, arrested, and jailed Lizelle Gonzalez for having an abortion. The ACLU’s Abortion Criminal Defense Initiative and Criminal Law Reform Project, alongside the ACLU of Texas and south Texas firm Garza Martinez, are representing Ms. Gonzalez in a lawsuit against Starr County and local officials based on violations of Ms. Gonzalez’s constitutional rights.
Status: Ongoing
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![Gonzalez v. Ramirez et al.](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Texas
Criminal Law Reform
+3 Issues
Gonzalez v. Ramirez et al.
Although Texas law clearly prohibits prosecuting people for terminating their pregnancies, Starr County officials indicted, arrested, and jailed Lizelle Gonzalez for having an abortion. The ACLU’s Abortion Criminal Defense Initiative and Criminal Law Reform Project, alongside the ACLU of Texas and south Texas firm Garza Martinez, are representing Ms. Gonzalez in a lawsuit against Starr County and local officials based on violations of Ms. Gonzalez’s constitutional rights.
Jun 2024
Status: Ongoing
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Iowa Supreme Court
May 2024
![Singer v. Orange City](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Singer v. Orange City
This case in the Iowa Supreme Court asks whether a city ordinance that mandates rental inspections every five years, irrespective of whether a tenant consents to the inspection and in the absence of individualized probable cause, violates the state constitution. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative assisted the ACLU of Iowa in filing an amicus brief to argue that tenants have a right under the Iowa Constitution to be free from non-consensual searches of their rented homes, absent a showing of individualized probable cause. The case remains pending.
Status: Ongoing
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![Singer v. Orange City](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Iowa Supreme Court
Criminal Law Reform
Singer v. Orange City
This case in the Iowa Supreme Court asks whether a city ordinance that mandates rental inspections every five years, irrespective of whether a tenant consents to the inspection and in the absence of individualized probable cause, violates the state constitution. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative assisted the ACLU of Iowa in filing an amicus brief to argue that tenants have a right under the Iowa Constitution to be free from non-consensual searches of their rented homes, absent a showing of individualized probable cause. The case remains pending.
May 2024
Status: Ongoing
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Mississippi Supreme Court
May 2024
![Love v. State](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Love v. State
This case in the Mississippi Supreme Court is a post-conviction appeal of a pro se defendant, Mr. Soweto Love, who argued that his guilty plea was not entered knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Mississippi, filed an amicus brief arguing that the law is on Mr. Love’s side, but urging the Court to exercise its discretion to inform Mr. Love that a win could resuscitate his charge and expose him to longer sentences.
Status: Ongoing
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![Love v. State](https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/themes/aclu-wp/img/fallback-case-gavel.png)
Mississippi Supreme Court
Criminal Law Reform
Love v. State
This case in the Mississippi Supreme Court is a post-conviction appeal of a pro se defendant, Mr. Soweto Love, who argued that his guilty plea was not entered knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. The ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative, alongside the ACLU of Mississippi, filed an amicus brief arguing that the law is on Mr. Love’s side, but urging the Court to exercise its discretion to inform Mr. Love that a win could resuscitate his charge and expose him to longer sentences.
May 2024
Status: Ongoing
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