Three victories in court this week, and each represent important steps forward in ongoing national efforts to strengthen the role of the courts, secure the right to counsel, and hold government accountable to the rule of law. Read more...
A lawsuit challenging Michigan’s inadequate defense services for the poor received an important victory on Friday, when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the suit could go forward. New York could take a cue from Michigan; a similar lawsuit is pending in the NY courts.
In a speech given May 3, the Hon. Jonathan Lippman, chief judge of the NY Court of Appeals, proposed a 'Civil Gideon' program, one which would provide right to counsel in New York State for the indigent in cases involving basic human needs.
The Brennan Center’s Rebekah Diller testified at Tuesday’s House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing, speaking of the vastly increased need for LSC grantees’ services amid the current recession.
The U.S. criminal justice system is burdened by myriad problems ranging from over-incarceration to racial and ethnic disparities in prosecutions. In the long term, the high costs of incarceration and the effects of a flawed system are unsustainable.
Mourning the loss of Dr. Dorothy I. Height and Dr. Benjamin Hooks, whose decisions to stand up and oppose what is wrong changed the way all Americans live their lives.
Erika Wood and Deborah J. Vagins announce their new Issue brief for the American Constitution Society, The Democracy Restoration Act: Addressing a Centuries-Old Injustice.
Across New York State, poor people accused of crimes are routinely being denied effective representation in their criminal proceedings, and prosecutors have finally begun raising the alarm.
A Muslim charity won its case this week in a litigation over warrantless surveillance--and the government was put on notice not to use the state secrets privilege as a weapon to derail litigation.
